Anaconda armor shop improvises upgrades (GI Ingenuity)

[RamboLiberal]

http://www.estripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=25994

Sgt. David Kamm said soldiers had a motto in the days when they drove the dangerous roads of Iraq protected by nothing more than the thin aluminum of their truck cabs: “Mission first, lives second.”

Everybody talked about it in the 7th Transportation Battalion, said Kamm, an Army National Guard member from Michigan, who drives a truck as a civilian.

There was no protection from the increasing bullets and roadside bombs. They had no more protection than a trucker rolling from Lansing, Mich., to Des Moines, Iowa.

“Vulnerable? Definitely,” said Pvt. Andrew Harbison, another driver from Michigan.

<snip>

But 11 months and 11 million miles ago, the 7th Transportation Battalion out of Fort Bragg, N.C., couldn’t wait for the Army upgrade. Its 1,500 soldiers in Iraq had 500 pieces of rolling stock — Humvees and trucks — with skin nearly as soft as a baby’s.

[MichiganVote]

1. Well first Bush voted for the armor and then he voted against it

87 Billion dollars Americans. The great flip-flop charge against Senator Kerry. This is what your Bush government really thinks of you. No protection and no intention of protection. Nada. Nothing.

[MasonJar]

2. Let's see, the neo-cons excoriated Kerry for not voting for the

$87 billion. Now once again he has been proven right. The Bushies have not used the money for the soldiers. All Kerry wanted was to have the money tied to specific goals. I guess it has somehow embellished the coffers of Bush/Cheney.