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8 December 2004

See also Eyeballing the Iraq Kill Zone

1,324 US Military Dead During Iraq War: http://cryptome.org/mil-dead-iqw.htm

See also DoD tally: http://www.defenselink.mil/news/casualty.pdf

The New York Times, December 8, 2004

Iraq-Bound Troops Confront Rumsfeld Over Lack of Armor

By ERIC SCHMITT

[Excerpt]

U.S. Army Spc Thomas Wilson, left, speaks to US Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, not pictured, during Rumsfeld's visit to Camp Udeira, 120 km (74 miles) north of Kuwait City, on Wednesday, Dec.8, 2004. Wilson, of the 278th Regimental Combat Team that is comprised mainly of citizen soldiers of the Tennessee Army National Guard, asked Rumsfeld why vehicle armor is still in short supply, nearly three years after the war in Iraq began. (AP Photo/Gustavo Ferrari)

Gustavo Ferrari/Associated Press Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld told troops today that "you go to war with the Army you have."

CAMP BUEHRING, Kuwait, Dec. 8 - In an extraordinary exchange at this remote desert camp, Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld found himself on the defensive today, fielding pointed questions from Iraq-bound troops who complained that they were being sent into combat with insufficient protection and aging equipment.

Specialist Thomas Wilson, a scout with a Tennessee National Guard unit scheduled to roll into Iraq this week, said soldiers had to scrounge through local landfills here for pieces of rusty scrap metal and bulletproof glass - what they called "hillbilly armor" - to bolt on to their trucks for protection against roadside bombs in Iraq.

"Why don't we have those resources readily available to us?" Specialist Wilson asked Mr. Rumsfeld, drawing cheers and applause from many of the 2,300 troops assembled in a cavernous hangar here to meet the secretary. Mr. Rumsfeld responded that the military was producing extra armor for Humvees and trucks as fast as possible.

A few minutes later, a soldier from the Idaho National Guard's 116th Armor Cavalry Brigade asked Mr. Rumsfeld what he and the Army were doing "to address shortages and antiquated equipment" National Guard soldiers heading to Iraq were struggling with.

Mr. Rumsfeld seemed taken aback by the question and a murmur began spreading through the ranks before he silenced them. "Now settle down, settle down," he said. "Hell, I'm an old man, it's early in the morning and I'm gathering my thoughts here."

He said all organizations had equipment, materials and spare parts of different vintages, but he expressed confidence that Army leaders were assigning the newest and best equipment to the troops headed for combat who needed it most.

Nonetheless, he warned that equipment shortages would probably continue to bedevil some American forces entering combat zones like Iraq. "You go to war with the army you have, not the army you might want or wish to have at a later time," Mr. Rumsfeld said.

Moreover, he said, adding more armor to trucks and battle equipment did not make them impervious to enemy attack. "If you think about it, you can have all the armor in the world on a tank and a tank can be blown up," he said. "And you can have an up-armored Humvee and it can be blown up."

It was difficult to gauge the scope and seriousness of the equipment problems cited by the two soldiers and by several others in interviews after Mr. Rumfeld's remarks and the question period. A senior officer in Specialist Wilson's unit, Col. John Zimmerman, said later that 95 percent of the unit's more than 300 trucks had insufficient armor.

Debbie Clabaugh Reckley leans her head against her husband David's shoulder and cries afte the funeral for her son Spc. Erik Hayes at the Evangelical Bible Church in Thurmont, Md., Wednesday, Dec. 8, 2004. Hayes was killed in Al Miqdadiyah when an improvised bomb detonated near his military vehicle, the Department of Defense said. (AP Photo/ Frederick News-Post, Saul Stoogenke)	** ADVANCE FOR SUNDAY, DEC. 12 ** Sgt. Josh Forbess visits his mother, Cheryl Nation, in Decatur, Ill., Nov. 26, 2004. Forbess underwent several operations to reconstruct his face after being severely burned in a helicopter crash in Iraq. (AP Photo/(Decatur) Herald & Review, Carlos T. Miranda)
U.S. troops killed during the war in Iraq are seen in this photo combo. From left: Cpl. Gentian Marku, Spc. Daniel James McConnell, Cpl. Justin D. McLeese, Pfc. Harrison J. Meyer, Pfc. Dennis J. Miller Jr., Cpl. William L. Miller, Sgt. Joseph M. Nolan, Cpl. Shane K. O'Donnell, Cpl. Joshua D. Palmer, Sgt. Rafael Peralta, Cpl. Andres H. Perez, and Cpl. Aaron C. Pickering. (AP Photo/Files)	U.S. troops killed during the war in Iraq are seen in this photo combo. From left: Lance Cpl. Michael P. Scarborough, Spc. Quoc Binh Tran, and Pfc. Wilfredo F. Urbina. (AP Photo/Files)
U.S. troops killed during the war in Iraq are seen in this photo combo. From left: Lance Cpl. Jeramy A. Ailes, Lance Cpl. Demarkus D. Brown, Cpl. Dale A. Burger Jr., Lance Cpl. Justin M. Ellsworth, Lance Cpl. Dimitrios Gavriel, Lance Cpl. Michael W. Hanks, Sgt. Christopher T. Heflin, Cpl. Joseph J. Heredia, Sgt. Byron W. Norwood, Lance Cpl. Louis W. Qualls, Spc. David L. Roustum, and Capt. Sean P. Sims. (AP Photo/Files)	U.S. troops killed during the war in Iraq are seen in this photo combo. From left: Sgt. David G. Ries, Sgt. David G. Ries, Cpl. Marc T. Ryan, Sgt. Michael B. Shackelford, Cpl. James E. Swain, Cpl. Lance M. Thompson, Spc. Jose A. Velez, Cpl. Robert P. Warns II, Lance Cpl. Joseph T. Welke, Spc. Cody L. Wentz, Lance Cpl. Phillip G. West, Lance Cpl. Jordan D. Winkler, and 1st Lt. Luke C. Wullenwaber. (AP Photo/Files)
U.S. troops killed during the war in Iraq are seen in this photo combo. Top rown from left: Master Sgt. Steven E. Auchman, Spc. Brian K. Baker, Cpl. Jeremiah A. Baro, Cpl. Jeremy D. Bow, Cpl. David M. Branning, Cpl. Wesley J. Canning, Sgt. Don A. Clary, Cpl. Kevin J. Dempsey, Pfc. Stephen P. Downing II, Spc. Bryan L. Freeman, Cpl. Jonathan E. Gadsden, and Cpl. Nathaniel T. Hammond. (AP Photo/Files)	U.S. troops killed during the war in Iraq are seen in this photo combo. Top rown from left: Cpl. Erick J. Hodges, Cpl. Jared P. Hubbard, 1st Lt. Edward D. Iwan, Cpl. Sean M. Langley, Cpl. Christopher J. Lapka, Staff Sgt. Jerome Lemon, Pfc. John Lukac, Sgt. James C. Matteson, Lance Cpl. Brian A. Medina, Staff Sgt. Michael Ottolini, Lance Cpl. Branden P. Ramey, and Lance Cpl. Justin D. Reppuhn. (AP Photo/Files)
U.S. troops killed during the war in Iraq are seen in this photo combo. From left: Pfc. Andrew G. Riedel, Sgt. Jonathan B. Shields, Spc. Raymond L. White, Sgt. 1st Class Clinton Lee Wisdom, and Pvt. Justin R. Yoemans. (AP Photo/Files)	U.S. troops killed during the war in Iraq are seen in this photo combo. From left: Lance Cpl. Charles A. Hanson Jr., Sgt. Michael A. Smith, and Cpl. Nicholas L. Ziolkowski. (AP Photo/Files)
BEAVERTON, OREGON -- Chaplain Terry Schrick, right, hands Linda Hakes a single rose that he tells her smybolizes the life of her son Spc. Jeremy E. Christensen who was killed in Iraq, at his funeral at Willamette National Cemetery Tuesday, Dec. 7, 2004, in Portland, Ore. Hakes is sitting with her fiance Rick Adamek. (AP Photo/ The Oregonian, Faith Cathcart)	In this undated photograph released Wednesday, Dec. 8, 2004 by the US Army, Sgt. Angela Magnuson of Fingal, N.D., Sgt. Kristen Pagel of Fargo, N.D., and Sgt. Jessica Fisher of Jamestown, N.D., pose like characters from the 1970's television program "Charlies Angels" between missions at Forward Operations Base Warhorse, near Baqubah, Iraq. The first infantry division's Charlie company soldiers have nicknamed the three medics "Charlie's Angels". (AP Photo/US Army, Sgt. 1st Class Mark Geiss)
Natalia Berumen Heredia, center, widow of Marine Cpl. Joseph J. Heredia, is comforted by relatives at his funeral service in Santa Maria, Calif., Wednesday, Dec.8, 2004. The soldier died Nov. 20, 2004, of wounds suffered from a bomb explosion in Fallujah, Iraq on Nov. 11, 2004. (AP Photo/Santa Maria Times, Ed Souza)	Two Marines lay their gloved hands on the casket of fellow Marine Cpl. Joseph J. Heredia following a funeral ceremony in Santa Maria, Calif., Wednesday Dec. 8, 2004. Heredia, 22, of Santa Maria, died in a military hospital in Germany on Nov. 20 from injuries he received in an explosion fighting in Iraq. (AP Photo/Santa Maria Times, Ed Souza)
Douglas Hayes, left, accepts a flag in honor of his fallen son Spc. Erik W. Hayes during a funeral at Mountain View Cemetery in Harney, Md., Wednesday, Dec. 8, 2004. Hayes, 24, died Nov. 29 in Al Miqdadiyah, Iraq, when an improvised bomb detonated near his military vehicle, the Department of Defense said. (AP Photo/Frederick News-Post, Saul Stoogenke)	** FILE ** This undated photo provided by the Boatright family shows Sgt. Michael Boatright of Frisco, Texas. Boatright, 24, was killed in Baghdad, Iraq on Dec. 4, 2004, after being struck by an improvised explosive device. He was assigned to the 1st Cavalry Division, Fort Hood, Texas. (AP Photo/Boatright family, File)
In this image released by the US Army, the 28th Combat Support Hospital is seen near Baghdad in this aerial photo made April 2003. By mid-November, 2004, 10,369 American soldiers had been wounded in battle in Afghanistan or Iraq, and 1,004 had died _ a survival rate of roughly 90 percent. (AP Photo/ U.S. Army)	In this image released by the US Army, general surgery, left, and anesthesia backpacks are on display in Nasiriyah, Iraq, March, 2003. They contain some of the tools of the rapid-response surgical system in use by the Army's Forward Surgical Teams. By mid-November, 2004, 10,369 American soldiers had been wounded in battle in Afghanistan or Iraq, and 1,004 had died _ a survival rate of roughly 90 percent. (AP Photo/ U.S. Army, Capt. Herman Allison)
British Defense Secretary Geoff Hoon visits British Black Watch troops in the southern Iraqi city of Basra, Wednesday, Dec. 8, 2004. Hoon discussed preparations for Iraq's Jan. 30 elections in talks with Basra's governor, Hassan al-Rashid, during his one-day visit. He said his government was not planning to send more soldiers to Iraq ahead of the polls. (AP Photo/Nabil Al-Jurani)	Specialist David Qualls,right, talks to his attorney Staughton Lynd outside federal court in Washington, Wednesday, Dec. 8, 2004 after a hearing . Qualls, who challenged the Army's policy requiring him to serve past the date of his enlistment contract must return for duty in Iraq while his lawsuit is under review, a federal judge ruled Wednesday. U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth refused to issue a temporary restraining order allowing Specialist David Qualls to remain in the United States, where he is home on leave. He is scheduled to fly back to Iraq on Friday. Qualls, 35, is one of seven soldiers challenging the "stop loss" policy that allows the Army to extend enlistments during war or national emergencies as a way to promote continuity and cohesiveness. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)
South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun is lifted by an unidentified South Korean Army soldier upon his arrival at their base in Irbil, northern Iraq, Wednesday, Dec. 8, 2004. Roh made a surprise visit Wednesday to northern Iraq where 3,600 South Korean troops are helping rebuild the violence-wracked country. (AP Photo/Yonhap, Kim Dong-jin) ** KOREA OUT **	People walk past a poster of Shiite cleric Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani in Baghdad, Iraq, Wednesday, Dec. 8, 2004. al-Sistani has issued a fatwa, or religious rulling, in mid-October to encourage people to vote in Iraq's upcoming elections. (AP Photo/Khalid Mohammed)
Members of The Kentucky Army National Guard 2113th Transportation Company train for a roadside ambush at the Wendell H. Ford Regional Training facility in Greenville, Ky., Wednesday, Dec. 8, 2004. Members of the 2113th are training for their deployment to Iraq scheduled for early next year. (AP Photo/John Russell)	Members of the Kentucky Army National Guard 2113th Transportation Company fire live rounds from their M-16's during tactical development training at the Wendell H. Ford Regional Training facility in Greenville, Ky., Wednesday, Dec. 8, 2004. The soldiers are training for their deployment to Iraq scheduled for early next year.(AP Photo/John Russell)
This undated photo released by Fortune family shows Army Sgt. Maurice Keith Fortune, left, with his half sister, Lenore Worthy, of Accokeek, Md. Fortune, 25, of Forestville, Md., was killed Oct. 29, 2004, in Ramadi, Iraq, when a car bomb exploded near his vehicle. (AP Photo/Courtesy of Fortune Family via The Gazette)	This undated photo provided by the family shows Army Reserve Pfc. Keith M. Maupin, who is being held hostage in Iraq. Troops opening care packages sent by Maupin's family are being asked for only one favor in return, to help find the captured soldier. Maupin, missing since his convoy was attacked April 9 west of Baghdad, is the only Army soldier listed as captured in Iraq or Afghanistan. (AP Photo)
People stand by two trucks damaged after a roadside bomb exploded on the Baghdad's outskirts Wednesday Dec. 8, 2004, Iraq. (AP Photo/Khalid Mohammed)	Chaldean Bishop Paul Faraj Rahho, far left, stands in the debris of the Chaldean church in Mosul, Iraq, Wednesday Dec. 8, 2004. Militants bombed two churches in Mosul on Tuesday, injuring three people in a coordinated attack. (AP Photo)
** NOVEMBER ** Cpl. Nick Romero carries his teammate Cpl. Eugenio Mendoza during the beginning of the stress fire portion of the 4th Annual International Sniper Competition at Fort Benning, Ga., Friday, Nov. 5, 2004. During this event, the 20 two-man teams began with the buddy carry, ran through an obstacle course and then had a series of long distance shots to make on the range. The two are from the 101st Airborne from Fort Campbell, Ky. The events are designed to simulate combat scenarios in Afghanistan and Iraq.``It's good stuff we never thought about,'' said Mendoza, 27, a sniper with the Army's 101st Airborne Division at Fort Campbell, Ky. ``We're definitely going back and use what we've learned in these events.'' Columbus Ledger-Enquirer photographer Mike Haskey is the Georgia AP Member Photo Contribution Contest winner with the photograph. (AP Photo/Columbus Ledger-Enquirer, Mike Haskey)	Pope John Paul II touches his face as he presides over a Mass for the Immaculate Conception inside St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican, Wednesday, Dec. 8, 2004. The pontiff said he was praying for the Iraqi people after militants bombed two churches in Mosul, Iraq on Tuesday, the latest anti-Christian violence in the country. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)