CHEERING SOLDIERS AND QUESTIONER HAVE NEVER SEEN IRAQ

HUMVEE FACTS: Hundred Percenter has given us the absolute facts about Humvees in Iraq and what level one, two, and three armor is.

"Up-armored humvees... is a vehicle that is produced in a factory back in the United States and it essentially gives you protection, both glass and on the armament on the side, front, rear, sides, top and bottom. If you'll think of a protection in a bubble, that's kind of what the level-one up-armored humvee gives you."

There are about 6,000 of them in Iraq and they are adding another 2,000. There is a serious price to pay for this armor: What happens to the engines during the summer temps of 100 plus degrees when the vehicles carry an extra ton of metal? Take a look. Just the facts ma'am.

What seems to be the real story: the unit that Rummy was addressing was a National Guard Unit (the 278th RCT) in Kuwait, not Iraq. It is not clear right now if this unit served in Iraq or was heading that way, something that is very important. The unit is freshly arrived in Kuwait and has NEVER BEEN IN IRAQ. They had just been assigned to carry needed supplies north of Baghdad where everyone is being killed. All transportation efforts of this kind are accompanied by armor and air cover. War is riskly. The reporter "planted" both question and questioner but from the reaction of the troops the question was one they didn't have the courage to ask but was on their minds, because of what they have heard not from their experience. The lack of armor is not that much of a deal anymore, it was top priority six months ago. None of the trucks that carry supplies are armored.

If the embed reporter had been in action with the guys and saw guys getting blown away in under-armored Humvees, he did what I would have done. If, which now seem likely, he was going along for the ride and had heard just rumors and set this up it is another matter entirely.

Bottom line: there hasn't been an army in history that had everything it needed and we always cannibalized other equipment. I was put in charge of stealing stuff, figuring out where parts were and then making out phony requisitions for them, as well as stripping planes for what we needed. It's called war. There is a difference between not having enough of something and not having any. Cannibalizing trash and so on to make your unit better is what armies have done since the beginning.

It just seems to me that this problem has been talked about on the web, like forever dude. And it sure has taken a long time to fix, but the guys cheering have never seen Iraq except on TV..

This is not the first public news for this unit. Back in August rape charges were filed against an officer. The woman filing the charges refused to report for duty because the 278th kept the rapist on duty.