The Pentagon is speeding up life-saving military gear to troops in Afghanistan under a new "fast lane" system run a by a small group of senior Defense officials and put in place by then-Defense secretary Robert Gates.
The system is designed to get the military to move faster on equipment requested by battlefield commanders who say they need it to protect troops better. Among items fast-tracked are gunshot locators to find snipers, increased vehicle armor and underwear that helps protect troops from buried mine explosions.
Some delays are to be expected during wartime and cannot be helped, said Dakota Wood, a defense analyst at the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments, a non-partisan think tank. Battlefield needs and requests change continually, faster than a large bureaucracy like the Pentagon can respond.
"During a time of war, demand will always outstrip available supplies," Wood said. "You have good people trying to do the right things, but requests flow in continually, and they're all urgent."