It seems that the Marine Corps is discovering that wearing body armor that weighs 34 pounds in addition to all the combat gear an individual combat troop is expected to carry does have some side effects - like reducing their ability to move quickly and effectively when the shit hits the fan.
"The bottom line is that the focus on armor as the principal means of protecting our force is making us too heavy," said Flynn, deputy commandant of the Marine Corps for combat development and integration, during a hearing held by the House Appropriations defense subcommittee.
The weight of personal body armor and steel-encased vehicles limits the speed and maneuverability that make the Marine Corps "more effective and deadly to the enemy," he said.
Body armor has been a proven lifesaver of U.S. troops. But the vests weigh as much as 34 pounds each. When body armor is added to the assault rifles, ammunition, water and other essential gear troops are required to carry, they can be lugging as much as 80 pounds into combat. Besides moving more slowly, overburdened troops tire more quickly and are prone to orthopedic injuries that can take them out of action, officials say.
By overprotecting our troops with MRAPs and body armor, the military is actually putting them in more danger by limiting their manueverability and ability to engage the enemy. But hey, it's easier to explain why it takes so long to complete the mission in Afghanistan than to explain why war is dangerous to your health.
Interesting example of over-emphasizing risk to the detriment of other imperatives. In nature, if an organism puts most of its energy into protection, it has little left for foraging and reproduction, and fails to evolve.
Posted by: Kotare | 12 March 2009 at 01:32 AM