For Marines, 'MTV' Means Something New

(CBS)  By CBS News national security correspondent David Martin

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One of the things that made October such a bloody month for American troops was a dramatic increase in sniper attacks. The U.S. military refuses to say exactly how many sniper attacks there were or how successful they were on the ground; that is information the enemy could use.

But this will give you some idea: There were more sniper attacks in the first 10 days of October than in the entire month of September. There are insurgent videos on the Internet that show American soldiers being killed, along with an interview with a guy who claims to be the commander of the Baghdad sniper brigade. Boasting of his accomplishments, he says a book called "The Ultimate Sniper," produced by a former U.S. Army major and distributed by a U.S.-based publishing house, "is one of the main books we use to train our snipers."

I was looking into all of this, and as part of that story, went down to the Marine Corps base at Quantico, Va. to see a new body armor vest that will be issued to Marines heading to Iraq early next year.

The idea was to try on the body armor to see how protective it is against sniper fire. The Marine vest shields the torso against 7.62 millimeter ammunition (which is what an AK-47 fires) and below, but the head and the neck are still exposed. The helmet will stop shrapnel but not a round from a high-powered sniper rifle.

The Marines who were showing us the equipment said the Corps is spending $33 million for 60,000 of the new vests and that most of the improvements had come from ideas submitted by Marines fighting in Iraq.

The vest is officially called the Modular Tactical Vest and so, not surprisingly, there were "I Want My MTV" headlines about it in the Marine Times.

What did surprise me, though, was the Army's interest in the story. I couldn't figure out why the Army had such an interest in a story about Marine Corps body armor until I saw a letter to the editor in Stars and Stripes, an independent newspaper widely read by troops overseas.

The letter's author complained that an article about the MTV "implied the Marine Corps' new [body armor] is superior to the Army's. … This is a disservice to soldiers wearing [the Army's body armor]." So, that was why the Army was so interested in my story; they thought that it would create the impression that Marines were wearing better body armor than Army soldiers.

For the record, the MTV uses the same ballistic shields as the Army body armor. The differences have to do with the way it fits on your body and the way it allows a Marine to carry all his combat gear.

To me, the Marine vest felt more comfortable because it distributes the 30-pound weight over your entire torso instead of having the weight hanging on your shoulders. But it still leaves some very vital parts of your body exposed to a sniper.

As for that former U.S. Army major who produced "The Ultimate Sniper" — he's not returning phone calls.

[alphaa10-2009]

Speaking of Bush hiding the ugly truth abou Iraq, even MidEast TV and internet users have known about the Baghdad sniper problem for at least 2.5 years. But did DOD breathe a word to the American people? Naw, it might upset people more than they already are.

Speaking of Bush deceit, we also have a problem with aircraft security all over the world. Currently, Bush regime officials say the issue is not specifically on their agenda. Yet, as they also admit, protecting each aircraft is not "cost-effective" at $one+ million per plane (unless you are aboard one).

And where are their priorities? Elsewhere, of course-- the money is going to fill up a power vacuum in Iraq.

[alphaa10-2009]

WVopfor81 said, "Coward, is nothing worth fighting for? F*It lets run away and stick our heads in the sand."
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No, instead of sticking our heads in the sand, let's start to use them, for a change. The majority opposed to Iraq say two things-- (1) Bush lied to America about the reasons for going to Iraq, so the deal is off and (2) whatever you believe about the wisdom of Iraq, the strategy isn't working-- this after almost as much battletime as WWII!

You admire courage? Digging your foxhole deeper in Iraq isn't courage but a sideshow to the real battle-- you want Bush to win the election at any cost to the country, even after Bush completely screwed up. That is not only unfair, it is cowardly not to take responsibility for your mistakes.

Where does Bush take responsibility for his mistakes by real changes in policy? Instead, Bush accuses *others* of failing, but never himself. Cowardice is the fear of facing your own self-delusions, lies and half-truths-- and then using your head.

[wvopfor81]

Coward, is nothing worth fighting for? F*It lets run away and stick our heads in the sand

[grazinggoat]

A simple calculation makes it $550 per MTV (Miticoulously Tailored Vest). And still not effective. $300 per back home ticket, to save our soldiers' life... cut and run, still a lot better option, before it gets too late.