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Politics : Stockman Scott's Political Debate Porch -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: stockman_scott who wrote (69002)	12/14/2004 8:00:41 PM
From: SiouxPal	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 89467

I cannot understand the motives of those on your thread who are happy with Bush. Sioux

To: stockman_scott who wrote (69002)	12/14/2004 9:13:06 PM
From: Ron	Read Replies (3) \| Respond to of 89467

More evidence the Bush administration responds to defense contractors who know how to grease palms? The army we could already have Carlos Guerra, a columnist for the San Antonio Express-News, has finally answered a question that has left us scratching our heads: Is it really so hard, in one of the most technologically-advanced nations in the world, to find a manufacturer of the metal plates needed to armor a Humvee? Well, as it turns out, it's not. In his latest column, Guerra takes a tour of "Texas Armoring Corp," a San Antonio business that modifies vehicles to be bullet and bombproof. "Their armoring materials will defeat any bullet short of a 50mm round and would protect passengers from most improvised explosive devices, which have become ubiquitous in Iraq," Guerra notes. According to its owner, the firm has been doing brisk business with defense contractors and Middle Eastern governments, but not with the U.S. Army: "'We have armored the Hummer H-1, the military style Humvee,' Ron Kimball said. "'And we could make a Humvee armoring kit per day starting today and make 30 with the material we have on hand.' "But after repeatedly submitting price quotes, the Kimballs said no one from the Defense Department has even bothered to call." Until Ronald Kimball wrote me to take issue with Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld's assertion that "production problems" are the reason GIs in Iraq don't have armored vehicles, I was unaware that San Antonio's Texas Armoring Corp. is doing a brisk business bulletproofing vehicles for a lot of Middle Eastern customers. "It is not a matter of production, as Secretary Rumsfeld said in response to the soldier's question about armored vehicles for the troops in Iraq," Kimball wrote. "It is a matter of lethargy and ineptitude. And it is sad that the government will lie to the American people, and especially to the soldiers, saying that they are doing all they can when we know the truth." Kimball's son, Trent, now owns the business his father got into in 1975 after leaving the Drug Enforcement Administration. For years most of their business was with Latin American governments and individuals, but lately the Kimballs have shipped 24 armored vehicles to clients in Iraq. The firm currently is armoring 35 vehicles, most for Middle Eastern clients. Texas Armoring could deliver several armored vehicles to Iraq immediately, the Kimballs said while explaining what they and their 30 craftsmen do. "We take the car apart entirely to put the armoring into the roof, the floor, the doors, the windows, the entire passenger compartment and do the fuel tank and the battery," Ron Kimball said as we walked past dozens of cars in various stages of disassembly. "We also reinforce the suspension, brakes and the door handles." The chassis interior and battery compartment are lined with 5/8th-inch-thick ballistic steel, and the vehicle's floor and gas tank are covered with ballistic nylon. The doors are lined with Spectra Shield, a Kevlar-like plastic, and windshields and windows are replaced with a polycarbonate-glass laminate more than an inch thick. Finally, the car's trim and other parts are modified to disguise any noticeable changes. Their armoring materials will defeat any bullet short of a 50mm round and would protect passengers from most improvised explosive devices, which have become ubiquitous in Iraq. But Trent Kimball warned that while most improvised explosive devices are as easily defeated as fragmentation grenades, "you never know about the power behind an IED." "We tell customers that it will take 90 days to armor their vehicles," the younger Kimball said, "but some we can do in 20 days." The firm's business has picked up dramatically in the past year. "We're doing about 10 vehicles a month now, which is up from about 25 a year," Trent Kimball said, and most of their new clients are Middle Eastern governments and individuals and some of the U.S. contractors working in Iraq. Trent Kimball told me he has been getting some very disturbing queries from Americans lately. "I'm getting e-mails from people who want to buy armoring kits to send to their kids in Iraq," he said. "They even write to ask if we will sell them body armor." They help when they can, he said, but they would rather deal with the U.S. government. "We have armored the Hummer H-1, the military style Humvee," Ron Kimball said. "And we could make a Humvee armoring kit per day starting today and make 30 with the material we have on hand." But after repeatedly submitting price quotes, the Kimballs said no one from the Defense Department has even bothered to call. -- Carlos Guerra mysanantonio.com