The top
Republican and Democrat on the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs are
demanding more information from defense Secretary Chuck Hagel about lost Army field
records from the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, the subject of a ProPublica investigation last year.
In an unusually detailed letter sent Friday to Hagel, Reps.
Jeff Miller, R-Fla., and Michael Michaud, D-Maine, said the Defense
Department’s response to an earlier request about why records are missing —
and what the military is doing about it — didn’t go far enough.
“Congress
must have a clear understanding of the extent of the lost records in order to
safeguard the best interests of our service members and veterans,’’ the letter
says.
The 12 questions
posed to Hagel in the letter focus largely on the Army because it has the
largest records deficit. Among other things, the congressmen want to know what
happened to operational records for the 1st Armored Division and the
82nd Airborne Division and what is being done to reconstruct them.
In
November, ProPublica and the Seattle Times reported that they were among
numerous Army units that had lost or failed to keep battlefield records as
required, making it harder for some veterans to obtain benefits and for
historians to recount what actually happened.
“Operational
records can be used to track the history of our nation’s military, plan for
future operations and support innovative medical research,’’ Miller and Michaud
wrote to Hagel.
In
addition to chairing the veterans’ panel, Miller sits on the House Armed
Services Committee, which has direct oversight responsibility for the Defense
Department and service branches.
The department
did not return a phone call seeking comment.
