Soldiers Properly Equipped, General Tells Jon Stewart

By Justin Kendall

In case you missed it, here’s the video of the Daily Show episode with Lt. General William B. Caldwell, commander of the Combined Arms Center at Fort Leavenworth. Caldwell tiptoed around political questions and defended the “dull” Army field manual that he helped author. When Stewart asked if the stories about soldiers not getting the body armor they need, Caldwell said he could only speak about his 13 months in Iraq.

“Every soldier was able to get what he or she needed to in order to properly prosecute their mission,” Caldwell said. “I never saw an instance where somebody did not have the equipment they needed.”

The seven-minute interview also touches on Caldwell’s “clenched fist,” the lack of an “explicit mission” and Stewart’s desire to topple a country.