Some of our Marines would like to shed some of their PPE (personal protective equipment).
Lt. Col. Kelly Alexander, the commanding officer of Task Force Highlander, part of Regimental Combat Team-2, which operates in western Anbar province has calls this a ’soft posture’. He feels they can go out with less armor because the area has become more secure.
Lt. Col. Alexander made the request to shed the armor and was told on Tuesday night that the request is being taken to a higher headquarters. The Marines would keep the equipment with them so that it can quickly be put back on should things heat up and the armor is needed.
By taking off the additional armor the Marines will be able to be more agile. They are talking about around ten pounds of armor they will be able to take off.
I was particularly interested in this because my son is a tanker. I’ve heard him complain about the amount of body armor they are required to wear. He says it’s so much that it makes it difficult to turn quickly and getting in and out of the tank requires moving in a certain way so that you can get through the hole. Apparently, there isn’t any popping in and out of the top of the tank.
All all that isn’t even starting to mention how hot the armor is in addition to the sheer weight of it.
I’ve thought it was interesting to hear our Congress people carry on about paying for more body armor for our Soldiers and Marines. It sounds good to ask for that. They play it up to sound like they support the Troops. It sounds supportive of the Troops - if you don’t know that they are already wearing so much armor they can’t move around, leaving them more vulnerable to the more agile ’shoot and scoot’ style of the enemy.
I mean - look at the guys in these tanks and remember it’s over 100 degrees where they are. They HAVE to be miserable in the heavy clothes with armor on top of them.
I hope they get a little bit of relief - safely.
Read more at Stars and Stripes
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Trackposted to Outside the Beltway, Perri Nelson’s Website, Blog @ MoreWhat.com, Rosemary’s Thoughts, DeMediacratic Nation, 123beta, Adam’s Blog, Big Dog’s Weblog, Right Truth, Shadowscope, Webloggin, Stuck On Stupid, Cao’s Blog, Leaning Straight Up, The Bullwinkle Blog, The Amboy Times, , Conservative Cat, Pursuing Holiness, Public Domain Clip Art, Adeline and Hazel, third world county, Woman Honor Thyself, The World According to Carl, Pirate’s Cove, Nuke’s news and views, The Pink Flamingo, Republican National Convention Blog, Dumb Ox Daily News, Right Voices, The Yankee Sailor, and Church and State, thanks to Linkfest Haven Deluxe.
August 15th, 2007 at 2:53 pm
I can’t honestly say whether or not it would be a good idea for our troops to shed any of the body armor they are wearing just from a safety standpoint but I can understand their wanting to do so. I am big into personal security and have bought more than one type of body armor from http://www.securityprousa.com. I’ve also picked up some little nick knacks and military gear, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Military from them! My wife bought a stun gun from them as well since I’m on the road a lot and this makes her feel much safer at home. Give these guys a look and you’ll find all the Homeland Security (http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/Homeland%20Security) Products and personal products you need.