armor company says Rummy has not asked for speed up

[donsu]

http://quote.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=10000006&sid=aMGdbQCSwiRg&refer=home

Armor Holdings Could Boost Humvee Armor Output 22% (Update2)


Armor Holdings Inc., the sole supplier of protective plates for the Humvee military vehicles used in Iraq, said it could increase output by as much as 22 percent per month with no investment and is awaiting an order from the Army.

U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said yesterday the Army was working as fast as it can and supply is dictated by ``a matter of physics, not a matter of money.''

Jacksonville, Florida-based Armor Holdings last month told the Army it could add armor to as many as 550 of the trucks a month, up from 450 vehicles now, Robert Mecredy, president of the company's aerospace and defense group said in a telephone interview today.

``We're prepared to build 50 to 100 vehicles more per month,'' Mecredy said in the interview. ``I've told the customer that and I stand ready to do that.''

-snip-

Armor Holdings has already boosted output from 60 vehicles a month a year ago, said Mecredy, 58. As a result of the increased output, Armor Holdings has cut the price for the armor its supplies for the trucks to $58,000 per vehicle, from $72,000 per vehicle a year ago, Mecredy said.

-snip-

To contact the reporter on this story:
Edmond Lococo in Boston at [e-mail].
-----------------------------------

so why hasn't Rummy asked for more?

Halliburton over charges and this company drops the cost.
guess Halliburton is laughing at them.

[Ksec]

1. bump for a big story

[arcane1]

2. why didn't he ask for more BEFORE THE INVASION??????

:grr:

[Ready4Change]

3. It's not a production issue. It's a Money issue.

But Rummy couldn't say "we don't want to spend money to get you better equipment" now could he? So instead he says it's a production problem.

[Cocoa]

4. the question was planted!

distract! distract!

[donsu]

5. the only way to get to Rummy was to plant the story

it's a real story

[Cocoa]

7. of course it's a real story

and the fuss about the reporter is sand in our faces. What's more important, where the question came from or the life-and-death substance of the question? Fox News, and (sadly) C-span this morning, go with the sand.

[barb162]

6. this was on Countdown (MSNBC) last night and it was a

devastating indictment of Rummie and his talk with the troops a few days ago. Unfortunately, I doubt many people watch the show. I am glad this showed up in Bloomberg

[barb162]

8. oh, one more thing, some colonel or general on another show

was asked about the numbers of soldiers killed/injured by the inadequate armor on the vehicles and he said he thought 20% would be about right. He said the armor protects against bullets and shrapnel but not against rocket grenades. The interviewer then said :so about 200 or 300 Americans are dead because of inadequate armor when we have just heard that the "armoring" company can rearmor more trucks and told this to the Pentagon? I hope this story gets bigger; it needs to get bigger