After reading a reply to this entry, I decided to edit this somewhat. The body of this entry remains the same. I am merely adding a preface.First off, let me say, that I don't expect everyone to agree with me. This is strictly MY opinion---and I'm entitled to it, just as you are to yours. My political leaning is to the left---you are forewarned. LOL. My family has personally and greatly been affected by war. Starting with my mother who grew up in an Nazi-occupied town during World War 2. I hate war, I will always hate war. I especially hate wars that are designed to feed the American political machine. That being said, I also would like to state, that I have the utmost amount of respect for our soldiers who fight every day for what they believe is right. I may not agree with them, but I respect their choice to join the military and to fight for their beliefs. My son-in-law is career military and my 2 step-grandchildren have also chosen to be career military. I respect that. Completely. But I still want them to be as safe as possible. Here is the rest of my entry in it's entirety:
I'm fed up with the business of dirty politics. I'm fed up with a leader who is beginning to sound more and more like a dictator every day. I am fed up with seeing our children go off to fight a war that is putting money into politicians' pockets. And right now I'm am fed up with the latest word from the Pentagon. Most of us have already heard that there is not enough protective gear to go around for all of our soldiers. Parents of many soldiers fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan have had to purchase protective vests and send them to their children overseas. That in itself pisses me off. Uhmm--if you're gonna send a bunch of people over to fight a war, why aren't they ALL provided with protective gear? What if the family cannot afford to purchase protective gear?
The government issued vests are a brand called "Interceptor". The manufacturer of Interceptor vests has a long-standing contract with the U.S. government. Unfortunately, they are unable to keep up with the demand for them, and civilians cannot purchase them. There is a company in Fresno, California, that manufactures another brand of protective vest called "Dragonskin". They do NOT have a contract with the US military and therefore can not sell or even GIVE the equipment to our soldiers through the military. These ARE available for purchase to civilians and this is the brand that families of soldiers are buying to protect their loved ones. The Pentagon has just issued a statement proclaiming that if a soldier is killed wearing a Dragonskin vest, his or her family will NOT receive death benefits. If a soldier is injured while wearing the Dragonskin vest, he or she may NOT receive full medical benefits.
Now, I could understand (sort of) the government issuing this edict, IF the Dragonskin vest was an inferior product and did not deflect ammunition as well as the Interceptor vest. But here's the deal---even the manufacturer and distributer of the Interceptor vest is saying that the Dragonskin vest is a BETTER piece of protective gear! Testing by an independent company has proven that it deflects MORE types of ammo than the Interceptor vest. Now, I'm sure some of you are thinking, "If the Dragonskin vest is so good, the soldiers shouldn't be killed while wearing them." This seems to be part of the government's argument, as well. But consider this--- it is a VEST. It only covers the upper torso. People are still dying from head injuries and bleeding to death after having extremities blown off. This happens with either brand of vest. But if they are wearing an Interceptor vest or NO VEST AT ALL, their families still receive death benefits. If they are wearing a Dragonskin vest, they will get NO BENEFITS whatsoever! Even if their death was cause by a head injury, not a torso hit. Even if their legs were blown off and they bled to death.
If our government can not make sure that our children fighting overseas are protected as much as possible, and we have to purchase their protective gear for them, how the hell can they dare deny death and medical benefits?
If this pisses you off, as much as it does me, please, please write to your congressman or senators or state representitives. Not one of our soldiers overseas should die a senseless death that could have been prevented with a protective vest. And not one family of a soldier killed in war should be denied compensation for their loss. Not one maimed man or women should be denied full medical benefits.
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