Pentagon spokesman Geoff Morrell explains that the Defense Department budget is usually unaffected by fluctuations of the market as Congress has always supported the Department in passing their budget. (0:41)
Rep. Jane Harman (D-Cali.) says that women serving in the military are more likely to get raped by a fellow solider than killed by enemy fire in Iraq. Harman also said that 41 percent of female veterans said they were victims sexual assault and 29 percent said they were vicitims of rape. (0:42)
During a press briefing Pentagon spokesman Geoff Morrell says that any perception that the DoD or Army contractors are as “negligent” or “callous” as to allow the deaths of U.S. soldiers in Iraq due to electrocution is flat-out wrong. Morrell says that the DoD is concerned with the safety of U.S> soldiers. Sixteen U.S. soldiers have died in Iraq due to electrical accidents.
During a press breifing at the Pentagon, Defense Department spokesman Geoff Morrell says that the situation in Afghanistan is “not precarious, not urgent; the sky is not falling in Afghanistan,” and says that the strategic combat reserves will not be deployed to supplement troops in Afghanistan. (0:37)
During a press conference at the Pentagon, Secretary of Defense Robert Gates says that the Defense Department is working hard to find opportunities to send more troops to Afghanistan “sooner rather than later.” (0:50)
Admiral Mike Mullen, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, says that there can’t be discssion on the security of Afghanistan withou talking about Pakistan. He calls for a plan and strategy to deal with Pakistan. (0:33)
Gen. Lloyd Austin, Commander of Multinational Corps Iraq and second in command of U.S. forces there says that the coalition has been trying to fight currently battles while reducing the size of the force there as surge brigades leave. (0:46)
At a Senate Armed Services Committee meeting to discuss the acquisition of major weapons systems by the Department of Defense, Katherine Schinasi of the Government Accountability Office says that the DOD has “failed the war fighter” by delivering capability late and in fewer quantities than planned. She also said that when equipment is delivered, it is not what is needed for current operations. (0:18)
At a Senate Armed Services Committee meeting to discuss the acquisition of major weapons systems by the Department of Defense, Sen. Carl Levin (D-Mich.) says that DOD cost overruns happen because of “fundamental flaws that are built into our acquisitions system.” He said that DOD acquisition programs fail because of unreasonable cost and schedule estimates, unrealistic performance expectations, immature technologies, and costly changes to program requirements while they are in progress. (0:32)
The Senate Armed Services Committee held a meeting to discuss weapon acquisition programs in the U.S. Department of Defense. Chairman Carl Levin (D-Mich.) said that immature weapon expenditures have led to cost inefficiencies, and cited that nearly half of DOD’s 95 acquisition programs surpassed Congress’s cost growth standards and have exceeded their budgets by an average of 40 percent. He called for an independent cost assessment director in the DOD in order to ensure that budget decisions are “fair, unbiased, and reliable.”
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