A survey released Wednesday by VoteVets.org, a political action committee composed of veterans from Iraq and Afghanistan, found widespread deficiencies in military equipment, troop readiness, and post-service support.
Roughly 42 percent of veterans who served in either country said their equipment fell short of military standards. More than a third reported that their vehicles carried no armor protection at all, and 10 percent said trucks had been reinforced only with scrap metal.
Jon Soltz, an Iraq veteran and the group's chairman, said the army had upgraded Humvees since 2005 but warned that insurgents were deploying more sophisticated devices capable of defeating that protection. Retired General Wesley Clark, who commanded NATO forces under President Clinton, said a few inches of added armor was not a reliable solution.
Among all respondents, 63 percent said they believed the Army and Marine Corps were overextended, and 79 percent said National Guard and Reserve personnel deserved the same health coverage as active-duty troops. The poll was released as the US death toll in Iraq reached 2,725, with 10 soldiers killed in the preceding days.
Lake Research Partners conducted the survey from 6 to 19 September, drawing 453 respondents across political affiliations, with a margin of error of 4.6 percentage points.
Historical summary. TurkishPress restated this wire report, first published in October 2006, in its own words.