U.S. continues to outfit military with inferior body armor
source: http://www.dailykos.com/story/2009/1/28/234649/371/292/676015
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- korourke
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But that all was just prelude. It wasn't until early 2006, when the Pentagon forbade U.S. troops (whose asses, after all, were the ones on the line and who, after witnessing all of the above-mentioned outrages, might understandably have been just a wee bit skeptical of the Pentagon's ability or even willingness to provide them with the best equipment) from wearing any other type of body armor, that the fertilizer really hit the ventilator.
The following year-and-a-half was filled with accusations of unfair testing, with subterfuge and with hyperbole, as various factions argued that their position was right and that their body armor was the best. Finally, in the spring of 2007, an NBC Dateline report literally blew holes in the Pentagon's till-then-unwavering story line that not only was an alternative to the Pentagon's standard-issue Interceptor body armor deficient when it came to military specifications, but that Interceptor itself had never - never! - been penetrated by an armor-piercing round during testing.
As a result of that damning report and other circumstances, members of the Senate and House Armed Services Committees in May and June 2007 requested the Government Accountability Office (through the Pentagon's inspector general) conduct an investigation into the testing and procurement of body armor, including overseeing side-by-side testing of the various body armor systems.
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There is a link to the NBC Dateline video that does a comparison of the body armor. It is bad enough that the occupation is illegal, the American public was lied in order to build support, but for f-sake, at least gear up our military with the best available equipment while we are over there. This is not the first story about subpar equipment for the military (unarmored or poorly armored Humvees were a big scandal earlier in the war) and I am sure it won't be the last
The following year-and-a-half was filled with accusations of unfair testing, with subterfuge and with hyperbole, as various factions argued that their position was right and that their body armor was the best. Finally, in the spring of 2007, an NBC Dateline report literally blew holes in the Pentagon's till-then-unwavering story line that not only was an alternative to the Pentagon's standard-issue Interceptor body armor deficient when it came to military specifications, but that Interceptor itself had never - never! - been penetrated by an armor-piercing round during testing.
As a result of that damning report and other circumstances, members of the Senate and House Armed Services Committees in May and June 2007 requested the Government Accountability Office (through the Pentagon's inspector general) conduct an investigation into the testing and procurement of body armor, including overseeing side-by-side testing of the various body armor systems.
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There is a link to the NBC Dateline video that does a comparison of the body armor. It is bad enough that the occupation is illegal, the American public was lied in order to build support, but for f-sake, at least gear up our military with the best available equipment while we are over there. This is not the first story about subpar equipment for the military (unarmored or poorly armored Humvees were a big scandal earlier in the war) and I am sure it won't be the last
