113th: New Army gets old equipment

[RamboLiberal]

http://www.post-trib.com/cgi-bin/pto-story/news/z1/03-13-05_z1_news_01.html


Outside of Tall Afar in Iraq, soldiers with the Indiana National Guard 113th Engineer Battalion were embarrassed by the slow-

moving, out-of-date equipment they brought from Indiana.
At times, the local soldiers said they were relegated to guarding towers inside the base because the command didn’t trust their aging personnel carriers inside the often dangerous city.

“The vehicles we have are antiquated. They are almost museum pieces and we don’t have parts for them. ... It’s what we have, and the active duty guys don’t understand that,” said Sgt. Steve Foss of Michigan City while sitting in the office inside the motor pool.

Indiana and U.S. National Guard officials insist that they are doing everything they can to field the best equipment for reserve units deployed overseas. Nearly three years after the war began in Afghanistan, Guard officials frankly said they had not expected their role would expand to make up 40 percent of the force deployed in Iraq.

They said it will take time to break the decades-old practice of equipping reserve units with equipment cast off by the regular Army.

[pansypoo53219]

1. since georgie wants all the credit

i guess HE should get the blame for this.

[atreides1]

14. No

That's not how it's scripted, when things go well, it's because George used his insight and divine inspiration.

But, when things go bad, it's the fault of the military commanders, the soldiers for failing to properly maintain their equipment, and the mean Democrats for not "supporting the troops", by voting for tax cuts.

George has never made a bad decision or a mistake, remember he said so.;)

[don954]

2. is this how the GOP shows their support for the troops?

they control it all, its their game now, along with their responsibility. They need to pony up some gear for the guys now, and show some REAL support for their troops fighting in their manufactured war.

[merwin]

3. The Guard/Reserves ALWAYS get stuck with the Vietnam leftovers.

Ask ANY reservist who's been over to Iraq.

[seriousstan]

4. Agreed...

"it will take time to break the decades-old practice of equipping reserve units with equipment cast off by the regular Army"

[happyslug]

5. Only 30 years old!!!!!

When I was in the Guard in the late 1980s we had trucks made in the late 1940s i.e. 40 years old. Now some had been rebuilt 20 year before (And some newer than that) but having old equipment has been standard for the Guard for decades. For example the Pa National Guard only replaced their Civil War Era Muzzle-Loading Rifles in 1889, 24 years after the end of the Civil War and 20 years after the US Army had adopted a breech-loading rifle as its standard arm. During the Spanish-American War of 1898 the main US Artillery Piece was still the 3 inch rifle of 1861-1863 manufacture (i.e. 35 years old).

The issue should NOT be the age of the Equipment but its up-keep and maintenance. The 3 inch rifle had a good reputation in the Spanish-American war despite it being at least 30 years obsolete (It was an iron cannon with a steel insert, Steel Cannons replaced Iron Cannons starting in the late 1860s with the invention of the Bessemer method of making steel which made cheap steel possible and thus Iron Cannon obsolete). My point here is old and even obsolete equipment is NOT the problem, if that equipment is properly maintained and still usable.

The problem with the equipment in the Article is that the equipment needed to be re-built before heading for war (Replaced only if NOT rebuilt-able). Thus the problem is NOT the equipment's age but its ability to still do what it was designed to do. Unlike an old Iron Cannon engines only last about 10 years before they have to be rebuilt (we are talking of diesel engines in the M113 APC). Why was the engines not replaced BEFORE this unit went to Iraq? The only possible reason is they was NO BUDGET for such a rebuilt or replacement.

We are seeing more and more signs that the money is just NOT there to pay for what our troops need. One of those signs is this shipping to Iraq of equipment that should never have left the States.

[The Sad Little Pony]

7. The M113 is better armored....

...than the LAV, Stryker, or "Up Armored" Humvee.
Many in the Army are actually suggesting they be taken out of mothballs and sent over to Iraq...

[RamboLiberal]

8. M113 - I've heard too they are digging those up to send to Iraq

because they did find out they needed them and they provided much better protection than the Humvees. Heard also they're adding some extra armor or something to them.

The point is as a previous poster stated - they needed to do maintenance on them before sending them over. How hard to rebuild the diesels before shipping them?

I think they are scrimping on the budget so they can pay off the Halliburton's, KBR, and their Iraqi shills.

[gratuitous]

6. We're spending over a billion dollars every day

We're spending over a billion dollars every day, Saturdays, Sundays and holidays included, and the best that unnamed officials can say is "they are doing everything they can" after we've been at war for nearly three years.

I'm so glad that we gave Bush a man date to keep spending a billion dollars every day on defense so that our underequipped military can keep launching invasions and fighting meaningless wars of aggression. At least he didn't get a blow job!

[saigon68]

9. Good thing he didn't

Although this skank has offered

[dbt]

10. Aaaaaaaaaaaaarrrrrrrrrghhh! MY EYES!

[annabanana]

11. The National Guard IS "regular Army" now...

"Nearly three years after the war began in Afghanistan, Guard officials frankly said they had not expected their role would expand to make up 40 percent of the force deployed in Iraq."

They were never meant to be deployed overseas.. they are supposed to be HERE.. strengthening our borders, dealing with DOMESTIC catastrophes.

[saigon68]

12. Too Bad so sad

Only a fool, with a death wish, would join any branch of the service now.

[DeepModem Mom]

13. kick

[74dodgedart]

15. Cannon Fodder