However, Army spokesman Major Gary Tallman said the Interceptor vests were "always considered high priority items and the units that were supposed to have them had them."
When the Army originally entered Iraq in March, there was a "plan for dismounted combat troops, infantrymen and cavalry" that provided Interceptor body armor for those involved in heavy combat and who were most at risk, Tallman said.
As troops started to occupy major Iraqi cities, the requirement for body armor increased as "combat service support started coming under attack," said a Defense official who requested anonymity. In July, months before Turley launched his campaign, the Interceptor body armor was made a standard for everyone in Iraq, the official said.
Tallman said public outcry, along with a Congressional hearing in November, made the distribution of new body armor even more of a priority. The Army stepped up production of the vests last year to ensure that all soldiers would have them by the end of January.
About 80,000 more sets of Kevlar vests and ceramic plates would be needed to outfit all of the troops, Tallman said.
"The Army had to work very hard to meet that requirement," he said. The number of firms producing the vests increased from two to eight, and the number of vests shipped out each month increased to 25,000.
Tallman said he was unsure how many vests were being produced before but that current production levels are at a "maximum."
In December, the Pentagon confirmed that at least 40,000 of the 130,000 troops in Iraq still did not have Interceptor body armor, Tallman said.
Turley said there are still many shortages of other important pieces of equipment in Iraq, such as armored Humvees and desert boots.
"I have one e-mail from a unit that has hung buckets of rocks around its Humvee to give some armored protection," he said.
Murphy said troops would need to be better protected in an environment that has remained hostile even after the capture of Saddam Hussein.
"I hope this will get people thinking about troop safety," said Murphy, who served as The Hatchet's editor in chief as a GW undergraduate. "The media and Congress were fixated on 'shock and awe' and politics and neglected the safety of the average American G.I."
"With the guerilla attacks," he added, "everyone is on the 'front lines' in Iraq. So everyone needs body armor."
When the Army originally entered Iraq in March, there was a "plan for dismounted combat troops, infantrymen and cavalry" that provided Interceptor body armor for those involved in heavy combat and who were most at risk, Tallman said.
As troops started to occupy major Iraqi cities, the requirement for body armor increased as "combat service support started coming under attack," said a Defense official who requested anonymity. In July, months before Turley launched his campaign, the Interceptor body armor was made a standard for everyone in Iraq, the official said.
Tallman said public outcry, along with a Congressional hearing in November, made the distribution of new body armor even more of a priority. The Army stepped up production of the vests last year to ensure that all soldiers would have them by the end of January.
About 80,000 more sets of Kevlar vests and ceramic plates would be needed to outfit all of the troops, Tallman said.
"The Army had to work very hard to meet that requirement," he said. The number of firms producing the vests increased from two to eight, and the number of vests shipped out each month increased to 25,000.
Tallman said he was unsure how many vests were being produced before but that current production levels are at a "maximum."
In December, the Pentagon confirmed that at least 40,000 of the 130,000 troops in Iraq still did not have Interceptor body armor, Tallman said.
Turley said there are still many shortages of other important pieces of equipment in Iraq, such as armored Humvees and desert boots.
"I have one e-mail from a unit that has hung buckets of rocks around its Humvee to give some armored protection," he said.
Murphy said troops would need to be better protected in an environment that has remained hostile even after the capture of Saddam Hussein.
"I hope this will get people thinking about troop safety," said Murphy, who served as The Hatchet's editor in chief as a GW undergraduate. "The media and Congress were fixated on 'shock and awe' and politics and neglected the safety of the average American G.I."
"With the guerilla attacks," he added, "everyone is on the 'front lines' in Iraq. So everyone needs body armor."
