Nearly six years into the war in Iraq, the United States military still is having trouble getting spare parts for some armored vehicles it uses there, Rep. Robert J. Wittman, R-1st, said yesterday.
Wittman, who just returned from an eight-day trip to Kuwait, Iraq, Bahrain and Afghanistan, said the mine-resistant ambush-protected (MRAP) vehicles do a good job in protecting troops from improvised explosive devices, but "we need to get spare parts over there more quickly."
Some of the vehicles have waited as long as six months for the spare parts, Wittman said in a conference call with reporters.
Wittman, a member of the House Armed Services Committee, said the committee plans to address the problem. Because of the heavy use of the vehicles, parts tend to wear out, he explained.
The vehicles have a different problem in Afghanistan, he said. The roads are so bad that axles tend to break. The military is working on a torsion bar suspension system to relieve the stress on the solid axles, he said.
Wittman said the four members of Congress on the trip found another problem in Afghanistan -- a shortage of heavy-duty construction vehicles to construct forward bases to protect the roads and troops from Taliban attacks.
Wittman, who made his second visit to Iraq since being elected to Congress in a special election in December 2007, said the situation there is much improved. He said he is confident that Iraqi forces will be able to defend the nation when U.S. troops begin withdrawing from combat areas.
"They take great pride that they are a professional force," Wittman said.
Military commanders are concerned, however, that there will be a surge of violence ahead of elections in Iraq, he said. The same goes for Afghanistan, he said. U.S. officials are concerned that the Afghan president, Hamid Karzai, has no opposition, he added.
Contact Tyler Whitley at (804) 649-6780 or twhitley@timesdispatch.com.
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