By Otto Kreisher
COPLEY NEWS SERVICE
3:41 p.m. February 10, 2004
WASHINGTON -- Every Marine and soldier being deployed to Iraq in the next few months will have the best body armor and a lot more armor-protected vehicles than the troops they are replacing, the top Marine and Army officers said Tuesday.
Gen. Michael Hagee, the Marine Corps commandant, and Gen. Peter Schoomaker, the Army chief of staff, said they were working together to provide the best possible protection for their personnel who will be taking over the dangerous security and stability duties in Iraq.
The two service leaders were grilled by Senate Armed Services Committee chairman John Warner, R-Va., about their steps to correct the shortages of the best protective vests and armored vehicles that have contributed to the 392 Americans killed in Iraq since the end of major combat.
http://www.signonsan...1-cnsarmor.html
Phew! Just in the nick of time! To think that they almost put the soldiers in harm's way WITHOUT the best equipment for the job.