Iraq News: US Soldiers Who Refused Job Had Unarmored Trucks

Published on October 17, 2004 By blogic In Politics

BAGHDAD, Iraq - The U.S. Army Reserve soldiers who refused orders to drive a dangerous route were members of one of a few supply units whose trucks are still unarmored, their commanding general said Sunday.

The soldiers, now under investigation, had previously focused on local missions in safer parts of southern Iraq and had never driven a convoy north along the attack-prone roads passing through Baghdad.

"Not all of their trucks are completely armored. In their case, they haven't had the chance to get armored," said Brig. Gen. James E. Chambers, commanding general of 13th Corps Support Command, which sends some 250 convoys ferrying Army fuel, food and ammunition across Iraq each day.

Ugh. Things like this can't be good, especially when they show the intense pressure we're putting on our reservists -- men and women missed by their parents and children, husbands and wives. I admire their bravery, kept on active duty far longer than they had been led to believe -- by the Bush administration's unprecedented willingness to use "stop loss" orders to keep them from returning to their families, at the end of their contractually agreed upon service terms.

I was heartened, yesterday, by all the "Support Our Troops" bumper stickers I saw in the pro-Kerry neighborhoods of Eastern Pennsylvania. As a country, we are united in keeping our troops in our thoughts and our hearts.

Comments

greywar

on Oct 17, 2004

Bad reporting, cargo trucks do not get armor. The AP is confusing this with the up armored HMMWV issue. While these folks command vehicles may have not been up armored it is still no excuse to just say no to a mission. These guys just chickened out. Hell the other guys in the unit did the job for them after they refused! Way to help out your buddies!

Stop loss is not unprecedented. Ever heard of "for the duration"? A little world war history research should help you out if you haven't.

The AP doesn't help here with confused reporting and not putting out that the rest of their unit had no problems with this mission.

drmiler

on Oct 17, 2004

Reply #1 By: greywar - 10/17/2004 5:49:41 PM
Bad reporting, cargo trucks do not get armor. The AP is confusing this with the up armored HMMWV issue. While these folks command vehicles may have not been up armored it is still no excuse to just say no to a mission. These guys just chickened out. Hell the other guys in the unit did the job for them after they refused! Way to help out your buddies!

100 % there bro! Bunch of chicken livered slackers! But you are right, I completely lost sight of the fact that cargo trucks don't get armor. Never have to my knowledge.

Grim Xiozan

on Oct 17, 2004

Talk about some major Blue Falcons!

That is called a breakdown of military discipline and during a declaration of war you were shot in front a firing squad for such an offense.

No mission is a suicide mission and for them to claim so shows their true nature and that nature being Blue Falcons with brains that are a complete Charlie Foxtrot.

Do you think the 101 Airborne could held out against the German Onslaught in the Battle of the Bulge with the kind of attitude as these soldiers exhibited?

End of story.

Jockoj

on Oct 17, 2004

Actually thay are armoring the cabs of cargo vehicles, not the whole truck. They have are currently trying to retrofit all the cabs to protect the divers not the cargo or the vehicle. This is just to try to reduce the amount of shrapnel from the roaside bombs. It has been VERY successfull in saving a large number of lives in Iraq so far. Roadside bombs have been increasing, and the military has made the right decision to armor the cabs of these vehicles.

[Chambers said 80 percent of the 13th Coscom's 4,000 trucks have been fitted with custom steel plate, but some of those in the unit that balked, the 343rd Quartermaster Company, were among the last left unarmored, because the unit's mission normally confines it to a less dangerous part of Iraq.

None of the 13th Coscom's trucks arrived in Iraq with armor. Since February, the unit's engineers and private contractors have been working in impromptu maintenance yards to weld heavy metal "boxes" over truck cabs.

SSG Geezer

on Oct 18, 2004

Well when my roommates went into north central Iraq they convoyed up in un-armored Hummers and cargo trucks. Were they thrilled? Probably not.

Did they do the mission, Hell yes, and they trained for it so they could do it well. The anti coalition forces look for units that are horked up like the convoy
jessica lynch was in. Be aware and alert and you are less likely to be a target. Mutiny is the word I think applies.

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