Via MB reader Mark E., The New York Times has provoked a lot of outrage recently, most of it directed at the Pentagon, over whether our troops in Iraq have enough body armor. But some Marines are saying that more body armor comes with major drawbacks:
The Marines — who have a much smaller force in Iraq than the Army — have been able to move more quickly, already equipping 9,200 of their troops with new side armor protection. By the end of April, every Marine will have new side armor.
But whether individual Marines and soldiers actually want to use the new armor is another question. Marine Sgt. Jared McNerney came to Capitol Hill to demonstrate the new armor but did not wear the shoulder protection. Asked why, he explained the added is armor hot, heavy and makes it hard to move.
“I’m in the infantry,” McNerney said. “Most of the time I’m climbing over walls, jumping through windows, kicking down doors, I need the most mobility with most protection I can get which was the setup I had right here. If I put those [shoulder protectors] on, I can barely extend my arms over my head. I can’t climb a six-foot wall, hop over it, hop a fence, jump through a three-foot window. There’s a lot of stuff I have to do with my arms, that’s the reason I choose not to wear my shoulder pads.”
U.S. military personnel should have the option of wearing more body armor, and the Pentagon deserves criticism to the extent that it’s not providing them with that option. But those imputing lost lives to a lack of armor fail to factor in the lives that might be lost due to restricted mobility in the field.