[xzins]

Take for instance the very expensive "SAPI" ceramic body-armor inserts that have been in desperately short supply. The Army will be almost up to supplying the needs in combat areas this month (if suppliers meet their deadlines, but none of them are). But as the Army leadership is most carefully prioritizing who gets them, the flipside is that very few of our units not in an active combat area have them and no protective gear will go back with units as they rotate out of theater.

Speaking for my own experience, but my son will be on the ground in Iraq very, very shortly as they finish their "area-specific training." I asked him POINTEDLY about Sapi. He says that he has it and so does ALL of his unit.

They are a heavy com. engr. unit going to construction projects as near as I can tell -- not frontline troops.

I was relieved. Everything has been recently issued.

As a chaplain from the army, I believe I know when smoke is being blown. Are there some lowlifes in the procurement world...yes. But, having served in a variety of units that were in a constant R&D cycle (TF 160 was one), let me tell you that the commanders ON THE GROUND are intense about any new stuff ACTUALLY WORKING. Not only does their career hinge on it, but so does their troops lives and their own lives.

Finally, also as a chaplain; let me encourage you to pray daily for our troops.

[Ragtime Cowgirl]

Bttt.

Praying for our troops, civilian support staff, allies, for your son, xzins.

[Ranger]

I'm very pleased to hear that your son's unit has the body armor with ceramic plates. How are they doing on vehicular armor or protection?

[PsyOp]

My specific beef is with the armor for the vehicles. I have been following the situation for some time, ever since I found out my kid would be deploying. I went so far as to dig out some of my old FMs that cover field expedient measures to protect vehicles with the use of sand bags and the like.

When I hear that her division was authorized funds to buy armor kits and were denied because someone at Aberdeen didn't think they were quite as good as the "unavailable" but "Authorized" kits, I am outraged! Even a half-inch piece of plywood can slow a bullet down enough to mitigate the damage it does.

These a**wipes at Aberdeen have decided that rather than having less-than-perfect protection, the troops should have no protection at all. There is absolutely no excuse for that kind of thinking.

I know all about how Army procurement works. This is crap. The services make exceptions to the procurement rules all the time. All it takes is someone with a little intestinal fortitude and greater concern for the lives of soldiers than for their careers.

Unfortunately, eight years of Clinton seems to have driven too many good officers from the service and left us too many careerists like Clark, et al.