http://slate.msn.com/id/2095705/You've read the story countless times: An American convoy in Baghdad or Fallujah or Tikrit is attacked; a GI is killed and others are wounded. Nearly all those convoys include the all-purpose Humvee, which, it is becoming clear, lacks sufficient armor. Many feature no more than canvas roofs and doors. "We're kind of sitting ducks in the vehicles we have," one lieutenant colonel told Newsday.
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So how is the White House proposing to deal with this? By underfunding the program to armor Humvees.
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The need appears to be significant, however. One congressional staffer told me that Iraq and Afghanistan currently have about 1,600 up-armored Humvees—meaning there's a need for 2,600 more. And according to a recent story on the military's Army New Service wire, a total of about 1,000 armor kits have been shipped to Iraq and Afghanistan. That would leave about 7,000 to go. What's more, the Pentagon's requirements have been subject to constant upward revision, as it apparently realizes that just about all its vehicles in Iraq are subject to attack.
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Much has been made of the $50 billion the White House estimates it will need for operations in Iraq and Afghanistan—keeping troops in the field fed, equipment maintained, etc.—but didn't include in the proposed 2005 budget. Not including any money for armor kits may be motivated by the same likely impulse, that is, an effort to low-ball the budget until after the elections. The White House says it doesn't need the $50 billion now, arguing that there's plenty of money in the current budget to cover operations in Iraq and Afghanistan through the end of this year. Anyway, says the White House, it wouldn't be smart to budget for more money now, since nobody knows what the operation in Iraq will look like in a year.
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In the meantime, as the shortfall continues, soldiers have been jury-rigging their own armor. Some simply add sandbags—apparently not a good idea if you're concerned about the vehicle's stability—and some have gotten even more inventive. An Army reservist in Baghdad became a mini-celebrity after he scrounged for materials and devised his own armored Humvee. Dubbed the "Butler Mobile" after the name of its creator, the home-made armored Humvee has standard steel, and the protection is at best adequate. Of course, that's not satisfying many. One National Guard officer told the Army Times that the failure to deliver a sufficient number of armored and up-armored Humvees to Iraq "bordered on negligence." The budget writers might want to ponder that.
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well love ones can buy their people the proper flak jackets and send them over to Iraq but can you see them sending metal plating to upgrade the vehicles?
guess our troops will continue to leave arms and legs in Iraq
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