They have not one clue about warfare and are just seeking cheap political points. Our friggin' 60-ton Abrams tanks can be knocked out by weapons that penetrate their armor. Just how is a 200-pound soldier supposed to carry enough armor to deflect all blasts? And then fight?
Our troops will have five more pounds to lug around to defend against attacks, according to an Army press conference:
Well, you know, John, the -- as you appreciate and I think as everybody has read -- it's a -- what we're trying to do here is balance the mobility with protection. And soldier protection clearly is a key element, and it's very important to the Army in general and me personally. And I've personally spent a lot of time on it.
Now, we have continuously improved the armor that we provide for the soldiers from the beginning, starting with the addition of the so- called SAPI plate, Small Arm Protection Inserts. That was then without really a definite threat. We then changed to an improved material which we call ESAPI.Then we provided -- which I mentioned -- these deltoid plates.
We're now in the process, based on a request from theater, providing side plates. Even though the evidence shows that this is not a major threat, we have an adaptive enemy that we're trying to get ahead of, so we are going to be fielding, starting next month, side plates.
So it's an evolving thing. That's going to add weight, of course. You've read where certain soldiers aren't happy about that, but we think it's in their best interest to do this, again, keeping in mind that they need the flexibility, they need the mobility and agility to be effective.
So as we've noted, you can have protection, but if you can't move, you may get shot in the leg or something because you can't move that fast. So it's a compromise.
Armor protection for our troops is great. And we always want it to be better. But killing the enemy is the best protection. Don't forget that our troops need to fight while armored, not wallow in protection that will not prevent them from getting killed by enemies we fail to kill. A pound here and a pound there, and pretty soon we're talking real weight, eh?
Of course, the attacks these side armor plates are really intended to stop are not actual attacks by the enemy but attacks by political opponents who will declare any amount of armor inadequate.
Haven't we learned from the history of armor in Iraq that our opponents can come up with ways to work around any defense?
