I'll believe Teddy is the soldier's friend when I see him on Fox introducing a bill to buy more ASV's, Dingos, Scarabs, RG-31's, and MLV's
Posted on 03/28/2004 6:54:37 AM PST by Cannoneer No. 4
Edited on 03/28/2004 7:06:32 AM PST by Admin Moderator. [history]
Soldiers in Afghanistan, Iraq need twice as many such vehicles, officials say
FORT POLK, La. - When soldiers of the Army's 1st Infantry Division rolled into Iraq several weeks ago, they lacked enough armored Humvees for everyone. So, like the soldiers in other units, some of them had to stack sandbags behind the Humvees' front seats - an all-but-useless way to fend off the bullets and roadside bombs that have killed scores of U.S. troops. [emphasis Cannoneer's]
One year after U.S. troops invaded Iraq, soldiers are coursing through dusty country roads and teeming city streets without adequate armor protection. Troops in Iraq and Afghanistan are equipped with roughly 2,300 armored Humvees - only about half as many as commanders say are needed to guard against the roadside bombs that have become the insurgents' deadly weapon of choice.
(Excerpt) Read more at baltimoresun.com ...
Of interest, Dov Zakheim Comptroller for DoD resigned this week effective 4/15/04. He had been telling congress and the public that plant production was running 24x7 since November which was false with a capital F.
There is enough incompetence to go around on this matter for two administrations and the Dept. of the Army to all have a big slice.
I would conclude that in the last two weeks, Mass. has had 3 KIAs, all Marines killed in humvees by various combat means. Perhaps some on this post think that saying this is a bash on Bush, but last I looked, our troops there were Americans that deserve our total and unequivocal support.
In conclusion here are the month since the insurgents war began. Perhaps someday we can equip our troops to fight it,
May, June, July, August, September, October, November, December, January, February, March ....
That's a question for a General, and I was only a Sergeant.
I'll take a swing at it anyway. Give the first armored vehicles to the guys who are doing the patrolling in the hot areas.
Armor the rest as fast as you can.
"When you send a man to war, if all you have to equip him with is a pile of rocks, you OWE him every rock in the pile." (G. Gordon Liddy)
That ain't right! We OWE our boys our best and this ain't it.
If I had my way, armor kits would be flying to Iraq non-stop.
After that all Humvees would be retro-fitted. To hell with milage, a fighting man is harder to replace than any amount of fuel.
Exaggeration, exaggeration, exaggeration, exaggeration...
Leftist blah, blah, blah, blah...
Define improperly equipped.
Who determines what equipment is proper? You? Teddy Kennedy? The Boston Globe?
There is such a thing as a Table of Organization and Equipment (TOE) or Modified Table of Organization and Equipment (MTOE). Every tactical unit in the Army has one, and it is the basis for determining what equipment a unit will have. Each type of unit is equipped pretty much the same as all other units of the same size and type. Most units have to be able to deploy anywhere in the world and take their equipment with them, and they are supposed to be able to accomplish their primary mission with that equipment.
I contend that almost all the active Army units who were authorized M1114 Up Armored Humvees last year had them. Most National Guard units did not. That was nothing new. The National Guard's requisitions are almost always filled after the active Army gets theirs. There is really only two ways to issue equipment. Come up with a fielding plan and prioritze who will get it first, or don't issue at all until you have enough for everybody.
The shortage of Up Armored Humvees is as much an MP shortage as an equipment shortage. The M1114 is an MP and scout vehicle. We have tankers, infantrymen, artillerymen, combat engineers and all kinds of other soldiers and units tasked to act as MP's. The MP ride is mine protected. The acting MP's want protection, too. That's natural. Many of them came out of M1's and Bradleys and M113's and feel naked.
Rich as America is, and as much as we love our troops, no army in the history of the world has ever attempted to provide every third soldier with an air conditioned armored limousine. That is all an M1114 is really. It is just a five-quarter with ballistic panels and bulletproof glass installed afterwards. It is not a purpose-built mine protected vehicle. It does not have the V-shaped, blast deflecting hull and other features that purpose-built mine protected vehicles have. It is better than an unarmored vehicle, but not as good as many other vehicles we could be buying.
There is a principal of war called economy of force. Force protection is part of that, but so is accepting risk in one area by prioritizing resources to concentrate in another. We started using M1114's in Kosovo, where force protection was the primary mission because there was nothing in Kosovo worth an American soldier's life. We are fighting a war in Iraq. Force protection is important, but it is not the most important thing. There are times in war when accomplishing the mission adversely affects the welfare of the troops.
There is an agenda at work here. The objective is to convince the mothers of America that soldiers are entitled to a level of protection that cannot always and sometimes should not be provided. What better way to cripple a war effort than to demoralize the troops and their families by convincing them that it is beyond the call of duty to ride in an unarmored vehicle?
On the subject of body armor, Since the Defense Dept. is buying 100% of all armor made that meets Mil Spec, you have to wonder just what these people are getting for their money.
I'll believe Teddy is the soldier's friend when I see him on Fox introducing a bill to buy more ASV's, Dingos, Scarabs, RG-31's, and MLV's
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