thedrifter
01-21-06, 07:20 AM
Pentagon speeds armor to troops
Saturday, January 21, 2006
Michael Moss
THE NEW YORK TIMES
Under pressure to speed the delivery of armor to troops in Iraq, the Army has awarded a $70 million emergency contract for ceramic plates to protect soldiers’ torsos, military officials said yesterday.
The move is expected to shave three months off the typical contracting process.
The vests now worn by most military personnel hold ceramic plates that shield only part of the upper body from bullets and shrapnel. But the Army has begun examining other vest designs that would accommodate larger plates, said an Army official involved in the effort.
In Congress, the Senate and House armed services committees said they planned to hold hearings in response to concerns raised by a report Jan. 7 in The New York Times about the military’s body-armor program. A Pentagon study obtained by The Times found that extra armor could have saved as many as 80 percent of the Marines who died in Iraq from upper-body wounds.
The Marine Corps said it began buying side plates in September and expected to finish equipping its 26,000 soldiers in Iraq in April.
The Army began shipping a small number of ceramic plates to cover the sides and shoulders of soldiers in November 2003, but it did not follow up with an order for its force of 160,000. Army and Marine officials said that they had been concerned that the added armor — a set of side plates weighing about 5 pounds — would endanger troops by decreasing their mobility.
Earlier this week, Army Secretary Francis Harvey said he thought soldiers should be required to wear the ceramic side plates.
Information from the Associated Press was included in this story.
Ellie
Saturday, January 21, 2006
Michael Moss
THE NEW YORK TIMES
Under pressure to speed the delivery of armor to troops in Iraq, the Army has awarded a $70 million emergency contract for ceramic plates to protect soldiers’ torsos, military officials said yesterday.
The move is expected to shave three months off the typical contracting process.
The vests now worn by most military personnel hold ceramic plates that shield only part of the upper body from bullets and shrapnel. But the Army has begun examining other vest designs that would accommodate larger plates, said an Army official involved in the effort.
In Congress, the Senate and House armed services committees said they planned to hold hearings in response to concerns raised by a report Jan. 7 in The New York Times about the military’s body-armor program. A Pentagon study obtained by The Times found that extra armor could have saved as many as 80 percent of the Marines who died in Iraq from upper-body wounds.
The Marine Corps said it began buying side plates in September and expected to finish equipping its 26,000 soldiers in Iraq in April.
The Army began shipping a small number of ceramic plates to cover the sides and shoulders of soldiers in November 2003, but it did not follow up with an order for its force of 160,000. Army and Marine officials said that they had been concerned that the added armor — a set of side plates weighing about 5 pounds — would endanger troops by decreasing their mobility.
Earlier this week, Army Secretary Francis Harvey said he thought soldiers should be required to wear the ceramic side plates.
Information from the Associated Press was included in this story.
Ellie