From: "Richard" Sent: Wednesday, May 02, 2001 7:22 AM Subject: Pentagon dumps Chinese berets -- The Washington Times
Michigan Libertarian
http://washingtontimes.com/national/20010502-54122440.htm
Pentagon dumps Chinese berets By Rowan Scarborough THE WASHINGTON TIMES
Gen. Eric Shinseki, the Army chief of staff, reversed policy last night and= said his soldiers will not wear any of about 618,000 black berets being ma= de in a low-wage factory in communist China. Top Stories
Faced with mounting criticism from Congress, Deputy Defense Secretary Paul = Wolfowitz said he was directing the military to reclaim issued berets from = the troops.
"The Army chief of staff has determined the U.S. troops shall not wear bere= ts made in China or berets made with Chinese content," Mr. Wolfowitz said i= n a statement last night. "Therefore, I direct the Army and the Defense Log= istics Agency (DLA) to take appropriate action to recall previously distrib= uted berets and dispose of the stock."
In another move yesterday, the Pentagon acknowledged to The Washington Time= s that it had canceled contracts with three other companies for more than 1= .5 million foreign-made black berets due to poor workmanship and tardy deli= veries.
A DLA spokeswoman said yesterday that the three contracts canceled on Monda= y were for berets from Romania, South Africa and India. She said the deals = were terminated due to late deliveries and substandard work.
Mr. Wolfowitz=B4s one-sentence statement did not say why the Pentagon was r= ejecting the $4 million worth of Chinese-made berets after receiving about = half of the order from the plant four months ago.
But the Army and Pentagon had been under intense criticism in Congress -- a= nd faced ridicule in the media -- for having part of the Army uniform made = in a country that has threatened the United States with military strikes, h= as held hostage the crew of a downed U.S. reconnaissance plane, and could o= ne day be fighting with American troops over Taiwan.
The Army also released a statement last night saying Gen. Shinseki intends = to continue his policy, announced in October, of issuing a black beret to v= irtually every soldier and will try to meet his June 14 deadline.
Mr. Wolfowitz said the soldiers would not wear berets with "Chinese content= ." This means the DLA may also have to dispose of all 240,000 berets made i= n Sri Lanka since they contain Chinese leather.
Adding to the anger over the beret buy is the fact the Pentagon waived a "b= uy American" law and contracted for most of 4.7 million berets with compani= es operating Third World factories.
The no-Chinese-beret decision came on the eve of testimony today by Gen. Sh= inseki and top Pentagon officials before the House Small Business Committee= .
A House Armed Services Committee report obtained by The Times charged that = the Pentagon sidestepped a key provision of the law it must meet before awa= rding clothing contracts to overseas plants.
The Army=B4s desire to have soldiers making the symbolic uniform change by = June 14, the service=B4s birthday, forced the DLA to waive the "buy America= n" law.
In a House floor speech before Gen. Shinseki=B4s order last night, Rep. Wal= ter B. Jones Jr., North Carolina Republican and House Armed Services Commit= tee member, called on the Army to terminate the entire beret program.
"The bottom line is that we have troops without adequate ammunition and pil= ots who can=B4t fly because of a lack of funds, so why in the world would t= he Army spend $23 million to change the color of a hat on the whim of one g= eneral?" said Mr. Jones.
"The decision regarding the change from folding green hats to black berets = appears to be dying a slow death," Mr. Jones added. "The time to bring an e= nd to this ill-fated decision has come."
Besides the "buy American" issue, the Army caught flak from special operati= ons soldiers for giving the Rangers=B4 exclusive black beret to nearly ever= y soldier. Gen. Shinseki eventually compromised by authorizing Rangers to w= ear tan berets, after President Bush told Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsf= eld to review the matter.
Sen. Christopher S. Bond, Missouri Republican, aid yesterday he has won a = commitment from the Pentagon that future beret replacements will be U.S.-ma= de.
"They have to replenish the supplies of berets repeatedly as they go forwar= d and they=B4re saying they are going to establish a network of small busin= ess-based providers who will be offered opportunities to make replacements,= " said Craig Orfield, Mr. Bond=B4s spokesman.
Mr. Orfield said the agreement was reached in a meeting between staffers fo= r the Senate Small Business Committee, which Mr. Bond heads, and two senior= officials: Lt. Gen. Henry T. Glisson, the DLA=B4s director, and David Oliv= er, acting undersecretary of defense for acquisition, technology and logist= ics.
The spokesman also said the two agreed that future waivers of the federal "= Berry Amendment," which requires American military uniforms to be made in t= he United States, will need the undersecretary=B4s approval.
"Waiving the Berry Amendment is a sensitive issue that is not routine," Mr.= Bond said. "It is a decision to be made by senior officials who answer to = the Congress. It should not be delegated to lower-level staff not fully ver= sed in the broader implications of such a step."