$250 Billion, for what!! Another National Guardsmen awol!!

"Among his concerns, Jacobo said, was that he had been unable to find anyone at his Texas training base who could fix his M-4 assault rifle, the primary weapon he would carry in Iraq. The weapon jams, he said.


"They try to put old parts in new rifles," he said. "It doesn't work. We're having all kinds of problems with our automatic weapons."


Soldiers in Jacobo's Modesto-based National Guard unit — the 1st Battalion, 184th Infantry Regiment — went public late last month with concerns that they would suffer needlessly high casualty rates in Iraq because of poor training. Military officials have denied the soldiers' charges, voiced in an article in the Los Angeles Times. "

he goes on to say:

"The soldiers, who trained at the Army's Ft. Bliss Training Complex, said there were equipment problems, including trucks without adequate armor and a shortage of night-vision goggles. They also said they had received very little "theater specific" training to prepare them for conditions in Iraq. For example, the soldiers said they had learned nothing about convoy protection or guarding against insurgents' roadside bombs.


Airing their concerns publicly, Jacobo said, only seems to have made matters worse. He said soldiers who were suspected of having spoken to the newspaper were called "cowards" and "yellow-bellies" by their supervisors. Equipment woes were not addressed, commanders became more strict and morale reached new lows, he said.


"They didn't change anything," Jacobo said. "How are we supposed to have any pride?" "

news.yahoo.com.../latimests/20050112/ts_latimes/awolsoldiercitesarmyinadequacies&printer=1

heck, $250 billion and they can't provide them with working guns?