Equipment, stockpiles wear thin in Iraq [View All]

[Barrett808]

WASHINGTON - The Army's Bradley fighting vehicles and M1 Abrams tanks are eating up the tracks they run on at an astounding rate in Iraq.

Humvee tires are wearing out much more quickly as well, and harsh desert conditions are taking a toll on helicopter blades and engines.

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"The cost is in the billions. We ate up our stockpiles," Kern said at a recent Pentagon briefing.

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"Soldiers' quality of life is less than adequate overall. We have guys living in tents in the dirt. The units on the ground are living hard; others are living in air-conditioned palaces," said Maj. Gen. Chris Christianson, the new chief of Army logistics, who was on the staff of Lt. Gen. Dave McKiernan, the ground commander in Iraq during the war.

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