"Stupid question."
Yes, I guess it is, but somewhere along the line I missed your main point.
OK. You said that heads should roll for the outrageous oversite. I'm saying that the problems are overstated, that those that need them have them. Perhaps some exceptions, but that is always the case. Most of those complaining are not those needing. I use my vest more than many troops and for the most part on a daily basis, their utility is overstated.
I travel unarmed and in a normal SUV but with a vest with plates and kevlar helmet. The vest is just another peice of equiment and the more you wear it the more you see the fallacy of thinking that it is what is going to save your life.
Care to imagine what one looks like when the wearer burns to death? Vests don't do much good when one is trapped inside a burning vehicle.