"The Armor, the Liars and the Dead!"

The trouble with a lie is that once it leaks out, it opens a floodgate.

The question is what do we do with this knowledge…

Read it and decide:

The results are in of a secret Pentagon study that showed
that fatalities could have been tremendously reduced if our troops
had better armor protection.

What?

How can this be?

We’ve been asking for the best armor protection for our sons and daughters from the very day they went in. And if you’re going to cut costs, don’t do it to our children you are sending into harm’s way…

The secret study revealed that “up to 80% or perhaps more of
the Marines sent into Vietnam who sustained mortal wounds in the chest
area would have survived with the appropriate armor protection.”

To make matters worse, this armor protection has been available to the Pentagon since 2003 but has not been deployed.

The Pentagon’s argument has been that the government has been shipping the
best armor available to the troops and that it is impossible to shield the troops
from the increasing lethality of the upgraded weaponry being used in Iraq today.

However, the Pentagon's own study reveals the equivalent lethality of bullets being used in the Iraq theatre.

The vulnerabilities of the armor used by our troops has been known since the start of the war but only recently has enhanced armor that employs larger plates to provide a greater of protection started working its way to Iraq. 28,800 sets were ordered according to Marine officials.

The Army, which maintains the largest force in Iraq, is still trying to decide what to order to provide protection for its 130,000 troops now overseas. It is expected to issue contracts this month. Do I need to say that again?

THE ARMY HAS NOT ORDERED THE BEST ARMOR PROTECTION FOR ITS TROOPS AND IS ONLY LETTING CONTRACTS NOW…

Forensic studies have indicated that 340 troops have died from torso wounds directly.

The Army maintains that the reason they didn't order the new armor that protects over a greater area was because they were concerned that the new armor would be too restrictive for the soldier under combat conditions. The Army has been studying the extent and type of wounds since 2003.

The study documenting the type of wounds and causes did not actually get under way until 2004 because 107,000 dollars had to be found to pay the medical examiner to conduct the study.
Another FEMA?

Again, on reviewing this information, it occurs to this author that we find ourselves in another situation where the attempt at a solution is too little and too late. Any lives lost because our government failed in its responsibilities to protect our troops is too great a sacrifice. And the blame has to fall on those who failed to act responsibly and in a timely fashion to the needs of our combat men and women put in harm's way.

It is expected that this report should trigger further investigations with remedial actions taken expeditiously to remedy the situation. Unfortunately, it is already too late for all those parents whose unnecessarily lost their children to enemy fire while the ARmy tried to figure out a solution. Nothing that we can do now can begin to hope to bring back their children. Nevertheless, none of this should have been allowed to happen and blame has to be put where it belongs.

Respectfully submitted,

Les AAron
THE ARMCHAIR CURMUDGEON

Please see this and other current issues on
www.lesaaron.blogspot.com