Question about this whole body armor deal...

[KyuzoGator]

Reference this article:

http://snipurl.com/ohx1

According to this, there is a directive from the Pentagon stating that soldiers are forbidden from wearing commercial (read: police) body armor, and that those who have it must turn it in or face possible discipline.

I know first hand of a soldier in the Army who asked his father to send him a bulletproof vest in a care package because the Army wasn't providing them to his unit.

My question is this: If these soldiers surrender their commercial-grade body armor, does it entitle them to receive military-approved armor? The article is unclear on this.

Because it seems to me that the commercial armor is better than nothing.

[TaleWgnDg]

1. I've heard but cannot recall the source . . .

.

I've heard but cannot recall the source . . . could be PBS Lehrer's NewsHour (most likely) . . . that those who personally bought armor would be re-imbursed for costs. It was inferred that body armor is now available for our soldiers. I can easily concur w/ the military's position because police armor isn't up-to-date and I would suppose that something bought commercially may not be up-to-date as well.

I go along with this announcement by the military, that is, if the military has body armor for all, particularly those who may be discipled for wearing other body armor.

___________________________

edited to add: It took our military THREE YEARS PLUS to do this? Unconscionable. How many of our soldiers have been maimed and killed in the interim?

[KyuzoGator]

2. Exactly, I only agree with the policy if there's plenty of approved armor.

Otherwise, let these guys at least wear something.

[Ian David]

3. They won't even give them water that doesn't have human shit in it

[ChristianLibrul]

4. Body armor

GIs get kevlar vests which have a fairly short shelf life because wearing them causes the kevlar layers to rub against each other and degrade rather rapidly.

They also get--when the Pentagon gets around to it--the Interceptor vests rated to stop more projectiles, including the 7.62X39 AKM ammo--if it hits the chest plate. And even then, a center-of-mass hit can mess you up badly, even stop your heart. These are the vests that GIs didn't get until recently. GIs and/or their families bought these for upwards of $1300 and more until recently.

These two vests are expected to protect the wearer from shrapnel and pistol bullets, not rifle/machine gun bullets. And they only protect center-of-mass and a similar area in back.

Dragon Skin, worn by the Secret Service, is lighter, more flexible (and therefore comfortable), and provides wraparound protection at the same rate as, or higher than, issued vests. GIs want this because it's better than what they're issued, so they buy it.

For the record, from the very beginning of this stupidass war, GIs were issued many poor items, including boots, ammo pouches, pistol holsters and magazines, radios and weapon lubricant, even uniforms, among other things, that either were inappropriate in, or just didn't work in, the desert. If they could get them at all. Again from the beginning, they bought their own stuff from such places as US Cavalry since Dumsfeld and his boys issued so little of anything, much less items that worked. GIs bought radios from Radio Shack since their "walki-talkies" simply didn't work.

They also were ordered to use only LSA weapons lubricant. Now, LSA is the finest lube in the world--if you're not in the desert. It was universally known during Gulf War I that LSA attracted sand dust (it's like baby powder) and made a nice paste that clogged rifles and machine guns.

At the very beginning of Gulf War II, GIs discovered MiliTech lube which does not bond with sand dust, and ordered it from home. Problem was, it was a commerical product, and Dumsfeld already had warehouses full of LSA that had to be used up and replaced under contracts.

It's about money. GIs must use what makes Bush's friends, and their high-ranking whores in the Pentagon, money.

[KyuzoGator]

5. So typical...the president's personal bodyguards get better than soldiers.

Perhaps if the soldiers weren't in Iraq, Bush's bodyguards wouldn't have to be so well-protected.

[Earth_First]

6. 9 Military Generals are currently using Dragon Skin body armor

Currently nine US generals stationed in Afghanistan are reportedly wearing Pinnacle Dragon Skin body armor, according to company spokesman Paul Chopra. Chopra, a retired Army chief warrant officer and 20+-year pilot in the famed 160th "Nightstalkers" Special Operations Aviation Regiment (Airborne), said his company was merely told the generals wanted to "evaluate" the body armor in a combat environment. Chopra said he did not know the names of the general officers wearing the Dragon Skin.

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/printer_011606S.shtml

It's good enough for the 0-grade, however the enlisted soldiers are forbotten. :shrug:

:sigh:

edit: url