re: #998 Van Helsing

The front and back plates are about the only thing (according to my son, 11B direct fire, infantry - sometimes called bullet sponge) that the troops will wear because THEY NEED TO BE ABLE TO F***ING MOVE! The gorget, sideplates and codpiece add about 15lbs MORE to a combat loadout that already pushes 75lbs!

I don’t disagree, but the accusation that the NYT helped the enemy is total BS, The enemy absolutely knew the limitations of the original armor set within weeks. The NYT wasn’t reporting anything that was not known by anyone in the theater.

As for your son, bless him for his service. He will be soon be in Afghanistan. The problem is is that the Army added temp fixes to a defensive system that was fundamentally flawed from the beginning. Rather than spend the money for new defensive systems, they are more than willing to pay for BS add-ons. Tragic for your boy. Sad for every grunt put on the ground in Afghanistan.