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Surge troops equipped and trained, leaders say

Army and Marine Corps leaders gave their assurances Tuesday that every soldier and Marine deploying to Iraq as part of the ongoing surge in troops is fully equipped and adequately trained for the mission.

The assertion comes on the heels of a review by Gen. Peter Pace, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, who said future U.S. military readiness is at significant risk because of strains brought on by demands in Iraq and Afghanistan.

A report that accompanied Pace’s review concluded that while the Pentagon is working to improve its war-fighting abilities, it “may take several years to reduce risk to acceptable levels.”

Troops whose deployments have been accelerated, however, are not lacking in training or equipment.

“Reported shortages are inaccurate. We do not compromise our standards in force protection for deploying units,” Brig. Gen. Charles Anderson, director of force modernization, said at the Pentagon.

Commanders have assessed training readiness and units that missed a rotation at the National Training Center, such as 1st Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division, at Fort Stewart, Ga., which deployed earlier than planned. The brigade prepared for its deployment with mobile training teams from Fort Irwin, Calif.

Anderson said the protection of soldiers throughout operations in Iraq has been “an ongoing process of improvement.” That has included issuing 900,000 sets of body armor, which have been improved eight times. The Rapid Fielding Initiative has equipped more than 830,000 soldiers with weapons, body armor, uniforms, communications equipment, night vision capability and other protective gear.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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