The mother of a fallen soldier from Bay Shore is fighting the military to ensure all soldiers have a potentially life-saving tool.

Dorine Kenney, whose son was one of the first American soldiers to be killed in Iraq, says she recently learned that not all American troops have access to blood-clotting bandages. Kenney says she received an e-mail from an Army commander now serving in Iraq saying his unit needed 500 units of the special bandages, which he said the chain of command was struggling to purchase.

Kenney says she has made it her mission to get the bandages and recently sent 400 units to the commander. She says she used to believe the military did the best for her son, but now she questions whether the bandages could have saved his life after a roadside bombing.

An Army spokeswoman says enough bandages have been issued for the 95,000 soldiers currently serving in Iraq, but would not speculate if they have been distributed to each of them. Army officials also say they have changed their policies less than a week ago so that each field medic will carry five of the clotting bandages. Every soldier will personally carry one packet.