Humvees Lack Armor

Support the troops is the congressional mantra. WHY is it that after four years this is STILL a headline? Bush has no problem sending troops to fight in his war and STILL has not supplied them with what they need to survive. Bush never put this country on a "war-footing" that would get the troops everything they need. Four years and he is still fiddling while Baghdad burns and our troops are killed and blown to pieces. Thousands of Army Humvees Lack Armor Upgrade By Ann Scott Tyson Washington Post Staff Writer Monday, February 12, 2007; Page A01 The Army is working to fill a shortfall in Iraq of thousands of advanced Humvee armor kits designed to reduce U.S. troop deaths from roadside bombs -- including a rising threat from particularly lethal weapons linked to Iran and known as "explosively formed penetrators" (EFP) -- that are now inflicting 70 percent of the American casualties in the country, according to U.S. military and civilian officials. The additional protection is needed for thousands of U.S. reinforcement troops flowing into Baghdad, where these devastating weapons -- used primarily by Shiite fighters -- are particularly prevalent, the officials said. U.S. Army units in Iraq and Afghanistan lack more than 4,000 of the latest Humvee armor kit, known as FRAG Kit 5, according to U.S. officials. The Army has ramped up production of the armor, giving priority to troops in Baghdad, but the upgrade is not scheduled to be completed until this summer, Army officials said. That is well into the timeline for major operations launched last week to quell violence by Sunni insurgents and Shiite militias, which the U.S. military now views as the top security threat in Iraq. Read At The Washington Post