Taylor Marsh – TaylorMarsh.com – News, Opinion and Weblog on Progressive Politics

http://soldierforhillary.com/2009/04/25/new-lightweight-body-armor-is-a-go/

The new lighter body armor is a go! New York Times did a opinion piece last week on it being held up but now reports that Secretary Gates stepped in and made inquiries in regards to finding out what was the hold up on us getting it and will now be headed down to Afghanistan!

I for one can say that this is a very good thing because when we trained in Kuwait en route to Iraq the last time, acclimatizing yourself again with the weight is a bitch in that heat. Plus, going out on missions during convoys with all your protective gear depending on what type of vehicle you are in makes for a very uncomfortable ride and it is not like you can just take it off. However Afghanistan is an entirely different story all together. NYT touched on it in regards to Korangal Valley terrain:

But I was there during Operation Anaconda when we pulled base operations in Uzbekistan before jumping sites to go to Bagram Airfield when they went into Shahi-Kot Valley and Anaconda is a PRIME reason why shit like delays and not having the proper equipement is important. We fell up under 10th Mountain and although the word *mountain* is in there name, they were NOT used to the terrain. I blogged about Anaconda many times , anyway, other than the fact that I believe the Afghan forces didn’t come through, there is a wealth of information that could be used to learn from past mistakes from back then. Especially considering the fact that some didn’t have that level of experience or training you could say to effectively navigate that area.

But the fact that Mullah Omar, al-Zawahiri and Osama bin Laden were said to be in that area, well we know what happened with that. The altitude for those not used to it, the terrain and acclimatizing depending on the weather all plays a part therefore your equipment can be a asset or a problem and people just don’t get that. It’s not like we can take it off to get comfortable and put it back on. Maybe if some could wear it themselves, exactly what WE move out in to do our job replicating that area, they would see why this is important. Most of the soldiers who just come in are not used to it.

Yes, when we do Sergeants Time Training we train as we fight BUT when you are in a entirely different landscape like Afghanistan it changes certain factors. Playing *politickin* when it comes to our equipment is straight bullshit. This is what could be the difference between life and death especially if it could of been prevented by having the necessary tools to do the job. And we damn sure shouldn’t have to put up a fight just to get said protective equipment and the fact that we do is just simply amazing in itself. How in the world can you explain not providing the tools necessary to do a job that you can send us too? We SHOULD have the best of damn everything without having to ask. Ask? Okay. Justify and explain why? Yes. Beg, plead? Hell no. If China has one, we should have two. If Russia has two, we should have four. If someone is thinking about getting it, we should already have it. We are the United States of freaking America! We LEAD from the front! Better believe it.

This post was submitted by soldier4hillary.