thedrifter
07-09-08, 08:27 AM
Are U.S. Troops Missing Protective Equipment In Iraq?
POSTED: 10:18 am CDT July 8, 2008
UPDATED: 6:08 am CDT July 9, 2008
HOUSTON -- Note: The following story is a verbatim transcript of an Investigators story that aired on Tuesday, July 8, 2008, on KPRC Local 2 at 10 p.m.
Local 2 investigates if Marines and Army soldiers in Iraq are missing a key piece of protection. The controversy centers on helmets our military uses in the war zone. So, why has a Montgomery County veteran had to outfit tens of thousand of troops with equipment the government would not provide? Investigative reporter Amy Davis exposes new concerns about possible substandard military equipment.
Avoiding roadside explosions and working 12-hour patrols are just part of the daily grind for U.S. soldiers and Marines in Iraq. Imagine doing all of that work without your helmet.
"There were times I'd rather take a bullet in the head, than wear the helmet for another day," read one e-mail from a member of the U.S. military stationed in Iraq.
"When we wear our helmets for long periods, some Marines complain of severe headaches," read another e-mail. "They're stuffing their helmets with socks and masking tape."
Those are just a few of the thousands of e-mails pouring into Bob Meaders' computer at his home near Lake Conroe.
Meaders is a retired Navy doctor who -- almost accidentally -- has taken the lead in outfitting troops and Marines with key safety equipment for helmets. It's equipment the U.S. government did not provide.
"It's the young troops that come to me and say, 'There's something wrong here,'" said Meaders. "This needs to be fixed."
Meaders' grandson, Justin, was one of those young Marines. During training, he'd heard about the extreme pain caused by helmets that still used a nylon strap inside to keep the helmets on.
"After a few hours' wear, it gave you a real bad headache, plus it was unstable," Meaders explained. "When you ran with it, you had to hold on with one hand and your weapon with the other."
Meaders found that helmet pads fixed the problem. The pads fit like the inside of a football helmet. They were more comfortable, more stable, and they cost a little more than $100 per helmet.
He immediately outfitted his grandson's 12-man rifle team.
"(The helmet pads) got to Iraq and the word spread like wildfire," Meaders said. "These guys are sitting in the chow halls with their helmets on. We hate those things. We can't wear them."
That's when more requests came flooding in -- literally thousands of them. Less than three years after helping his grandson's team, Meaders' Operation Helmet group has outfitted pads for more than 39,000 helmets at no cost to the Americans who serve.
Meaders raised more than $3.5 million to pay for it all. He says reviews from the war zone made the effort worth every penny. It turns out, the pads also helped protect against brain injury from roadside blasts better than the standard helmets.
Meaders wondered why he was the one who was supplying the helmet pads to our troops.
He went to Washington, D.C., going to talk shows and asking Congress why the U.S. military wasn't outfitting all of its forces with that same protection.
"It doesn't take a sophisticated government laboratory to look at a problem and say here's something that really needs to be fixed," Meaders explained. "But it does take a willingness on the people involved to say, 'Maybe this jerk guy over there could be right.'"
And the military did listen -- or so it seemed. Now, all of the U.S. armed forces use some version of pads inside helmets. The Marine Corps Systems Command told Local 2 Investigates it even credits Meaders for changing the way leaders thought about helmets.
A spokesperson told us the Marine Corps realized the old helmets were better for bullets, not explosions.
So, why are soldiers and Marines still sending e-mails requesting Meaders' help? They say the pads the military picked are cheaper versions of what Meaders provides, and they are still extremely uncomfortable.
Last month, Meaders says he found an even more serious problem.
"The new pads they're using now flame up and a molten river of flaming plastic drizzles down the fiery pad," Meaders said.
Meaders says unlike the helmet pads he gives out, the government-issued version catches fire. He performed his own tests to prove it.
We talked with U.S. Rep. Solomon Ortiz, from Corpus Christi. Ortiz is a member of the House Armed Services Committee and chairman of the Military Readiness Subcommittee.
"We should not send them into harms way without the proper equipment," Ortiz told us by phone from his home in Corpus Christi. "We are very concerned, because all you see in Iraq and Afghanistan is fire. We need to do something to prevent them from being harmed."
"In the meantime, these troops are still out there in Iraq and in Afghanistan and they've got bad pads whether it's from getting a flaming hairdo or having a headache," Meaders said. "They pay the price while the machinery of government spins very slowly."
The Marine Corps System Command says the pads it issues will not catch fire when exposed to something like a roadside blast. A spokesman says lab tests prove the pads are not flammable.
Marine Corps leaders dispute Meaders' tests and the results of them.
Representatives from the Marine Corps and Meaders are meeting this week to discuss the differences. We'll let you know what happens.
More Information:
www.operation-helmet.org
Marine Corps Systems Statement On Helmet Pads
https://www.marcorsyscom.usmc.mil/news/syscomnews.nsf/StoriesDisplayExt/09DE35F2F5EE07DE8525746E0055982B?OpenDocument
Ellie
POSTED: 10:18 am CDT July 8, 2008
UPDATED: 6:08 am CDT July 9, 2008
HOUSTON -- Note: The following story is a verbatim transcript of an Investigators story that aired on Tuesday, July 8, 2008, on KPRC Local 2 at 10 p.m.
Local 2 investigates if Marines and Army soldiers in Iraq are missing a key piece of protection. The controversy centers on helmets our military uses in the war zone. So, why has a Montgomery County veteran had to outfit tens of thousand of troops with equipment the government would not provide? Investigative reporter Amy Davis exposes new concerns about possible substandard military equipment.
Avoiding roadside explosions and working 12-hour patrols are just part of the daily grind for U.S. soldiers and Marines in Iraq. Imagine doing all of that work without your helmet.
"There were times I'd rather take a bullet in the head, than wear the helmet for another day," read one e-mail from a member of the U.S. military stationed in Iraq.
"When we wear our helmets for long periods, some Marines complain of severe headaches," read another e-mail. "They're stuffing their helmets with socks and masking tape."
Those are just a few of the thousands of e-mails pouring into Bob Meaders' computer at his home near Lake Conroe.
Meaders is a retired Navy doctor who -- almost accidentally -- has taken the lead in outfitting troops and Marines with key safety equipment for helmets. It's equipment the U.S. government did not provide.
"It's the young troops that come to me and say, 'There's something wrong here,'" said Meaders. "This needs to be fixed."
Meaders' grandson, Justin, was one of those young Marines. During training, he'd heard about the extreme pain caused by helmets that still used a nylon strap inside to keep the helmets on.
"After a few hours' wear, it gave you a real bad headache, plus it was unstable," Meaders explained. "When you ran with it, you had to hold on with one hand and your weapon with the other."
Meaders found that helmet pads fixed the problem. The pads fit like the inside of a football helmet. They were more comfortable, more stable, and they cost a little more than $100 per helmet.
He immediately outfitted his grandson's 12-man rifle team.
"(The helmet pads) got to Iraq and the word spread like wildfire," Meaders said. "These guys are sitting in the chow halls with their helmets on. We hate those things. We can't wear them."
That's when more requests came flooding in -- literally thousands of them. Less than three years after helping his grandson's team, Meaders' Operation Helmet group has outfitted pads for more than 39,000 helmets at no cost to the Americans who serve.
Meaders raised more than $3.5 million to pay for it all. He says reviews from the war zone made the effort worth every penny. It turns out, the pads also helped protect against brain injury from roadside blasts better than the standard helmets.
Meaders wondered why he was the one who was supplying the helmet pads to our troops.
He went to Washington, D.C., going to talk shows and asking Congress why the U.S. military wasn't outfitting all of its forces with that same protection.
"It doesn't take a sophisticated government laboratory to look at a problem and say here's something that really needs to be fixed," Meaders explained. "But it does take a willingness on the people involved to say, 'Maybe this jerk guy over there could be right.'"
And the military did listen -- or so it seemed. Now, all of the U.S. armed forces use some version of pads inside helmets. The Marine Corps Systems Command told Local 2 Investigates it even credits Meaders for changing the way leaders thought about helmets.
A spokesperson told us the Marine Corps realized the old helmets were better for bullets, not explosions.
So, why are soldiers and Marines still sending e-mails requesting Meaders' help? They say the pads the military picked are cheaper versions of what Meaders provides, and they are still extremely uncomfortable.
Last month, Meaders says he found an even more serious problem.
"The new pads they're using now flame up and a molten river of flaming plastic drizzles down the fiery pad," Meaders said.
Meaders says unlike the helmet pads he gives out, the government-issued version catches fire. He performed his own tests to prove it.
We talked with U.S. Rep. Solomon Ortiz, from Corpus Christi. Ortiz is a member of the House Armed Services Committee and chairman of the Military Readiness Subcommittee.
"We should not send them into harms way without the proper equipment," Ortiz told us by phone from his home in Corpus Christi. "We are very concerned, because all you see in Iraq and Afghanistan is fire. We need to do something to prevent them from being harmed."
"In the meantime, these troops are still out there in Iraq and in Afghanistan and they've got bad pads whether it's from getting a flaming hairdo or having a headache," Meaders said. "They pay the price while the machinery of government spins very slowly."
The Marine Corps System Command says the pads it issues will not catch fire when exposed to something like a roadside blast. A spokesman says lab tests prove the pads are not flammable.
Marine Corps leaders dispute Meaders' tests and the results of them.
Representatives from the Marine Corps and Meaders are meeting this week to discuss the differences. We'll let you know what happens.
More Information:
www.operation-helmet.org
Marine Corps Systems Statement On Helmet Pads
https://www.marcorsyscom.usmc.mil/news/syscomnews.nsf/StoriesDisplayExt/09DE35F2F5EE07DE8525746E0055982B?OpenDocument
Ellie