Armed Forces: Stripped & Shortchanged

Under heated Washington discussion last week was an inch-thick report stamped "Secret." Written after a six-month investigation by the Senate's Preparedness subcommittee, headed by Mississippi Democrat John Stennis, the report is highly critical of the U.S. Army's supply and equipment situation.

Many of the Army's 16 active divisions, the report says, have been stripped of certain categories of existing equipment and shortchanged on new gear because Viet Nam, understandably, gets top priority. As a result, there are "significant" shortages compounded by problems of equipment obsolescence.

While there is "no evidence of any significant or serious shortages in Viet Nam itself," said...