Tuesday, September 20, 2005
Not Enough Armor
Remember the storm of complaints that the Humvees in Iraq didn't have enough armor last December? I do. I also read with sadness the Department of Defense News Releases about the deaths of four American soldiers in the last few days in Iraq. All were killed by IEDs. Three of the four were killed while in their M1A1 Abrams tank, which weighs 70 tons and can survive a direct hit from the 120mm gun of the Russian T-72 main battle tank. How much more armor could we have possibly provided those brave soldiers than our biggest and best tank? They were: Sgt. Matthew L. Deckard, 29, of Elizabethtown, Ky; 1st Sgt. Alan N. Gifford, 39, of Tallahassee, Fla.; and, Spc. David H. Ford IV, 20, of Ironton, Ohio, all of the 3rd Infantry Division.
If only the Bush administration had thought to buy the kits to upgrade the Abrams' several inches of special metal armor.
The fourth soldier was killed in his Humvee. We don't know the thickness of his vehicle's armor, but it was certainly less than the Abrams tanks had. He was Staff Sgt. Regilio E. Nelom, 45, of Queens, N.Y., assigned to the 1st Corps Support Command.
If only the Bush administration had thought to buy the kits to upgrade the Abrams' several inches of special metal armor.
The fourth soldier was killed in his Humvee. We don't know the thickness of his vehicle's armor, but it was certainly less than the Abrams tanks had. He was Staff Sgt. Regilio E. Nelom, 45, of Queens, N.Y., assigned to the 1st Corps Support Command.
# posted by Roger Fraley @ 9:59 PM 
