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Originally Posted by Cynthetiq
I'm sorry I don't understand what you mean by "politicized"
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They're doing it to gain political capital. The moment it no longer is worth the political capital, it's abandoned. How much have you heard about FRAG kits in the news lately?
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Originally Posted by Cynthetiq
because it really basically comes down to COST.... these things cost money and that money has to come from somewhere. It just doesn't materialize because Willravel or some mother thinks that it should be.
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If we can afford to blow up a bridge and rebuild it using contractors costing 1000x what it would in the US and at only 1/4 the speed, we can afford FRAG kits for our humvees. Prioritization of funds is a big part of the ongoing conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan. Some things can only become a priority because they have a public voice and face. As nice as "support the troops" is, it's not a face.
I know someone that would be more than willing to stand on the one leg he has left and say, "I've redeployed to Iraq. Please ask your representative to get me the protection I need." The DoD and military won't do that because they don't want the reality of war demonstrated for future recruits (which is where politics comes in).
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Originally Posted by Cynthetiq
It took YEARS to get airbags into every single car at a large cost to the many facturers purchaser in money and in fuel expense due to added weight for "safety" features.
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The market moves a lot slower than a public system because it needs to know that the market wants the change. We know the FRAG kits will be helpful, we know they'll save lives. We know they're already installing them in some humvees, so we know the infrastructure is there.
I'm just using the FRAG kits as one example. I'm sure active military personnel or veterans that are members here could name a thousand things I'm unaware of that could help the or that could have helped them get the job done better and reasonably safer.