DEFENCE MEDIA RELEASE
Issued by Ministerial Support and Public Affairs, Department of Defence, Canberra, ACT
Phone: 02 6127 1999, Fax: 02 6265 1545
MSPA 147/10
Thursday, 6 May 2010
Defence rejects media reports on clothing and equipment
The Chief of Army, Lieutenant General Ken Gillespie and Chief Executive Officer of
Defence Materiel Organisation (DMO), Dr Stephen Gumley strongly reject claims in
today’s press alleging wide spread issues with soldiers' combat clothing and
equipment.
The allegations concern the acquisition process within Defence for the procurement of
clothing and equipment, also claiming that Army has not dealt with issues of concern,
placing soldiers at risk.
"I want to reassure our soldiers, their families and the Australian public, that the
inferences in this article are not accurate. Indeed in nearly a decade of warfighting
our training and our equipment have protected our people and saved many lives,” said
General Gillespie.
Both General Gillespie and Dr Gumley openly reject the claim that ‘hundreds of
complaints by soldiers about their gear have not been acted on by the Defence
bureaucracy’ as simply unfounded.
“Since the 2006 Clothing Review, Defence has supplied approximately five million
items of clothing and personal equipment each year ranging from buttons and
bootlaces to body armour. All soldiers have the ability to report on their equipment
and from January 2007 there have been 59 Reports on Defective or Unsatisfactory
Materiel (RODUMs) on personal combat equipment including load carriage
equipment, body armour and boots from the Middle East Area of Operations.
Contrary to today’s, article all of these have been acted upon,” Dr Gumley said.
General Gillespie said to maintain the ongoing safety and quality of our combat
equipment and clothing, Army works closely with the DMO to respond to complaints
and to continuously review the clothing and equipment needs of our personnel.
“An inquiry held into the death of Corporal Mathew Hopkins, found that the gunshot
wound Corporal Hopkins sustained was fatal and that the body armour worn by
Corporal Hopkins was not a contributing factor in his death.
“Contrary to media reports, Army has responded to feedback from soldiers deployed
on operations, and I can advise that a decision was made at a specifically convened
Army battle worthiness board to increase the modularity of the currently used Body
Armour System by providing the option for a lighter ballistic plate.
DEFENCE MEDIA RELEASE
Issued by Ministerial Support and Public Affairs, Department of Defence, Canberra, ACT
Phone: 02 6127 1999, Fax: 02 6265 1545
“Trials of this new equipment are currently underway and shows that Defence is both
responsive to and treats seriously issues raised by our deployed soldiers.” said
General Gillespie.
"There is no more important task for DMO than to ensure the provision of safe, fit for
purpose, high quality clothing and personal equipment to the men and women of the
ADF. Soldiers are able to raise equipment concerns through a well-established
reporting process. Where issues are identified, these are acted upon swiftly,” said Dr
Gumley.
Soldiers across Army are strongly encouraged to raise any concerns through their
chain of command, the Regimental Sergeant Major of the Army or defective or
unsatisfactory materiel reports. This feedback is used to identify defective items as
well as to provide suggestions for capability enhancements. Furthermore, operational
commanders are routinely posted from the field back into the Army and Defence
Headquarters in order to ensure that their expertise is captured and for them to shape
Army’s current and future equipment and training requirements.
The procurement of clothing and equipment underwent significant reform as a result
of the 2006 ADF Clothing Review. The review made 29 recommendations along five
themes of organisational reform, governance and probity, business process, industry
and commerce and involvement of the Defence Science and Technology Organisation
(DSTO). These recommendations have all been implemented over the last couple of
years.
Clothing procurement reforms have included greater procurement planning, inventory
management and staff training to broaden and deepen staff technical and core skills.
These actions ensure the men and women of the ADF receive the highest standard
clothing and equipment available.
The ADF provides safe, fit for purpose, high quality clothing and personal equipment
to the men and women of the Australian Defence Force,” said General Gillespie.
Media contact: Defence Media Liaison: (02) 6127 1999 or 0408 498 664
NEWS 
