Sorry to interrupt all the candidate diaries on here, but I wanted to make note of a very serious issue that’s not receiving the focus it should. Last week, the New York Times reported that the Bush Pentagon placed a $74 million contract for helmets from Sioux Manufacturing – as the company was being sued for making Kevlar that wasn’t up to military standards, and had covered it up.
Tapes during their trial showed that even the quality assurance officer at the company was well aware of what they were doing:
In a conversation Mr. Kenner secretly taped, Rhea Crane, quality assurance officer, worried "if we ever had someone get killed, and they decided to investigate because they thought maybe the helmet wasn't any good."
"If we ever got audited," she said, "you know what they would do to us. Shut us down and fine us big time. Probably never see another government contract."
No, they should have never gotten another government contract, especially not for head protection for our troops. You can join us at VoteVets.org in our call for hearings, by clicking here to sign our petition. (And I should hat tip TexDem for putting out a call to action yesterday, as well as Brandon Friedman, over at our blog, VetVoice.com)
We also sent an invitation for Freedoms Watch, the group started by Ari Fleischer and other Bush supporters, to join us in our call for hearings, by co-signing our letter to the Hill, which mirrors the petition. As of right now, we haven’t heard back from Freedoms Watch. Call me naïve, but I’m still holding out hope. Freedoms Watch’s website says they support the troops. And while we have real disagreements, I think when it comes to protecting the heads of our troops from bullets and bombs, we can come together. I, for one, can say that if a future Obama or Clinton or McCain administration pulls this kind of stunt, VoteVets.org will be right there to call them out, as well.
For us, this goes far beyond politics. It’s about troops’ lives. I hope Freedoms Watch sees things the same way, and will stand up for giving our troops the very best equipment and protection that money can buy.
Here’s the letter we sent to them:
Mr. Bradley A. Blakeman
President and CEO
Freedoms Watch
P.O. Box 27958
Washington, DC 20038
Dear Mr. Blakeman,
As you know, your organization and the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of VoteVets.org do not see eye-to-eye on our need to go on the offense against al Qaeda and Osama bin Laden, by committing the needed forces to Afghanistan, instead of Iraq's civil war. I expect in the coming months, we will debate this a lot.
However, I do believe that we all support the troops, and want them to have the protection they need, no matter where they are. To that end, I am writing to invite you to join us in signing the attached letter to Congress. We believe that Congress must investigate the recent decision by the Bush Pentagon to place an order for Kevlar helmets with Sioux Manufacturing, which was being sued for cheating the troops out of adequate protection, and covering it up.
I am sure you are disturbed as I am that after the problems with out-of-date body armor given to troops, and the failure to provide Humvee armor, the Bush Pentagon should have never decided to procure helmets from a company with such a severe record of poor quality.
I think at a time when the country is so divided, we can lead the way in showing that on some matters as important as this, both sides can unite to demand the best for our troops.
I look forward to working with you on this issue, and will send the letter to Congress as soon as we have your signature.
Best,
Jon Soltz
Iraq War Veteran
Chairman, VoteVets.org
Don’t forget, join us by signing our call for hearings, right here.