Blackcloud6
Member
- Joined
- Dec 24, 2002
- Messages
- 608
Now, to prove that the press is generally clueless also, the orginal article was not all that correct.
The uparmor was only a proposal and is planned to be added once in country... and after the Army and CENTCOM approves it. See:
The Fort Worth, TX, Star-Telegram, 22 December 2003
Internet Edition
http://www.dfw.com/mld/dfw/news/special_packages/iraq/7551376.htm
ARMY TO CHECK OUT EXTRA ARMOR, AS BOND TRIES TO HELP TROOPS
by Kelly Wiese
Associated Press
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. - Army officials are heading to Fort Riley to inspect extra armor that a unit of Missouri soldiers added to their vehicles prior to their planned deployment to Iraq.
Also Monday, Sen. Kit Bond, R-Mo., asked the Pentagon to allow the Jefferson City-based Army Reserve unit to use the extra armor.
The 428th Transportation Company convinced a local steel fabricator to make extra armor for their five-ton trucks and Humvees to protect them on the battlefield. But, as The Associated Press reported last week, the extra armor lacks Pentagon approval because it hasn't been tested.
The soldiers left for Fort Riley, Kan., on Dec. 12 and planned to fasten the specially made steel to their vehicles when they reach Iraq.
Maj. Gary Tallman, a Pentagon spokesman for Army weapons and technology issues, said Monday the Army is sending testing officials to Fort Riley to check out the 13,000 pounds of one-quarter inch steel and to determine if it is safe and will not hurt the vehicles' performance.
"No one said no yet to this unit," Tallman said. "What we don't know to the Army's satisfaction is if the armor will do what they intend it to do. That's why it's important that someone look at this and see if it will."
The 72 vehicles operated by the unit aren't designed for battle. They have thin metal floorboards and sometimes only a canvas door covering. The armor would be fitted under floorboards and inside doors. Iraqi insurgents have targeted military vehicles with homemade bombs and other weapons.
Those in Jefferson City who tried to help the local transportation unit get the extra protection were angry at the military's response, and now Bond, R-Mo., is trying to ensure the unit benefits from its resourcefulness.
"Our soldiers on the front lines do not have the luxury of waiting for the normal review process to determine if a modification is detrimental or beneficial," Bond said in a letter Monday to acting Army Secretary Les Brownlee.
Tallman said he had not seen Bond's letter and had no comment on it.
Fort Riley spokeswoman Deb Skidmore said the unit will be able to take the steel to Iraq, but that Central Command will decide later whether troops can use it.
The uparmor was only a proposal and is planned to be added once in country... and after the Army and CENTCOM approves it. See:
The Fort Worth, TX, Star-Telegram, 22 December 2003
Internet Edition
http://www.dfw.com/mld/dfw/news/special_packages/iraq/7551376.htm
ARMY TO CHECK OUT EXTRA ARMOR, AS BOND TRIES TO HELP TROOPS
by Kelly Wiese
Associated Press
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. - Army officials are heading to Fort Riley to inspect extra armor that a unit of Missouri soldiers added to their vehicles prior to their planned deployment to Iraq.
Also Monday, Sen. Kit Bond, R-Mo., asked the Pentagon to allow the Jefferson City-based Army Reserve unit to use the extra armor.
The 428th Transportation Company convinced a local steel fabricator to make extra armor for their five-ton trucks and Humvees to protect them on the battlefield. But, as The Associated Press reported last week, the extra armor lacks Pentagon approval because it hasn't been tested.
The soldiers left for Fort Riley, Kan., on Dec. 12 and planned to fasten the specially made steel to their vehicles when they reach Iraq.
Maj. Gary Tallman, a Pentagon spokesman for Army weapons and technology issues, said Monday the Army is sending testing officials to Fort Riley to check out the 13,000 pounds of one-quarter inch steel and to determine if it is safe and will not hurt the vehicles' performance.
"No one said no yet to this unit," Tallman said. "What we don't know to the Army's satisfaction is if the armor will do what they intend it to do. That's why it's important that someone look at this and see if it will."
The 72 vehicles operated by the unit aren't designed for battle. They have thin metal floorboards and sometimes only a canvas door covering. The armor would be fitted under floorboards and inside doors. Iraqi insurgents have targeted military vehicles with homemade bombs and other weapons.
Those in Jefferson City who tried to help the local transportation unit get the extra protection were angry at the military's response, and now Bond, R-Mo., is trying to ensure the unit benefits from its resourcefulness.
"Our soldiers on the front lines do not have the luxury of waiting for the normal review process to determine if a modification is detrimental or beneficial," Bond said in a letter Monday to acting Army Secretary Les Brownlee.
Tallman said he had not seen Bond's letter and had no comment on it.
Fort Riley spokeswoman Deb Skidmore said the unit will be able to take the steel to Iraq, but that Central Command will decide later whether troops can use it.