PUBLIC MARKS from jasontromm with tag soldiers

As a national uproar continues over comments by Sen. John Kerry suggesting American troops were lazy and not bright, President Bush is hammering Kerry and fellow Democrats for their lack of strategy for winning the war in Iraq, while troops themselves are mocking Kerry. In a photo circulating the Internet today, soldiers were shown holding a banner with intentional misspellings reading: "Halp Us Jon Carry – We R Stuck Hear N Irak."

French soldiers landed in Lebanon on Saturday, the first reinforcements for an expanded U.N. peacekeeping force tasked with keeping the truce in the Israel-Hezbollah conflict. About 50 French troops -- military engineers -- were to prepare for the arrival of 200 more soldiers expected next week, said Cmdr. Bertrand Bonneau, a spokesman for the French contingent. ()() How the hell are "engineers" going to enforce the peace? I guess the French don't have any real fighting men because they're used to running the white flag up the flagpole.

Just six months after the Pentagon agreed to reimburse soldiers who bought their own protective gear, the Army has banned the use of any body armor that is not issued by the military. In a new directive, effective immediately, the Army said it cannot guarantee the quality of commercially bought armor, and any soldier wearing it will have to turn it in and have it replaced with authorized gear. ()() I think I can see both sides of this issue. The soldiers spent a lot of money to get armor the military couldn't provide them with at the time. Now the military can provide it but don't want to be held responsible of privately bought armor doesn't protect a soldier.

The extra body armor the Pentagon is issuing Soldiers and Marines in Iraq will not be a welcome addition for everyone. While some say they won't go into battle without the protective side plates, others say they don't want to add any more weight to their gear, which can easily top 70 pounds.

The liberals have latched on to the idea that we're not properly equipping our troops. Some of you may remember the Press Conference where a soldier was "fed" a question about body armor to ask Donald Rumsfeld. Well, the Pentagon has been doing some studies about body armor, and some soldiers aren't happy with the results.

Moving tributes from Legacy.com.