I can do math better than Rummy

[danalwyn]

Also possibly better than Schoomaker,

Consider this:

1) Wikipedia claims that a full set of Interceptor Body Armor costs $1,585.
2) Therefore, to equip, say, 150,000 soldiers would take about $237,750,000.
3) The Army Budget for FY 2003 was about $91,000,000,000.
4) The budget for the now-cancelled Comanche helicopter for FY 2003 was listed as $910,200,000 (on top of another $900 million for the Apache Longbow).

So why do we still not have enough body armor to equip our soldiers? I know that there are important purchases to be made, like killer robots and UV helmets and lasers that try and blind people, but shouldn't we at least give the people who do the fighting and the dying a better chance?

Of course, that's just me. It's probably unpatriotic to think this way.

Comments

[tx-cronopio.livejournal.com]

I'm sure it has nothing to do with the fact that we only have one current member of Congress with children in the military.

Cuz that kind of thinking is just darned unpatriotic.

[danalwyn.livejournal.com]

It's probably not. It's probably due to the fact that the army isn't thinking straight, and that nobody in Congress seems to care - possibly motivated by the fact that none of them are directly involved.

[aries-ascendant.livejournal.com]

I agree that roughly 240 million dollars seems v. cheap in comparison to buying a 900 million dollar helicopter. Not giving your soldiers the best equipment seems at best silly and at worst sadistic.


It makes me wonder if there's something going on besides poor money management and politics. Do you have any statistics on what the Army is buying instead? (Besides the canceled Comanche? And did that price only include purchase or was it also development, labor, etc?) Because personally, if the choice is between walking and hand-to-hand combat in my Interceptor Body Armor or cruising around with a few people in a tank and shooting from a (relatively) safe distance....well, I think I'd have to choose the tank. Actually, I'd rather have both the tank and the body armor, but that's not likely to happen.

[danalwyn.livejournal.com]

The overall Comanche program cost the US $8 billion in production and $450-600 million in cancellation fees up to that point according to Wikipedia.

Current top R&D priorities:

Future Combat Systems ($3.4 billion)
Stryker Combat Brigade System ($905 million)
Patriot Upgrade ($872 million)
UH-60 Blackhawk ($691 million)
CH-47 Cargo Modifications ($688.3 million)

Maybe I should explain what all this stuff is used for...

[avari-elf.livejournal.com]

I'm sure it'll be very interesting to know one day exactly where did the money poured into the Iraqi situation go exacty.

) Wikipedia claims that a full set of Interceptor Body Armor costs $1,585.
2) Therefore, to equip, say, 150,000 soldiers would take about $237,750,000.

Plus, wouldn't they get reductions for such a humongous bulk order? ;)

I know that there are important purchases to be made, like killer robots and UV helmets and lasers that try and blind people,

Well, I'd say something like "boys and their toys", but I really hope that's not the correct answer.