My guess is that you could probably find true examples where US soldiers and their Coalition partners are without needed or desired equipment. I was aware of some issues when I was in a position to know first hand.
However Team Infidel is quite right about cases where the equipment is in fact supplied but soldiers turn their noses up at it and look for better stuff locally or O/S and pool money together from the section or platoon and order it in privately - sometimes from approved funds up the C of C.
Either way, I would want to know why SGT HESS placed the order, and if it was another case of wanting better stuff rather than not having the stuff, BEFORE I turned into a Left-Wing Troll taking a huge dunk on the President of the United States. The soldiers have my sympathy having had to sleep in not nice places for months on end myself but I never contemplated sending poison letters to PM's Howard or Blair or Mr. Bush.