U.S. Troop Tasks in Iraq Spur Complaints
Missouri’s governor and its National Guard leader raised concerns Tuesday that some service personnel in Iraq were improperly being used as drivers for civilian supply contractors.
In a letter to President Bush, Democratic Gov. Bob Holden complained that members of the Guard’s 1221st Transportation Company were being directed to drive vehicles for contractors of KBR, a subsidiary of Halliburton Co.
Holden asked Bush to look into the matter, saying that the soldiers’ lives were being put at risk.
“Soldiers of a transportation company are used to riding with soldiers next to them who are armed,” Missouri National Guard adjutant general, Brig. Gen. Dennis Shull, said in an interview. “They are battle buddies” in case of an attack.
“My concern is if they’re riding next to a civilian who is unarmed and untrained, that is a whole different circumstance,” Shull said.
White House spokesman Jim Morrell confirmed the receipt of Holden’s letter but referred questions to the military’s public affairs office in Baghdad, citing troop assignments as an “operational decision.”
Coalition spokesman Capt. Patrick Swan said in a telephone interview from Baghdad that he was aware of the governor’s concerns but did not have an immediate comment.
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