Subject: RELEASE: Senator Clinton Calls on Pentagon to Report on Its Response to Deficient Kevlar Helmets
From: "Clinton, Press Office (Clinton)" <[email-masked]>
Date: Thu, 7 Feb 2008 17:47:21 -0500

For Immediate Release

February 7, 2008

Contact:

Clinton Press Office 202-224-2243 or 

[email-masked]

 

SENATOR CLINTON CALLS ON PENTAGON TO REPORT ON ITS RESPONSE TO DEFICIENT
KEVLAR HELMETS

Troops May Have Been Put at Risk by Inadequate Armor

WASHINGTON, DC - Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton today called on the
Pentagon to report on its response to allegations that as many as 2.2
million Kevlar helmets given to U.S. troops have been substandard and
inadequate. In a letter to Defense Secretary Robert Gates, Senator
Clinton expressed great concern that troops in the field may have been
put at risk by deficient equipment produced for the military by a
manufacturer that has agreed to settle a $159 million lawsuit brought by
the Department of Justice over the faulty helmets. Despite the lawsuit,
the Pentagon recently awarded the same manufacturer a new $74 million
contract for more helmets.

"Providing military equipment for our men and women in uniform is a
public trust and it is reprehensible when any contractor betrays that
trust.  We need to insure that our men and women and uniform have the
best equipment possible.  That's why I've previously joined with Senator
Webb to insure that the Army conducts testing for body armor to make
sure our troops have the best possible protection and it's why I am
asking the Department of Defense to respond to these disturbing
reports," said Senator Clinton. 

According to press reports, a Kevlar helmet manufacturer was sued by the
Department of Justice for producing up to 2.2 million deficient helmets
for the military. Whistleblowers from within the company accused the
manufacturer of shortchanging the armor in the helmets, rendering troops
more vulnerable to injury from shrapnel and other projectiles. The
company recently settled the suit for $2 million without admitting
wrongdoing. Nonetheless, the Pentagon awarded the same manufacturer a
major new contract to produce new helmets.

From her position on the Senate Armed Services Committee, Senator
Clinton has worked for years to address the problem of inadequate body
armor for U.S. troops. She has urged the Pentagon to provide additional
body armor as quickly as possible to troops in Iraq and Afghanistan, and
called for an Armed Services Committee hearing to investigate the
situation and for a Government Accountability Office (GAO) investigation
to focus on how the Pentagon's procurement decisions were made for this
equipment. When reports emerged suggesting that there may be better body
armor available on the market than the Interceptor Body Armor system our
men and women in uniform are being issued, Senator Clinton joined with
Senator Jim Webb of Virginia to request that the GAO reassess the
effectiveness and reliability of all the body armor systems currently
being issued by the military services and Special Operations Command.
This ongoing reassessment will also determine what steps should be taken
to ensure that the Pentagon is procuring and fielding only the best body
armor for our troops. 

 

The text of Senator Clinton's letter is below:

 

February 7, 2008

The Honorable Robert M. Gates

Secretary of Defense

The United States Department of Defense

The Pentagon

Suite 319

Washington, D.C. 20301

Dear Mr. Secretary:

I am writing to express my concern regarding recent news reports that a
Department of Defense (DoD) contractor has been failing to meet the
government's "critical" minimum standard in the production of Kevlar for
helmets issued to servicemen and women, including those who have
deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan.  According to the reports, the
contractor, Sioux Manufacturing, agreed to pay $2 million to settle a
lawsuit brought by the Department of Justice.  

I am particularly concerned that these reports implied that while the
Department of Justice led investigative efforts, the Department of
Defense took a less active role in investigating the allegations of
substandard manufacturing on the part of Sioux Manufacturing.  For this
reason, I request that you provide my staff with information regarding
DoD's efforts to investigate the allegations raised by former employees
of Sioux Manufacturing to ensure that helmets issued to our soldiers
meet critical minimum safety standards.

We have a solemn obligation to provide our brave men and women in
uniform with the finest equipment available, particularly when they are
being sent into harm's way.  Perhaps nothing is more important for our
servicemembers than body armor and helmets of the highest quality.  I
have been pushing for improved body armor for our troops for more than
two years, and while progress has been made, there is clearly much more
to be done.

Thank you for your prompt consideration of my request and I look forward
to hearing back from you on this critical issue.      

Sincerely,

Hillary Rodham Clinton

 

cc:  John J. Young, Jr., Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition,
Technology and Logistics

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