In the midst of yet another example of deficient body armor, the US Army continues to insist that body armor and body armor plates supplied to US troops are safe. In late January, Secretary of Army Pete Geren stated that ‘there is nothing more important than the safety of our Soldiers, their confidence in their equipment, and America’s confidence in their Army.”
He went on to say that “out of more than 2,300 body armor tests conducted by the Army, the ...
Continue Reading →In what is now becoming a regular occurrence, the US Army is recalling body armor plates that may have failed to meet manufacturing specifications.
According to the June 14th news release, the US “Army recently issued a message for all troops and units to inspect their body armor, specifically the Enhanced Small Arms Protective Inserts, or ESAPI, in search of a specific model that was not made according to contract requirements.”
The US Army claims that “the ...
Continue Reading →SFTT has had a single report from a credible source that a unit in Afghanistan has problems — jamming — with their government issued magazines for their 5.56mm weapons. These single-spring magazines are jamming in Afghanistan firefights and some believe these government-issued magazines are inferior to the double-spring magazines currently available commercially.
These problems appear to be due to the single-spring magazines not having sufficient force to work when exposed to sand, dirt, etc. — that is common during normal tactical conditions encountered in ...
Continue Reading →Five more American servicemen died in Afghanistan. We salute your bravery and courage.
Continue Reading →June 01, 2010
Brigadier General Michael M. Brogan
Commander
Marine Corps Systems Command
2200 Lester St.
Quantico, Virginia 22134-6050
Dear General,
I realize I’m the last person you wanted to hear from, yet again. But I felt it was essential after reading about the doors jamming on the M-ATV, that’s why I have reached out to you as the Commander of System Command with my thoughts. The issue at hand is the M-ATV doors, I’m well aware you know all about the issue at hand. I ask ...
Continue Reading →Article first published as Deficient Guns Expose Troops in Afghanistan on Technorati.
On the heels of the General Accountability Office (“GAO”) report of the improper testing of body armor supplied to U.S. troops and the recall of 44,000 defective military helmets manufactured by Federal Prison Industries, comes equally discouraging news of serious deficiencies in the M4 carbine and M2 Heavy Machine Gun (“HMG”) supplied to U.S. troops in Afghanistan.
In a report entitled “Increasing Small Arms ...
Continue Reading →In an eye-opening article published by American Thinker, two reporters sadly report that “political correctness” is now being applied to battlefield situations. In an article which must be read in its entirety, authors Janet Levy and Nidra Poller conclude that “the highest levels of government enforce a policy on the military which effectively prevents consideration of the enemy doctrine of jihad.”
Please note that these two authors clearly have a political viewpoint that is not ...
Continue Reading →Buried inside the devastating Government Accountability Office’s (GAO’s) October 2009 report on the Pentagon’s inability to demonstrate “overall reliability and repeatability” in body armor tests is this intriguing statement:
“Testing was halted for other high-priority tests involving 2,000 plates from Iraq that were identified as potentially cracked by nondestructive testing performed by the Army.” [Footnote 14, page 12, GAO-10-119 Warfighter Support.]
Whoa . . . these are the very same ceramic protective plates that ...
Continue Reading →Bob Owens, a Blogger for Pajamas Media, writes a very interesting article on the recently discredited M4 carbine now used by US troops in Afghanistan. In an article entitled: Fox News Gets It Wrong: M4 Rifle Works Fine; the Problem Is the Cartridge, Mr. Owens argues persuasively that the problem is not with the M4 which he characterizes as being “long in the tooth,” but in the relatively weak 5.56mm caliber bullet used in this weapon.
Mr. Owens goes on to suggest that ...
Continue Reading →Congressman Chris Carney (D-PA) has rightfully asked that defective military helmets now produced by UNICOR or Federal Prison Industries (“FPI”) be turned over to private enterprise. In yet another stunning indictment of a thoroughly incompetent, ineffective and some might argue corrupt military procurement system, the Department of Justice recently launched an investigation into the recall of 44,000 military helmets which failed to meet required military test procedures. The contract was awarded to ArmorSource LLC, who in turned subcontracted the work ...
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