Is it any wonder that the circulation numbers for the New York Slimes keeps falling?
Col. Thomas Spoehr is annoyed....
By jkelly
Irish Pennants
....with New York Times reporter Michael Moss, and with good reason.
Spoehr is the director of materiel on the Army staff. He had a good news story to tell Moss, which Moss converted into a bad news story.
Here is the story as Spoehr tells it:
Last year, senior leaders of the Army became aware of technological developments that make it possible to improve the "Interceptor" body armor worn by our troops.
The "Interceptor" consists of a vest, two SAPI (small arms protective insert) plates made of boronic carbide, the second hardest substance known to man, and "backing" material around the plates. The plates will shatter a standard rifle bullet, and the backing catches the bullet fragments to prevent injuries from shrapnel.
The Interceptor plates are proof against most rifle bullets of 7.62 mm or smaller caliber (the interceptor can stop an AK-47 bullet fired from just 10 feet away, Spoehr says), there are certain kinds of bullets that can penetrate it.
Having been made aware of a technological improvement that will make the SAPI plates proof against (most) special types of ammunition, Army leaders order the procurement bureaucracy to get cracking.
The Army was acting proactively to deal with a potential threat that hadn't yet appeared on the battlefield, Spoehr said.
"We're taking what we think is a prudent step to guard against a step (the insurgents) could take, but that's a threat that really hasn't developed yet," he said.
Manufacturing the new plates is not a simple process, since they must be milled within a 1,000th of an inch. "Making one of these plates is like making one of those tiles that protects the (space) shuttle from heat," Spoehr said.
Yet though the specs weren't set until early in January, new plates were being manufactured -- and delivery begun to U.S. troops -- in March. Those familiar with the Pentagon's procurement process recognize this as lightning speed.
The new plates are a little thicker, and the whole Interceptor system weighs two lbs more (18 lbs vs. 16 lbs) than the one currently in use. The new SAPI plates cost $1,300 a set to manufacture, up from $1,000 for the older set.
Here is how the story was presented by Moss in the New York Times Aug. 14th:
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Headline: U.S. Struggling to Get Soldiers Updated Armor
For the second time since the Iraq war began, the Pentagon is struggling to replace body armor that is failing to protect American troops from the most lethal attacks of insurgents.
The ceramic plates in vests worn by most personnel cannot withstand certain munitions the insurgents use. But more than a year after military officials initiated an effort to replace the armoer with thicker, more resistant plates, tens of thousands of soldiers are still without stronger protection because of a string of delays in the Pentagon's procurement system.
>>>
Spoehr told Moss all the things he told me, but there is not a single positive quote in the story.
"You would get the impression that our soldiers in Iraq are in harm's way or at risk," Spoehr said. "Every soldier over there has interceptor body armor, the best in the world."
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