Armor shortfall hits U.S. troops

The Washington Times ^ | 14 OCT 03 | ASSOCIATED PRESS

[.cnI redruM]

Nearly one-quarter of the 130,000 U.S. troops in Iraq still have not been issued a new type of ceramic body armor strong enough to protect against bullets fired from assault rifles. Delays in funding, production and shipping mean it will be December before all troops in Iraq will have the vests, which were introduced four years ago, military officials say. Congress approved $310 million in April to buy 300,000 bulletproof vests, with 30,000 destined to complete outfitting of the troops in Iraq. Of that money, however, only about $75 million has reached the Army office responsible for overseeing the manufacture and distribution of the vests, said David Nelson, who works at the office. Angry members of Congress have denounced the Pentagon. They say up to 44,000 troops lack the vests because of sluggish supply chain, a figure significantly higher than that given by the Pentagon. Relatives of some soldiers have resorted to buying the body armor, which costs more than $1,000, and shipping it to Iraq, the lawmakers say. "I got a letter from a young soldier in Baghdad saying that the men in his group were concerned that they had cheap armor that was incapable of stopping bullets. And they wondered why they could not have the best protection possible under the circumstances," said Rep. Ted Strickland, Ohio Democrat. The House version of an $86.7 billion supplemental spending request for Iraq's reconstruction passed last week would include $251 million for body armor and for clearing unexploded munitions, although it's not clear whether additional money would speed up the process at this point. President Bush's original request included no additional money for body armor. The military's Interceptor vests, introduced in 1999, include removable ceramic plates in the front and back that can stop bullets such as the 7.62 mm rounds fired by Kalashnikov rifles common in Iraq and Afghanistan. Older-model vests can protect against shrapnel and other low-speed projectiles but not high-velocity rifle rounds. Several soldiers serving in both countries have credited the Interceptor vests with saving their lives. Each vest with its plates weighs more than 16 pounds and costs more than $1,000. The shortfall in Iraq occurred because the military's need for body armor outstripped its ability to make and deliver the Interceptor plates, said Mr. Nelson, the Army's deputy product manager for outfitting soldiers. The Army had boosted production to supply soldiers fighting in Afghanistan when planning for the Iraq war began in earnest last year, Mr. Nelson said. Production of the plates surged a year ago from about 3,000 per month to 6,000 to 10,000 per month, Mr. Nelson said. Current production is about 25,000 plates per month, and the Army is working to double that to 50,000 per month, he said. "It's not a question of money, it's a question of capacity to manufacture these devices," Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Richard B. Myers told a Senate committee last month. "We're making them as quickly as we can." Of the American soldiers in Iraq who have the body armor, some received it before arriving there and others after deployment. Mr. Nelson said the Army originally hired three companies to make the plates: Armor Works LLC of Tempe, Ariz.; Ceradyne Inc. of Costa Mesa, Calif; and Simula Inc. of Phoenix. The Army recently added three companies to make the inserts, Mr. Nelson said: Point Blank Body Armor Inc., a division of DHB Industries, of Carle Place, N.Y.; ProTech Armored Products, a subsidiary of Armor Holdings Inc., of Jacksonville, Fla.; and ForceOne LLC, of Spruce Pine, N.C. To help meet the demand, all six companies also are making heavier versions of the bulletproof plates, which can be manufactured more quickly and easily, Mr. Nelson said. Army Sgt. Chris Smith, 24, shot in the chest during an ambush in Iraq in late August, is among those who has credited the vest with saving his life. "His armor blew up with the force ... shattered like it was supposed to," said his mother, Bev Smith of Bismarck, N.D. Her son returned fire and killed his attacker and suffered only a bruised chest, she told the Bismarck Tribune.

[.cnI redruM]

I think we're discovering that there has been no civilian mobilization for The War on Terror. We have not ramped up our defense industry to meet the needs of our deployments.

[fooman]

Outrageous.

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[tbpiper]

As a matter of perspective, I'm not sure the body armor would have prevented the kinds of casualties we've been seeing from PRG an IED attacks. I'm for all the protection we can get, but this stuff may not solve the kind of problems we have now. Case in point: A unmounted patrol was doing traffic control while EOD was dealing with an IED the patrol found. A Land Rover decided to come screaming down the road. A soldier, wearing 65 pounds of body armor step into the road. The Rover was at 75 meters and closing fast, not slowing at all despite the patrol leaders 2 warning shots. The soldier in the road won the confrontation. His 65 pounds of armour? No, it was his M249 SAW.

[Flint]

Can you remember when:

1. We were told that the troops didn't have any water?

2. When we were told that there was no food for them and they were going hungry?

3. We were told that Rumsfeld made a big error moving so fast because supplies couldn't be brought to the troops?

File this story with them. Not every Soldier or Marine needs body armour. The ones that do, do. The ones that don't will get it eventually.

[Flint]

Can you remember when:

1. We were told that the troops didn't have any water?

2. When we were told that there was no food for them and they were going hungry?

3. We were told that Rumsfeld made a big error moving so fast because supplies couldn't be brought to the troops? File this story with them. Not every Soldier or Marine needs body armour. The ones that do, do. The ones that don't will get it eventually.

[military cop]

I was issued an interceptor vest with no plates.

My buddy was issued a different sized flak vest WITH plates.

Another soldier here received a vest with plates that his father-in-law BOUGHT HIM for about 1500 dollars. He wanted to make sure that his son-in-law had the best chance of coming home.

He did.

[Crossbow Eel]

Another Clinton legacy !

[Criminal Number 18F]

We all had interceptors, and plates. It depends on what you do. The guy who works at the tool crib in the motor pool probably doesn't need plates. We needed plates, but were the first to get them. MPs need plates. The people doing the Red Ball Express up the road need plates.

First question your CO gets asked when you get tagged is, "was he wearing his body armour." This is a matter of concern all the way up. If it isn't in the daily roll-up for the combatant commander he makes it the mission of his staff to find out, so the staff is proactive and makes sure the information is there, so the four star gets a warm fuzzy.

Some of the guys bought their own rigs; there are a couple of things that have advantages over the interceptor versus small arms, but you trade off a lot of the versus shrapnel protection. Nobody paid $1500 but that is actually less than USG pays for interceptor with plates.

Now they gotta redesign the seat of the vehicles so that you can wear a back plate in there without wracking your back.

The PEO has a link off the AKO website, where soldiers can actually comment direct to the program managers about their equipment.

d.o.l.

Criminal Number 18F

[military cop]

If you're taller than about 4 foot 8, there's no prayer for a better redesign of hummer seats.

That's the most uncomfortable place I've ever slept.

We've got a college budget command that only got the vests after arrival and are about 60% equipped. Priority goes to the RA, of course.

Apparently, reservists are more bullet resistant.

[KineticKitty]

The ones that don't will get it eventually.

A soldier from the 4 ID, in my husbands company will not have this opportunity to eventually receive this equipment. His Memorial was last Sunday. His buddies however, that did have the armor to protect their chests survived. Some of us don't have the luxury of filing this with "all the other stories" since it hits alittle closer to home.