WASHINGTON, Dec 10 (AFP) - Amid a growing controversy over armor for troops in Iraq, the US Army pressed its sole supplier of armored Humvees to step up production after the maker said it had capacity to spare, a senior army spokesman said Friday.
Army Secretary Francis Harvey called Armor Holdings Inc. Friday to ask that deliveries be increased from 450 to 550 vehicles a month after the company said it could boost production by 22 percent, said the spokesman, who asked not to be identified.
"Right now, the plant is at 450 maximum capacity. Now we're exploring the ability to move beyond that, up to 100 more a month," he said.
"The plant does not have the ability right today to go to a hundred more a month. So we're exploring what can be worked out in that regard," he said.
The army contracted Armored Holdings Inc. to deliver some 8,000 armored Humvees by May. "Our goal is to see if we can get that up to March," the spokesman said.
Congress would have to approve any additional costs, which could cause further delays, the official said.
The US administration has come under fire for failing to equip soldiers in Iraq with vehicles that are armored against roadside explosions, a chief cause of US troop deaths.
The shortage of armor-plated vehicles and body armor has been a longstanding issue.
But it was ignited anew this week when a soldier asked US Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld in Kuwait why his comrades were digging through landfill for scrap metal and armored glass to protect vehicles taking them into Iraq.
Rumsfeld's response: "As you know, you go to war with the army you have, not the army you might want or wish to have at a later time."
Reports that Armor Holdings Inc., the sole supplier of armored Huvees to the army, told the army before the flap that it could produce 22 percent more vehicles with no additional investment has further fueled the controversy.
Senator John Kerry, the former Democratic presidential candidate, highlighted the unused capacity in a letter to Rumsfeld made public Friday.
"I know you agree that no soldier should be put in harm's way without adequate armor. I urge you to investigate immediately why troops are going without the equipment they need when American companies say they can provide it," he said.
Kerry said ArmorWorks, which makes armored kits for Humvees, has indicated it is using only 50 percent of its capacity, and noted that two Massachusetts companies -- Protective Armored Systems and Foster Miller -- have previously produced armor kits for Humvees.
12/10/2004 23:57 GMT - AFP