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Soldiers Told To Shed Dragon
Skin or Lose SGLI Death Benefits
By Nathaniel R. Helms
 Two deploying soldiers and a concerned mother reported Friday afternoon that the U.S. Army appears to be singling out soldiers who have purchased Pinnacle's Dragon Skin Body Armor for special treatment. The soldiers, who are currently staging for combat operations, reported that their commander told them if they were wearing Pinnacle Dragon Skin and were killed their beneficiaries might not receive the death benefits from their $400,000 SGLI life insurance policies. The soldiers were told to leave their privately purchased body armor at home or face the possibility of both losing their life insurance benefit and facing disciplinary action, they said. See entire story below.
Paul Connors Makes
DefenseWatch Editor Blush
Matt Dodd Waxes Poetic
On the Occasion of His Retirement
A Day In the Life of a Soldier
Intel Center, Slogging The Blogs,
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From the Editor:
Is the Procurement System Actually Working AGAINST the Troops?
 If we are going to send our soldiers and Marines into hell-holes like Fallujah and An Najaf, then they should be protected to the maximum extent possible. They should have more than an even chance of going in the front door and coming out the back door in one piece. How many American Marines might be alive today had they been issued better body armor is really not the issue. The one that is and the one requiring real and honest answers is how did the system permit an inferior product to be issued, when its quality and protective capabilities were questioned from the very beginning. (Paul Connors) Full Story |
Regular Articles
Army Orders Soldiers to Shed Dragon Skin or Lose SGLI Death Benefits
Recently Dragon Skin has become a source of contention between proponents of the Interceptor OTV body armor generally issued to all service members deploying in combat theaters and its growing legion of critics. Critics of the Interceptor OTV system say it is ineffective and inferior to Dragon Skin, as well as several other commercially available body armor systems on the market. Last week DefenseWatch released a secret Marine Corps report that determined that 80% of the 401 Marines killed in Iraq between April 2004 and June 2005 might have been saved if the Interceptor OTV body armor they were wearing was more effective. (Nathaniel R. Helms)
Full Story |
More Things I Do Not Know or Understand
 It has been over four years since I wrote my first list of things I do not know or understand. Stepping back into my own river of ignorance for the fourth time, I know I am a much different person now, and I know that the river is not the same as it was four years ago. I only have my questions and my opinions. In keeping with the spirit of Heraclitus when he said, "Lovers of wisdom must open their minds to very many things," I look forward to hearing back from my readers so we can become collectively wiser, for better or worse. (Matt Dodd) |
The Spoiled and Pampered Pets of Uncle Sam
 The admiral's attempt to demonstrate the "right attitude" by holding someone accountable rings hollow. Cdr Rod Gibbons' statement, as the academy's Public Affairs Officer, "The standard is very clear: The Navy does not tolerate sexual harassment, misconduct or assault; these issues are taken seriously, all allegations are thoroughly investigated, people are held accountable for their actions and due process is ensured..." cannot be true if the history leading up to the recent commission report provides any illumination. (Raymond Perry)
Full Story |
Interceptor OTV Body Armor Cost Lives, An Internal USMC Reports Shows
 Many war fighters told DefenseWatch they used their own money to buy superior body armor systems available on the open market despite DOD claims that the Interceptor body armor is the best money can buy. Those warriors reported the Interceptor body armor is frequently ill-fitting, falls apart with rugged use, decreases in protective capability with age, and leaves the wearer vulnerable to side and shoulder wounds that could prove fatal. The findings of the August 29 report supports every contention the agitated war fighters made. So did evidence introduced in several civilian court cases brought against all three of the Interceptor body armor manufacturers in unrelated lawsuits by disgruntled employees, civilian police agencies and the US Justice Department. (Nathaniel R. Helms) |
Good Morning America Puts Howard Stern over 300 Marines' Lives
 When Good Morning America came back on they said that they had bagged a big interview with Howard Stern. Howard Stern just got several hundred million dollars to switch to satellite radio. Howard rambled on and on about himself, his self importance to the world of potty-humor and his candor at wishing the director of the FCC death from cancer he has contracted. So we were preempted for this? (Brian Hart) |
A Day In the Life of a Soldier
 I rode with SSG Hasbrouck and his crew. The vehicle commander was SGT Kahana-Travis, another hulk of a man, who looked tough as nails. But I have never met a man with a more ready laugh. In fact, he laughed the whole mission, constantly joking with the crew keeping them at ease, occasionally tossing in his "Scooby-Do" impression. (Jim Hawkins and Tom Clarkson) |
On War #146: Conversation with de Allerhoechste
 "While your world looks very different on the surface from Europe before 1914, I think there is a larger similarity," His Majesty said. "Your international order, like the one I faced, is inherently unstable. Unfortunately, like us, your statesmen understand this intellectually but act as if it were not the case. They, like us, do not understand the risks they are running when they make bold moves. America's ill-considered commitment to Taiwan is one example. (William S. Lind) |
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SFTT Mission Statement
Soldiers For The Truth
carries on the campaign
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H. Hackworth (Ret.) -
one of America's greatest
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need to give a voice to our serving sons and daughters and to
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Slogging the Blogs
DATELINE - The World
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Who Is Fighting Our Wars?
In January 2004, Bicanic, of Purpose Films, began a correspondence with a friend who had joined a private military company and was stationed in Baghdad. Through the pseudonymous "James," who provides narration throughout "Shadow Company," and hundreds of hours of interviews, Bicanic became aware of how much of the war effort was being run by PMCs. "I realized that this film really had to be made because the rules of war had changed, and there was a relevant message about modern warfare that wasn't coming across in other media," he says.
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Oil Spots or Casualty Counts?
 The "leave now" school argues that the above thinking ignores unavoidable, but widely ignored, realities inside U.S. Armed Forces and on the ground in Iraq. Rep. John Murtha, D-Pa., argues that if U.S. Armed Forces are not now "broken" they will be soon, making then unavailable for more important tasks, such as tracking down Osama bin Laden. More crucial is the question whether the experience the Iraqi population has already had with the American presence in Iraq holds any prospect for "winning their hearts and minds" and allegiance to a moderate, Western democracy -- the key goal of the "stick around" school. The death toll of Iraqis civilians is the primary evidence. (Winslow Wheeler)
Full Story |
Army Bends to Public Pressure - Sort Of!
 He (Maj. Gen. Steven Speaks) countered media reports that say the U.S. military is behind thepower curve in providing appropriate force protection gear for troops deployed to Iraq and elsewhere in the global war against terrorism.
"Those headlines entirely miss the point," Speaks said. The effort to improve body armor "has been a programmatic effort in the case of the Army that has gone on with great intensity for the last five months,"
he noted. (AFPS) Full Story |
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