Extra Armor Could Have Saved Many Lives, Study Shows By MICHAEL MOSS
A secret Pentagon study has found that at least 80 percent of the marines who have been killed in Iraq from wounds to their upper body could have survived if they had extra body armor. That armor has been available since 2003 but until recently the Pentagon has largely declined to supply it to troops despite calls from the field for additional protection, according to military officials.
The ceramic plates in vests currently worn by the majority of military personnel in Iraq cover only some of the chest and back. In at least 74 of the 93 fatal wounds that were analyzed in the Pentagon study of marines from March 2003 through June 2005, bullets and shrapnel struck the marines' shoulders, sides or areas of the torso where the plates do not reach.
Thirty-one of the deadly wounds struck the chest or back so close to the plates that simply enlarging the existing shields "would have had the potential to alter the fatal outcome," according to the study, which was obtained by The New York Times.
For the first time, the study by the military's medical examiner shows the cost in lost lives from inadequate armor, even as the Pentagon continues to publicly defend its protection of the troops. Officials have said they are shipping the best armor to Iraq as quickly as possible. At the same time, they have maintained that it is impossible to shield forces from the increasingly powerful improvised explosive devices used by insurgents. Yet the Pentagon's own study reveals the equally lethal threat of bullets.
The vulnerability of the military's body armor has been known since the start of the war, and is part of a series of problems that have surrounded the protection of American troops. Still, the Marine Corps did not begin buying additional plates to cover the sides of their troops until this September, when it ordered 28,800 sets, Marine Corps officials acknowledge.
The Army, which has the largest force in Iraq, is still deciding what to purchase, according to Army procurement officials. They said the Army is deciding between various sizes of plates to give its 130,000 soldiers; the officials said they hope to issue contracts this month.
Additional forensic studies by the Armed Forces Medical Examiner's unit that were obtained by The Times indicate that about 340 American troops have died solely from torso wounds.
This is disgraceful. These guys put their lives on the line and we dont even give them adequate equipment. With all the money we waste we're wasting lives also.
maybe batman begins was a metaphor for this...remember the part when he's talking to morgan freeman and he asks about why the military hasnt supplied their troops with that high grade armor and he says something to the effect of, "a soldiers life isn't worth X amount of money i guess"
these guys are fighting a war that shouldnt be happening, IMO, and if we're sending them over there to die, might as well give them a chance at living through a bullet.
im with you punu, it is depressing.
Sean, may you always rest in peace and look down on us with the same love that we look up to you.
I've lost a friend in the war.
I'm not sure the armor would have saved him, but I do know that he was happy to be there, doing his part.
If we could've done something more to save a guy like that, then shame on us. Shame on us.
"Sit back and watch the Redskins.
SOMETHING MAGICAL IS ABOUT TO BEGIN!"
JPFair- A fan's fan. RIP, brother
Please don't read into this story to much...As in sports, this writer has "spun" the info he received. Without getting to in depth I can tell you this study has without a doubt saved lives!
"Sean Taylor is hands down the best athlete I've ever coached it's not even close" Gregg Williams 2005 Mini-Camp
Yeah, it's too bad that soldiers had to die because of lack of equiptment, but there was nothing malicious about it, and I don't think this was really the "bean counters" being too stingy...
The mariners were just given what was tried and true, no one knew, until now, what a difference this new stuff would make. I'm glad this study was done so we can keep our soldiers a little safer out there.
"Guess [Ryan Kerrigan] really does have a good motor. And is relentless. And never quits on a play. And just keeps coming. And probably eats Wheaties and drinks Apple Pie smoothies and shaves with Valvoline." -Dan Steinberg DC Sports Bog
