Congress must provide funding for troop safety
To the editor:
Not only will Osama bin Laden’s death not end the Afghanistan war, it leaves our troops there at risk of retaliatory attacks (U.S. says bin Laden’s death does not end Afghan war, 5/2). That’s why it is crucial that Congress keep funding the life-saving technologies that our soldiers need now.
Last summer, the House Armed Services Committee sought to slash nearly $1 billion dollars from a critical Army modernization program — Brigade Combat Team Modernization, or BCTM — that would provide them a new mobile broadband network and a portable ground robot to help track and capture insurgents and avoid casualties. Similar technologies employed in Iraq have already proven incredibly effective. Combat veterans testing the BCTM equipment say that it could save lives in Afghanistan now.
While Congress is under intense pressure to cut the budget, it should be wary of repeating the fatal failure to supply troops with sufficient body armor and armored vehicles in 2003, which cost thousands of lives in Iraq. Budget cuts should free up money for critical programs like BCTM, which ensure our troops’ safety and effectiveness.
Anthony T. Hawkins,
National Coordinator, Congressional Black Caucus Veterans Braintrust
Washington, DC