Military Families Forced To Buy Gear For Soldiers In Iraq

This is an article from ABC. I thought it would be of interest since the issue was brought up during the presidential debates; it's hardly old news.

Something needs to be done. This is pathetic.

Armor From Home
Amid Shortage of Gear, Some U.S. Soldiers Must Equip Themselves

By Keith Garvin

W A S H I N G T O N � Pene Palifka, a proud and protective mother, worries about her son, Billy, a specialist with the National Guard deployed in Iraq. She reads his letters home almost daily.
"I just can't wait for him to come home," she said. "We'll celebrate that day."
Concerned about her son's safety, Palifka recently spent $1,100 of her own money on armored chest plates to protect him and others from enemy fire.
"[By] purchasing something for my son, then that means hopefully somewhere down the line somebody else that's overseas will have adequate equipment," Pene Palifka said.

It's become an almost routine practice for deploying troops and their families.

Despite efforts to produce more vests with the armored plates, the Pentagon says there still aren't enough, especially among guardsmen and reservists. All troops rotating out of Iraq are now being required to leave their vests behind so incoming troops can use them.



[edit on 4-10-2004 by bushblows]

I heard (from one of the parents) that they are being asked to by them for their kids....they are suggesting that they have fundraisers if they don't have the money. How much money do we have going into the war? Bush blames Kerry, he didn't vote for the money to be spent, but, I heard that the company that they have contracted to make them can't make them fast enough.
All this leads me to believe that maybe niether of these candidates deserve to be president. You just don't deny our servicemen the equipment they need to stay alive to voice your unhappiness about some other issue...Bush's fiscal irresponsibility. But, why did Bush send them in without that equipment to begin with? And, well, can't the two of them reach some sort of agreement so the troops can have what they need. Obviously, their personal interests far outweigh their concern for the safety of our troops!
As far as I am concerned, this mother has been forced to pay around 1100 dollars more in taxes than the rest of us. Especially since, her son is forced to give up his armor when he comes home. And, then when he is redeployed, will she have another $1100 tax imposed on her, so he can have what he needs the second time around?

Can we send our president, our vice president, all of our congressmen, and representives into the combat zone, and have them write home and ask their families to buy the guns they need so they can protect themselves against the terrorists?

How old is this story, because if it is rather new, well, this has been going on long enough for them to have found a solution by now if our troops safety was actually a concern for them! Even if the reason was the idea that the company they contracted to make them wasn't keeping up, well, I am sure that their are more companies out there capable of making them!!

What is it a subsidary of Halliburton or something?

Does anyone know of a fundraising site that takes donations from the general public to help with this? I think it's terrible that these soldiers don't have what they need but while the troops are waiting for the Government to get it to them I would feel better knowing that there is something that I could personally do to help these guys out.

And I don't care how much 'pork' was in the bill that provided additional supplies to the troops. Kerry was a jerk to vote no on that.

If anyone knows how I can make a donation to help with this please post a link or U2U me.

Thanks,

Jemison

I have an aquaintance who was sent to Basra and found a similar lack of proper equipment available.

To be fair though, in todays modern defence industry the big contractors and shareholders have enough to worry about, what with stock prices and shareholder dividends, they can't spend their time having to worry about such trivial non-income generating matters

Originally posted by Jemison
Does anyone know of a fundraising site that takes donations from the general public to help with this? I think it's terrible that these soldiers don't have what they need but while the troops are waiting for the Government to get it to them I would feel better knowing that there is something that I could personally do to help these guys out.

And I don't care how much 'pork' was in the bill that provided additional supplies to the troops. Kerry was a jerk to vote no on that.

If anyone knows how I can make a donation to help with this please post a link or U2U me.

Thanks,

Jemison

If you find out anything, let me know. We don't really have that much money to give, but, my husband probably would be able to give some, and well, I probably could offer some assistance in getting people to the sight. Heck, I'd print up little flyers and leave them all over the town too!
Unfortunately, any site out there trying to do this has probably been harassed badly by the hardcore republican supporters, since it goes against their alternate view, where all is fine, our economy is great, and the war in iraq is victorious!!

Maybe Kerry should have voted or fowarded a bill for a larger package to help cover the cost of necessary equipment.

When you're fighting a war, there is never enough necessary gear to meet the demands.

Originally posted by Intelearthling
Maybe Kerry should have voted or fowarded a bill for a larger package to help cover the cost of necessary equipment.

When you're fighting a war, there is never enough necessary gear to meet the demands.

Maybe Bush should have waited until the troops had proper equipment, and followed Kerrry's advice on how to get it.

I think the money is somehow getting redistributed amongst the wealthy. The problem is not a lack of money, but a lack of competency, IMO. If $138 billion isn't enough, how much is? Just what the hell are they doing with the money???

www.costofwar.com...

[edit on 4-10-2004 by Damned]

I bet the soldiers for hire our gov't has contracted to be there have everything they need...and we wonder why they are leaving the army and opting to get hired in...

Hrm, I wonder how they are managing to purchase body armor, since I seem to remember a huge stink in the news a few months ago about private citizens purchasing bodyarmor. I don't know if its a federal law yet, but I was told some areas now make it illegal to buy or posess body armor after the West Hollywood shootout. Kind of sad that its fallen upon the shoulders of families to provide for the soldiers who are going to war on behalf of the goverment; I wish I had a scan of the lists of things being collected at my college; why the hell are we collecting bandages at a small community college to provide for soldiers when the men who sent them to war and their deaths should be busting their butts to provide for those men and women?

Maybe bush should take the money he is allocating for the security of the oil fields and use it for the security of our troops.

This is outrageous that our troops had to fight in a war that was not properly plan or perhaps our leaders though that after taking Saddam our soldiers were going to live in paradise during the days after the invasion.

They hadn't planned on it being a real war. I mean, it's obvious, since Bush boasted "mission accomplished" so long ago. The man is delusional, IMO. He actually thought the war was over long before it was over. We all know it's still not over. Not only doesn't he know who to attack, but he also doesn't know what the hell is even going on. Things will only get worse for Americans, unless people start pulling their heads out of their asses.

They hadn't planned on it being a real war. I mean, it's obvious, since Bush boasted "mission accomplished" so long ago.

Keep the quote in context. The Mission accomplished speech was to men and women who HAD finished thier mission. It was a thank you speech to those men and women and I think it's silly to try to take it out of context.

Jemison

So sad that the administration never said thanks to the troops in Afghanistan for a "mission accomplish"

I wonder how we were so blind as to see the real war and the real object of bush obsession, but we will remember 9/11 even if the administration forgot about it and replaced it with Iraq.

That's not how America took it. Why in the hell would you say something like that? Do they do that every time some troops come home? Get real. It was a ridiculous photo op.

During the speech in May, Bush said, "The battle of Iraq is one victory in a war on terror that began on September 11, 2001, and still goes on."
The speech and events surrounding it were widely publicized and served as the symbolic end to the war in Iraq.

[edit on 4-10-2004 by Damned]

Lets not argue about Bush & Kerry. Lets work to help these families.

Jemison & Dawnstar - a fundraiser sounds like a great idea.
I don't know of any off hand but theres no harm in starting your own.

A organization exists for military families who have kin serving in Iraq.
Don't think I can post the name here, though, since I'm not a representative for them. If you do a search you'll pull it up. (google: Military Families Iraq...)

There is an immediacy to this issue, needless to say, since bombings are occurring daily over there.




[edit on 5-10-2004 by bushblows]

What are they going to do? Give all donations to the government to give to the military? I believe their incompetence started this in the first place, didn't it? Why should I believe any money is going to get to the right people when it didn't in the first place?

My brother in law has been there for a few months. He spent the first month there with no pillow. I mean, I know that's not like having no armor, bullets, but you'd think that they'd at least have the resources to get him a freaking pillow. He used a rolled up towell. His parents had to send one to him, along with sheets. His group is so busy they never gets to eat, so we've sent him boxes of food too. I know war is misrable and all, but when our president and the presidential candidates are flying around the country in private jets, spending millions for their campains, it's hard to beleive that one has to sleep on a towell. Especiall when we are billions in debt so far in this war. Get the man a flipping pillow.

Originally posted by mpeake
My brother in law has been there for a few months. He spent the first month there with no pillow. I mean, I know that's not like having no armor, bullets, but you'd think that they'd at least have the resources to get him a freaking pillow. He used a rolled up towell. His parents had to send one to him, along with sheets. His group is so busy they never gets to eat, so we've sent him boxes of food too. I know war is misrable and all, but when our president and the presidential candidates are flying around the country in private jets, spending millions for their campains, it's hard to believe that one has to sleep on a towell. Especiall when we are billions in debt so far in this war. Get the man a flipping pillow.

I agree. There's a huge lack of priority in the US. It's much more important for politicians to have the easiest life they can possibly afford (using our tax dollars). Meanwhile, there isn't enough room in jails to house real criminals, much less pillows and blankets. You're lucky if you even have a bunk. People get let out of jails merely because there isn't enough room. Why? Because their priorities are fuctup! They'd rather lock up harmless people who smoke pot, knowing damn well they're only doing it for the money they'll be paid.
Soldiers, who aren't even criminals, end up suffering the same hardships because politicians can't even fathom a life without plenty of money, and people to do things for them. They don't live in the reality that most of us live in, and yet they command and control those who pay them to live this type of life? Where's the logic behind that? I say put someone in office who's actually had to work for a living, buy his own food, clothes, clean his own house, etc. These guys are so out of touch with reality, it's not even funny. I'm tired of rich pansies running our country!

[edit on 7-10-2004 by Damned]

I was in Iraq, I had body armour, my family or myself didn't have to pay for it. Interesting.