Pentagon not thrilled with DIY vehicle armor

-- Fearing roadside bombs and sniper bullets, members of the U.S. Army Reserve's 428th Transportation Company turned to a local steel fabricator to fashion extra armor for their five-ton trucks and Humvees before beginning their journey to Iraq earlier this month.

But their armor might not make it into the war, because the soldiers did not obtain Pentagon approval for their homemade protection.

The 72 vehicles operated by the 428th are not designed for battle. They have thin metal floorboards and, in some cases, a canvas covering for doors. Iraqi guerrilla groups have been targeting all types of military vehicles with homemade bombs and small-caliber weapons.

Kirkweg said the Missouri soldiers did not have time to wait weeks, months or years for the Army to test and approve a steel-plating project that he could complete in three days.

"We thought, this is a very important project here -- we're talking about the possibility of saving people's lives," he said. "So without hesitation we went ahead and proceeded with the thing."



great..im not suprised..while i can understand why the government might have reasons not to allow this ..to me..they should have already provided these types of armor plating for vehicles that are bound to be in a combat situation...the government has 80 billion $'s for cell phone towers and satilite dishes "for the iraqi people"[isnt there anything more important then cell phones??] i think they could find the "change" to provide a little saftey for the troops...

Just one of many examples to show how the government does not give a damn if our soldiers live or die. They couldn't care less about their safety.

Originally posted by Shoktek
Just one of many examples to show how the government does not give a damn if our soldiers live or die. They couldn't care less about their safety.

And i think that its about money also..

They would prefer that some big corp. would have done this?

Maybe.. owned by Bush family/friends..

www.washingtonpost.com...

forgot the link...........

Originally posted by FULCRUM

Originally posted by Shoktek
Just one of many examples to show how the government does not give a damn if our soldiers live or die. They couldn't care less about their safety.

And i think that its about money also..

They would prefer that some big corp. would have done this?

Maybe.. owned by Bush family/friends..

Yes, of course any little bit of money to go towards preventing our men from being killed is not worth it...its a lot cheaper and less troublesome to just call up more troops, and maybe get the draft reinstated.