[Dr. Scarpetta]

Army Spc. Murphy's reserve unit, which initially had no modern jackets, was eventually given some Interceptor vests weeks after they arrived in Iraq, but even then the new vests were missing the essential ceramic plates.

That is when Mrs. Werfelman went out and bought some plates for $650 — more than her weekly salary — and sent them to her son so he'd have basic protection.

Workers at one armor company she called said that they had been deluged with calls from parents trying to buy vests and plates for their sons and daughters overseas.

[scan59]

I remember being issued the heavy, old style flak jacket for training and manuvers, and then being told that if this was a real situation they really wouldn't do us any good.

Protection against shrapnel, not bullets.

[liberty or death]

The answer to the question is YES. I would spend 10 times that amount on a good BPJ for each of my 4 sons if they were over there.
The truth is we should be flattening the areas that are producing the terrorist bombers and snipers. If we anihilate an area each time it happens than the people living there will start killing and stopping the terrorist before he starts.

[MD_Willington_1976]

http://www.bulletproofme.com/Body_Armor_Accessories_RIFLE_Protection.shtml

http://www.bulletproofme.com/TACTICAL_Body_Armor.shtml#Military-Tactical-Vest

Military OTV – OuterTactical Vest $790 here
Fragmentation Level PASGT Vest $195

[AdamSelene235]

Hell, every citizen should own a battle rifle and a IIIA vest.

Guess we are too busy buying pills for granny and sending money to Africa to bother protecting our troops.

The money went sent to African dictators for their alleged HIV problems would have bought 1.6 million vests.

[LADY J]

How many vests and plates could be bought with the pay raises the House and Senate gave themselves? Someone should ask them!

[Sender]

It's a shame we don't provide these as essential equipment.

This site has the body armor Israelis depend on for sale.

[madison10]

Its' disgraceful that our military cannot supply their own with the necessary protection! Where is all the money going?

[armymarinemom]

It is a shame but soldier and their families provide a lot of the gear. We have gought extra armour, retractable locking baton, extra mag leg gear, and gloves.
We have one strange looking Christmas wish list.

[Alberta's Child]

If I ever found myself in a situation like this where I was certain that Uncle Sam wasn't providing me with a vital piece of equipment, I'd be AWOL in about five minutes.

[BlueElephant]

This is incredible! We have the best military in the world and our troops who are fighting for us should have the best possible equipment.

[chuknospam]

I too would purchase the neccessary body armor then deduct %100 of the cost from my income tax.

[El Gato]

Like many other U.S. service members in Iraq, her son was given a Vietnam-era flak jacket that cannot stop the type of weapons used today.

The Iraqies don't have any weapons the VC and NVA didn't have. The flak jacket wouldn't stop them then either. The Iraqies use the same gun firing the same catridge, AFAIK as the VC/NVA did(it's possible they've switched to the AK-74, which fires a smaller diameter round, with ballistics similar to the M-16's 5.56mm round).

[Tatze]

As I understand the issue, the problem isnt cost, its availability. Typically, one company makes the vests. The Pentagon now has three companies working overtime to make them, but still only put out about 15,000 a month. So its going to take a little time to completely outfit 150,000 troops.

[Thud]

ping

[xsrdx]

ARMY, MARINES RUSH BODY ARMOR TO COMBAT ZONES

[sasafras]

We dont need to give them these vests, no way we should instead spend the money on illegal alien benefits here. I mean why give to the men and women fighting and dieing for us, it would be much better to spend it on the illegals who come across the border and steal our cars, rape our women, and sell their drugs. These are the real heros in our society - to hell with armed forces, screw them and give it all to the illegals who hate us anyway. Lets get a petition going to send to Congress - I bet we could get at least 1-2 million signatures. Welcome to bizarro world - where right is wrong and wrong is right.