As some readers may have heard, in January my
battalion was issued substandard equipment for our deployment to
Afghanistan. Originally, we were issued M-16s rather than M-4 carbines,
rifles with shorter barrels and collapsible butt stocks. As a
politically active member of the battalion, I began to get in touch
with Representative DeLauro and Representative Simmons, who both
responded quickly and enthusiastically. Senator Dodd also responded
quickly and gave me prompts on how to further validate my request for
weapons.

However, I did not receive a response from Senator
Lieberman's office. I continued to leave messages for both him and his
military aide, now senior counselor, Fred Downey, who represented Sen.
Lieberman at the Battalion's send off ceremony on Jan. 4. After several
messages, I finally received a return phone call. However, I was not
met with the same enthusiasms expressed by other legislators; I was
immediately confronted with an inquisition that seemed to have the
purpose of dispelling the belief that the battalion was ill equipped.
Rather than listen to our specific concerns, the "benefits" of the M16
were highlighted and the advantages of the M4 were downplayed.

Lieberman's
office left the impression that they believed we had the equipment we
needed, despite the contrasting beliefs of soldiers in my battalion,
some who have been on as many as five deployments. The others in
Washington were not so quick to abandon us.