Lack of cold-weather gear was one of the concerns listed by U.S. Rep. Ed Case, D-Hawai'i, in a letter he sent yesterday to Maj. Gen. Bob Lee, head of the Guard in Hawai'i, asking the general to check into the matter.

Case also told Lee that family members of some of the Hawai'i soldiers who are training at Fort Bliss, Texas, for deployment to Iraq a few months from now have questioned what they believe is a lack of live ammunition during target practice as well as a lack of mission-specific training.

In his letter to Lee, Case said family members told him soldiers from Hawai'i assigned to maintenance units have not had adequate training for maintenance of vehicles and tanks in a desert environment.

Maj. Chuck Anthony, a spokesman for the Hawai'i Army National Guard, said most of the Hawai'i citizen soldiers have already been issued cold-weather clothing and that those who have not been issued the gear will be getting it shortly.

"Between Dec. 10 and 19, the brigade should be receiving much of the equipment they've been talking about," Anthony said. He said he did not know how many of the Hawai'i soldiers do not already have the complete set of cold-weather gear.

The items expected to arrive soon include silk long underwear and black fleece bibs. Anthony said the bibs are similar to vests the soldiers can strap on under their overcoats to help keep warm.

Morale called low

Case included in the letter he sent to Lee a copy of an article published in The Advertiser Nov. 27, which Case said "outlines reasons for low morale among activated troops, including the belief that a lack of proper training and equipment will cause an unnecessary increase in the unit's casualty rate."

"Training for any war is difficult, and especially so given the harsh and unique conditions of Iraq and Afghanistan, which I have reviewed personally. It is also to be expected that preparation for actual deployment and combat conditions is highly stressful for any troops," Case said in the letter.

"However, the circumstances my constituents have relayed from family members actually in the field certainly raises concerns that the conditions under which our guard and reservists are training go beyond what is to be expected and may not be adequately preparing and equipping them for what they are about to face. I would greatly appreciate your review of these concerns at your earliest opportunity and your response. If you believe my assistance is needed in Congress or otherwise to correct any deficiencies in training and equipment for our Hawai'i troops, please be very sure of my commitment to do what is necessary," Case wrote.

Reason for harshness

Anthony said that some training conditions, such as lack of sleep, are in fact harsh, but are designed so soldiers will experience situations they are likely to face when they arrive in Iraq or Afghanistan.

While Gen. Lee has visited twice with the Hawai'i National Guard members and heard their concerns, lack of cold-weather gear and insufficient training were not among them, Anthony said.

"It wasn't like there was a litany of problems, it was just the normal things that have to do with soldiers going off to training," Anthony said.

For example, some of the concerns Lee learned about during his visits to Texas had to do with the training there being largely repetitive of the training the Guard troops already received in Hawai'i, Anthony said.

Dissatisfaction with training efforts and lack of cold-weather gear were not brought up through the chain of command, Anthony said.

"Nonetheless, the leadership here is very, very much involved in making sure our soldiers are taken care of," Anthony said. "We will pull, push and prod until we get a resolution if there are these shortfalls."

Case, meanwhile, said he expected to hear back from Lee sometime today.

He said he had not talked directly to soldiers who have concerns about their training but had heard "anecdotally" from the soldiers' relatives.

Case said there was "a pattern" in the concerns directed to his office that had to do with "the adequacy of training."

"None of the Guard and reserves are happy about spending time away from friends and families. But these have gone past generic to more specific," Case said. "When there starts to be a pattern, you get concerned it is a broader problem."

On-site visits

Case went to Iraq a year ago and just got back from Afghanistan.

"There is no question and no doubt that troops that went into Iraq ... weren't getting enough body armor, warm-weather gear, ammunition and armor on their personnel carriers. That has been a long-standing concern in Iraq," Case said.

Case said he gets periodic briefings from "the top brass in D.C.," but said there is "nothing that replaces having the personal contact with the troops."

He said he does not want to overreact to concerns and conclude that there is a systematic problem.

"I believe, I know Gen. Lee and he wants the best for our Hawai'i troops, and he will get to the bottom of this," Case said.

Wendell Hosea, 56, is concerned about the conditions his son, 2nd Lt. Kawika Hosea, 22, is facing while training in White Sands, N.M.

"The training over there is excessive," Hosea said. "They have had two months of continual training. They are running them excessively and no down time to deal with training. Many are at the brink of exhaustion."

Hosea, who was an officer in the Army during the Vietnam era, said his son told him National Guard soldiers are considering buying their own body armor, at between $900 and $1,400 each, because they haven't been issued protective vests yet.

"They are told that whatever they will get (from the National Guard), will be inadequate," Hosea said.

In a letter dated Dec. 1, U.S. Sen. Daniel Akaka, D-Hawai'i, told Hosea he was looking into his concerns and had contacted Gen. Lee about them.

Akaka said a measure passed by Congress this year calls for the reimbursement of military people who purchase their own body armor.