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Peace at any cost is a Prelude to War!
House may end contract for berets
By Rowan Scarborough
THE WASHINGTON TIMES
Some members of the House Armed Services Committee plan to try to block
the Army�s black beret handout this year through legislation canceling the
production contracts, a congressman said yesterday.
Rep. Roscoe G. Bartlett, Maryland Republican and an Armed Services
Committee member, said the move would come via an amendment to the 2002
defense budget bill written this summer, or in a stand-alone bill.
"I think there is a growing sentiment among our members that the Army is
in a very difficult situation," said Mr. Bartlett, who, like many other
lawmakers, is upset that more than 600,000 berets are being produced in
communist China. He said the Army was "politically incapable of doing the
right thing, which is to say we will cancel the black beret program."
"I would say there is a very high probability we will put something in
the bill on the berets," Mr. Bartlett said in an interview. "I would think it
would be to cancel the contracts of those made in China and not implement the
berets for Army-wide use."
His remarks came after the Armed Services Committee met behind closed
doors yesterday with Gen. Eric Shinseki, the Army chief of staff. Also
questioned was Lt. Gen. Henry T. Glisson, director of the Defense Logistics
Agency, which is buying nearly 4 million berets at up to $35 million for
virtually all Army soldiers.
It was not clear yesterday whether Congress could act quickly enough to
stop the Chinese production before the contract is fulfilled. China already
has delivered more than half of the 618,000 berets that the U.S. Army
ordered. Soldiers began receiving the new headgear this month. All are
scheduled to have the headgear by June, meaning congressional action to
rescind the program would result in troops exchanging the new berets for the
foldable green caps they replaced.
Gen. Shinseki announced in October he would put a beret on every soldier
as a symbol of the Army�s transformation into a lighter, more agile force for
the 21st century. Since then, the apparel decision has not gone as smoothly
as top Army officials predicted.
The special operations community erupted in anger, saying universal
berets cheapened the black berets given to elite Army Rangers, as well as
maroon berets for airborne troops and green berets for special forces.
Then, The Washington Times reported that the Defense Logistics Agency,
in order to meet Gen. Shinseki�s June 14 deadline for black berets for all
Army soldiers, had to award contracts to companies that operate low-wage
factories overseas, including in China.
To meet the deadline, the agency invoked a legally available waiver to a
federal law, known as the Berry Amendment, which requires U.S. military
uniforms to be made of American components in domestic factories.
The twin complications of soldier protests and a Chinese connection
prompted letters from lawmakers calling on President Bush, Defense Secretary
Donald H. Rumsfeld and Gen. Shinseki to cancel the program.
But the general stood firm and announced a compromise by which the
Rangers would switch from black to tan berets.
Mr. Bartlett described the sentiment of congressional members as, "I
don�t want to micromanage, but this is a mess." The congressman said he does
not know whether there are sufficient votes in committee to cancel the beret
program.
Committee member Rep. Duncan Hunter, California Republican, also has
been a critic of the Army�s beret decision. A spokesman said Mr. Hunter has
declined to comment but may have a statement later on the issue.
Senate Armed Services Chairman Sen. John W. Warner, Virginia Republican,
has called on the Army to suspend black beret handouts until a new civilian
secretary can review the program. The White House announced yesterday it
would nominate retired Brig. Gen. Thomas E. White as the next Army secretary.
He now faces a Senate confirmation hearing.
Congressional sources said Gen. Shinseki spent much of his briefing
yesterday justifying his beret decision. The sources said the witnesses
refrained from using the word "China" when discussing where 618,000 berets
were being made. Instead, they referred to the name of the British company
that operates the plant there.
"They never could have anticipated they would have to make these in
China at the same time they are holding 24 hostages," said Mr. Bartlett,
referring to China�s 12-day detention of 24 EP-3E American crew members on
Hainan island earlier this month.
More than 75 House members signed a letter to Mr. Rumsfeld last month
protesting the foreign purchases. U.S. apparel manufacturers contend they
could have competed for a larger share of the nearly 4 million berets if Gen.
Shinseki had not set such a tight deadline of June 14, the Army�s birthday
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