CBS: GIs Lack Armor, Radios, Bullets

[BUSHOUT]

Probably posted before, but couldn't find it on first two pages.

I think this is huge news. It's another blatent example of how Bush is failing the troops and the Country.

GIs Lack Armor, Radios, Bullets

Oct 31, 2004 7:52 pm US/Eastern (CBS)

Two weeks ago, a group of Army reservists in Iraq refused a direct order to go on a dangerous operation to re-supply another unit with jet fuel.
<snip>
Gen. Byrne says stories about families in Oregon having to go out and buy for their sons and daughters radio equipment, body armor, GPS gear, computers and night vision goggles because they weren't being issued are true.

He said some Guard units are also using Vietnam era M-16 assault rifles, which he calls adequate for state duty but not acceptable for duty in Iraq. There is also a bullet shortage for training, he says.

It bothers him, but "there's nothing I can do about it," he says.

"If I was making the decisions, I would readjust," he says.
"The soldier on the ground should be a focus. When that's taken care of you can take care of other stuff."

http://cbsnewyork.com/topstories/topstories_story_305195404.html

This just sickens me. Bush should be ashamed and America should be outraged.

[Nite Owl]

1. This story was on 60 minutes

earlier. I don't understand at all how anywhere near 47% of Americans can even think of voting for *. How do they get away with this false patriotism? It's more than the media, there are a lot of people who know and they seem not to care. Has America lost it's soul?

[BUSHOUT]

2. I know, I saw it. That General was torn...really weighing his words

I don't think he wanted to offend the administration, but the facts were the facts and he couldn't deny his displeasure.

[Hard Attack]

10. TOMMY FRANKS QUIT BEFORE THE JOB WAS DONE

GANG == GOOD OLD 'TOMMY' TOLD THE PRESIDENT HE HAD EVERYTHING HE NEEDED TO ATTACK IRAQ.


GET THIS PHRASE OUT ----

''TOMMY QUIT BEFORE THE JOB WAS DONE ''

HE ABANDONED THE TROOPS, LEFT THEM IN IRAQ.

HERO'S DON'T QUIT BEFORE THE JOB IS DONE !

TOMMY SHOULD BE BOO'D INSTEAD OF CHEERED IN MY OPINION.

Thats it, sorry for the caps, but I am just another PISSED OFF AMERICAN CITIZEN.

[JPace]

17. I always thought Tommy was not the brightest

candle on the block. A bit like a country bumpkin and
just not swift enough to have control over our kids lives.

[Carolab]

12. Oh, yes, they of the

metallic yellow "support our troops" ribbons. Blech.

[mom cat]

3. But we have billions for new nukes, nukes in space and untold military

waste. Neocons believe that people are dispensible anyway.

[Carolab]

13. I believe that

"fungible" is the word you are looking for here.

[reprobate]

4. CBS striking back for the KKKarl fake document trick.

Don't know is this will change many minds, but we don't need many to assure a Kerry victory.

[bpilgrim]

5. BULLETS!>?

thought halliburton had everything undercontrol :shrug:

how many more BILLIONS do they need :argh:

peace

[anarchy1999]

6. And yet, every day Bush gets by with saying he's supporting the troops

and Kerry is not and will not. Even in tonight's interview with Brokaw on Dateline, Bush got away with his rhetoric and Brokaw let him go.

Oh, for just one brave journalist on national television during prime time, to have a breakthrough and find his/her integrity and self-respect for their profession and the sake of their reputation, to go after Bush for some real answers. At a moment like Brokaw held in his hands, say to him or her/self, to hell with my career and just tie into Bush, pushing him over the edge or into real answers (real answers would probably be scarier than seeing him go over the edge).

Happy Halloween Everyone!

Did we really make it without "THE OCTOBER SURPRISE"?

[Sleepless In NY]

7. anarchy1999 ...Agree & what is with John McCain?

I dont know if there are any real journalists out there anymore, certainly not brave ones. Any topic that would dare to shed a bad light on bush seems to be taboo. And they wonder why people are getting their "news" from The Daily Show? How sad is that?

"60 minutes" should really be commended for this piece. First bush rushs to send these troops to war ill equipped, understaffed, with no post war plans. Then he gets another 87 billion and still, these troops are left unprotected.

I know bush is a liar & a hypocrite, but what is with John McCain? He knows all of this is going on and yet he acts like he's totally detached from any responsibilty for it. Who is he kidding? He was the one who got up and endorsed this slimeball bush for president, full knowing that our troops are dying needlessly.

I know there's a two faced symbol for bush, but someone ought to make one up for McCain. Just watching McCain tonite truly turned my stomach.

I dont know how many people saw this tonite, but just imagine if it got coverage by all the Networks tomorrow? Not only do I think bush wouldn't get elected, I think the phoney would be run out of town on a rail. I know, it wont happened, but it should. It's all so frustrating. Kerry has got to win.

[anarchy1999]

8. Welcome to DU, first. There are lots and lots of real journalists, you

just never get to see and or to hear from them on mainstream, network news, or very rarely. You have to go to the internet.

Greg Palast
Robert Fisk
Robert Jensen
Al Giordano
Naomi Klein
Amy Goodman
Will Pitt
Molly Ivins
Jim Hightower

there are so many countless others.......

Many authors. Many books.

[nosmokes]

9. mccain is a party hack. colin powell is a party hack.

whatever they may have have once been, or may once have become, they have sold their soul to the bushco corporatocracy.

[RamboLiberal]

11. Given a medal and a jail sentence for stealing to support his unit

Check this one out!

First the Army gave Chief Warrant Officer Darrell E. Birt a medal.
Then they handed the former Hempfield Township man six months behind bars.

Birt said the Bronze Star and prison sentence he received while serving in Iraq were his reward -- and punishment -- for plugging holes in a faulty supply network that even the military has painted as flawed.

"The supply system was broke," Birt said. "From the time we left Kuwait until the time we got into Iraq, it took two months to get the computer codes loaded for supply. So for two months, we couldn't get new supplies."

Short of vehicles and spare parts critical to his unit's ability to haul fuel to infantrymen and helicopter pilots, Birt said he and other high-ranking soldiers agreed to procure the needed equipment improperly.

[Carolab]

14. SICK

So, is he voting for *?

[NewYorkerfromMass]

15. Incompetent CiC Bush at work again. nt

[NickB79]

16. You can't accurately fire modern 5.56mm ammo from Vietman-era M16's!!!

The original M-16 rifles introduced in Vietnam were manufactured with barrels who's rifling had a twist of 1-12". This meant that, for every 12" of barrel, the rifling spun the bullet fired through it through one complete revolution. This revolution is essential to stabilizing the bullet and ensuring it flies accurately to it's target (think of it like putting a good spiral on a football, how much better the football flies). The original ammunition used in Vietnam fired a somewhat stubby, 55-grain bullet, well-suited to the twist rate of the rifle. In the 1980's, the military switched to a longer, more streamlined 62-gr bullet that incorporated a steel core, to better penetrate armor at longer ranges. The problem was that this bullet was much longer than the earlier 55-gr bullets used, so they had to either rebarrel or build entirely new M-16's with barrels using a faster, 1-7" twist rate to fully stabilize the bullet. If you fire a modern, 62-gr bullet through an older rifle with a 1-12" twist rate, accuracy goes to hell, so much so that it can become difficult to hit a man-sized target beyond 100 yds (M-16's are supposed to be capable of accurate fire out to 400 yds). So, not only can our guys not get the body armor for protection from incoming fire that they need, they can't get the right ammunition/gun combinations to fire back with either?!?! What's next, rocks and pointy sticks in a kamakazi charge?

God, the incompetence is unfriggin believable!

[BUSHOUT]

22. Maybe "spitballs" if Bush steals another 4 years! :) n/t

[Turley]

23. The article is misleading on this account

The author means to say that some units are still equipped with the M-16A2 as opposed to the newer M-4. The M-16A2 was the last upgrade of the "Vietnam-Era" M-16 and came out in the 90's.

There are no units anywhere using the original M-16s which have long-since hit the trash-heap. Back in the mid to late 90's, most Reserve/Guard units would have complained about having only M-16A1s which were considered old stuff at the time. They did however, have full-aut vs the 3-shot burst on the A2's.

The A2s are fine weapons but obviously you'd rather have the shorter M-4.

[BUSHOUT]

24. He is a General, and he is quoted as saying...

"Vietnam era M-16 assault rifles, which he calls adequate for state duty but not acceptable for duty in Iraq"

If the A2 was not around in Vietnam, then why would he use that term?

Maybe it is wrong on that count, but he certainly is clear in his opinion that the weapons are "not acceptable for duty in Iraq".

[Turley]

26. I dunno

Since I'm not there I can't vouch for anything. I would find it very hard to believe that any original M-16s have survived this long. As someone else posted, I don't think they would even fire the modern rounds.

They also are capable of automatic fire which the Army frowns on these days. They'd rather have that done by SAW's and M-60s and not by every swinging dirk in the platoon.

Then again, you never know……

[Marthe48]

18. no maps either

according to National Geographic (Nov.2004 Behind the scenes):
a Marine Corps Staff Sgt. was sent to Iraq. His job was to direct covoys to bases, but he had no maps. For 3 months(!)he relied on a 2002 N.G. map and a gps unit "from home" to send the convoys out
This is so pathetic--it looks like not only do the horses' asses sending our troops to Iraq have no exit plan, they had no entry plan.
I didn't check for a link on the NG site.

I hope that we can get Kerry elected or the kids in 9th grade now will be in battle somewhere within the next 4 yrs, with inadequate equipment and no plan.

[realFedUp]

19. ----

[wysiwyg]

20. Did CBS' story have "legs"?

I haven't seen anyone else pick up on this story. Has anyone else seen anything?

[BUSHOUT]

21. We'll find out today I guess. I couldn't believe the walkie-talkies...

just those Motorola things with the 10 channels.
Anyone could monitor that from within a 1/2 mile.
And even that shit they buy themselves!

[GoldenOldie]

25. Anyone hear of any media follow-up???

This has been well known for 2-years by the families and those following DU and other sites.

The Discovery channel had a special following and documenting a Guard Unit from Arkansas from the initial call-up deployment to Iraq. These Guardsmen spoke of their vehicles being continually deadlined in the States and they were barely able to function for stateside duties. Sure enough when they landed in Kuwait and had to drive them on into Iraq they were breaking down, with many of them being towed by other old broken down vehicles. They had no armor plate and the troopers were salvaging scraped Iraqi vehicles found along the roadside in attempts to give armor protection to their vehicles. This was the most disheartening thing to watch as our once well equipped American military now looks like a third world Army. This very same Guard Unit made a stop along an Iraqi munitions bunkers. They were amazed to find these bunkers fully loaded with arms and munitions and totally unguarded or secured by American or British troops.

I am totally disgusted and with filled with rage at these so-called journalists, Brokaw, Russert, Matthews, Carlson, Novak, Couric, Lawry, etc., etc., etc. They are no better than the Halliburtons, Bush or Cheney's who have sent these men and women into a death trap for their own need for power.

"Support the Troops" Those that vote for Bush are more interested in carrying a bible and fighting abortion than they are in supporting our troops. How very sad for us all.

[UL_Approved]

27. Payback's a bitch

This is what you get for trying to squelch Dan Rather. This topic has been mentioned in several news articles and stories before. This just happens to be the best and most exposed.

[jwirr]

28. "especially the National Guard"

I wonder if old vengeful bushie is out to pay them back because they didn't kiss his ass in the 70s? He has extended their terms, sent them to fight in an unjust war and sent them to war without adequate equipment and ammunition, cut their pay and cut services to their dependents at home. I looks to me as if he hates them for their freedom to reprimand poor behavior.