Oliver links to this story, and my only coment is BULLSHIT:
The Democratic National Committee, in response, sent out a statement from Nita Martin, a Pennsylvania mother and registered Republican whose two sons have served in Iraq.
Martin said it was the Bush administration who has failed to support the troops.
“Before one of my sons left, he went online to buy himself a helmet that would better protect him than the one which was issued to him by the U.S. military,” she said. “If anybody doesn’t support the troops it’s George W. Bush. He sent my sons to war with no plan. They were ill-prepared and the result is more and more casualties every day.”
Bullshit, bullshit, and more bullshit. Now Oliver, whose experience in the military includes watching Platoon and Saving Private Ryan might swallow that horseshit, but I don’t. No soldier is deployed into a combat zone without a Kevlar helmet. Cripes- no soldier makes it from the replacement center to his basic training unit without being issued a Kevlar.
This is just utter hogwash. I am so sick and tired of know-nothings like Oliver exploiting TOE’s for partisan gain. Not all units are issued the same equipment. When you hear stories of soldiers not being issued body armor, itis because their unit was never slated to have body armor of a specific type, for whatever operational reason. Not because they weresent into a combat zone unprepared.
There are always changes to TOE’s, and there are lag times in between equipment changes and unit wide distribution of new equipment. This is not because our military is underfunded, under-supported, or because our leadership cares. This is a sign that we are constantly testing new equipment and deployingit as fast as possible to theplaces needed most.
Furthermore, different units require deifferent equipment. When you hear people bitching that they didn’t have ‘armored’ HumVees, there is a reason for it- their normal mission did not require that theyhave them. If the mission changes, the military does its best to shift its resources appropriately. This is not a sign of a lack opf preparedness, but rather, versatility. Different jobs require different equipment, otherwise we would just have every god damned soldier in theatre in an M1A2 Abrams tank, because it doesn’t get much safer than that.
Sometimes people should take the old advice that it is ‘better to sit there and let people think you are stupid rather than opening your mouth and proving it.’
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Ha, ha. I wonder if her son bought a “better” helmet on Amazon. com? Maybe an Army/Navy store? Geez.
ape
Yeah Oliver – shuddup ya chickendove.
Gary Frans
All very salient points. However, your opinion is not emphasized by taking the Lord thy God’s name in vain. They are NOT “god damned soldiers”. They ARE America’s Finest. They are my peers, my comrads, the blood of my blood and, certainly but not least, they are very best hope of humanity surviving it’s own stupity.
Heraldblog
So, you’re saying it’s important to get one’s facts straight when trying to discredit a political opponent. Got that.
Reds
This is bunk. My oldest son went to Iraq and was never without a helmet. He finally came home last August – all parts intact – Thank Goodness!
The other reason I know the troops do not go without helmets and body armor is because I work in a supply unit. Those going to places that need those items are issued them before they leave. WE make sure of it. I resent someone saying that the troops have or had to buy thier own gear. Baloney! (or something thAt smells worse!)
Sergeant America
Jumping in late and not knowing of “Oliver;” I find it very disheartening to find the DNC and a supposed “Mother” of a Warrior(s) taking politics beyond our shores.
Life’s tough…It’s tougher if your stupid!…
(John Wayne)
I find it interesting, too; that most of these Generation X, Y, Zeros…have never touched blood or smelled death…
God help them all…I won’t…
S.W. Anderson
“When you hear stories of soldiers not being issued body armor, itis because their unit was never slated to have body armor of a specific type, for whatever operational reason. Not because they weresent into a combat zone unprepared.”
I distinctly remember watching Senate hearings on C-SPAN almost a year ago in which the Army general in charge of supplying the troops in Iraq, Kuwait and Qatr explained the lack of body armor by saying that it had been provided for troops in combat units. People in supply, food service, etc., weren’t given body armor because they weren’t considered to be in combat.
The senator asking the questions (Biden, IIRC) pointed out, in no uncertain terms, that in Iraq, everybody is a target and everywhere is a combat zone. He was outraged and didn’t try to hide it. He went on to emphasize that that answer wasn’t acceptable and things had better change fast.
Then again, about last March, there was another hearing, with Sen. Joe Lieberman asking another general how it could be that after Congress had put specific language in a funding measure to make damn sure there would be plenty of body armor to go around, senators were still getting letters from families saying their soldier hadn’t been issued body armor.
The general did not have a very satisfactory answer. If fact, he appeared to realize he wasn’t giving a satisfactory answer. What he said came closer to being B.S. than Nita Martin’s complaint.
“B.S., B.S., B.S.” Hmmm. Isn’t that what Hitler said about all those Wehrmacht whiners and complainers who couldn’t take a little cold weather in Stalingrad, in their summer-weight uniforms?
Raging Dave
Godwin’s Law, Anderson. You lose. You get nothing. Good day.
MPSSG
I went to Iraq and I did have a ballistic “flak” vest, which is the an older version of body armor. (A great improvment over the old flak vest I wore in the 80’s.) When we moved north into Iraq that is what we had. In July of ’03 we recieved the new bullet proof vests. At no time did we not have some kind of vest to protect us. As an EPW battalion we were not expected to engage in front line combat, so did not need the higher grade vests. As for helmuts, what better one is out there then the one the U.S. military issues?
Anyway…GOD bless our troops and bring understanding to ignorant trolls