Saturday, May 22, 2004
Armor Follies, Continued
The local paper in Ocala Florida is on to an interesting story:
A Florida reservist, 1SG Fred Chisolm of the 351st MP Company, got word that Florida law enforcement agencies were about to discard hundreds of serviceable bulletproof vests because they were beyond the manufacturer's warrantees.
So he and a Florida sherriff's deputy managed to round up up to 1,000 of them, to be sent to Iraq to harden the company's softshell vehicles.
When a state representative pressed the Pentagon on the issue, the Pentagon told them that the vehicles the 351st MP company uses are "already uparmored."
All of them?
I don't believe that for a New York second.
Neither does 1SG Chisolm, apparently, since he's making such an effort to get some armor for his troops.
The article doesn't quote him, unfortunately.
(Memo to journalists: if you need to reach a specific soldier, try emailing him at firstname.lastname@us.army.mil
If the name isn't common, it should work.)
But there's more...
No good deed goes unpunished.
Florida Senator Bill Nelson--who's been the most vocal advocate in congress for reserve component soldiers, has taken an interest in the matter, and wrote to Army Chief of Staff General Pete Shoomaker to keep him personally appraised if anything happens to 1SG Chisholm. Senator Nelson's a Democrat.
Republican Representative Cliff Stearns blasted Sherriff Dean for going public with the 1SG's email.
Now there's a guy who's really getting the point.
Splash, out
Jason
A Florida reservist, 1SG Fred Chisolm of the 351st MP Company, got word that Florida law enforcement agencies were about to discard hundreds of serviceable bulletproof vests because they were beyond the manufacturer's warrantees.
So he and a Florida sherriff's deputy managed to round up up to 1,000 of them, to be sent to Iraq to harden the company's softshell vehicles.
When a state representative pressed the Pentagon on the issue, the Pentagon told them that the vehicles the 351st MP company uses are "already uparmored."
All of them?
I don't believe that for a New York second.
Neither does 1SG Chisolm, apparently, since he's making such an effort to get some armor for his troops.
The article doesn't quote him, unfortunately.
(Memo to journalists: if you need to reach a specific soldier, try emailing him at firstname.lastname@us.army.mil
If the name isn't common, it should work.)
But there's more...
No good deed goes unpunished.
Here's an email from 1SG Chisholm to his civilian boss, Sherriff Dean.
"I just wanted to inform the Sheriff that I did receive quite a bit of harassment from my higher command, namely Colonel (Robert) Kenyon of the 641st ASG (Area Support Group) out of St. Petersburg, and the Command Sergeant Major of the 641st ASG," Chisholm said in the e-mail received by Dean's staff.
"It appears that know (sic) matter how hard I try to help keep my guys alive, they keep trying to cover up the real concerns that concerned leaders as myself may have. The last few days have been extremely difficult to work in this environment. I have even been told that this may resort in me being relieved. Well, I told them if by me asking for help to try to take care of my soldiers, then I guess I deserve to be relieved."
"I keep receiving emails as to what I was thinking. Well, I was thinking 'Safety.' I've tried normal channels in the military and it just doesn't work. I've asked around for different things, and that doesn't work as well. The one thing I can say is that the Sheriff Department and the citizens of Ocala have always stood behind what we do over here. Sometimes it appears that I am fighting a never ended battle over here. Again, thanks for the support."
Florida Senator Bill Nelson--who's been the most vocal advocate in congress for reserve component soldiers, has taken an interest in the matter, and wrote to Army Chief of Staff General Pete Shoomaker to keep him personally appraised if anything happens to 1SG Chisholm. Senator Nelson's a Democrat.
Republican Representative Cliff Stearns blasted Sherriff Dean for going public with the 1SG's email.
Now there's a guy who's really getting the point.
Splash, out
Jason
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# posted by 
: 2:09 PM
: 2:09 PM
