By Bill Raack, KWMU
St. Louis – U.S. Senator Jim Talent, R-Mo., says he can confirm the concerns of some soldiers in Iraq that they don't have enough armor for protection from insurgent attacks.
Talent returned from the Middle East this week. He spent seven days in Israel and Iraq, meeting with political and military officials.
Talent sits on the Senate Armed Services Committee. He says the Pentagon has failed to fulfill armored vehicle requirements for troops in Iraq.
"They are jury-rigging armor themselves," Talent said. "They showed me what they're doing. They bolt extra armor onto the old trucks and it does provide some protection for them but it's not as good as a new, up-armored Humvee. Now, I didn't know they were getting them out of scrap heaps. I didn't ask them where they were getting the stuff but the American soldier is very ingenious."
Talent says morale among troops is pretty good despite some delays in rotations home.