Bulking up for Baghdad

By MARK THOMPSON

The Army has taken a lot of heat lately for sending tens of thousands of soldiers into Iraq without adequate protection. Lawmakers and troops and their families have all complained that the G.I.s lack the latest bulletproof vests. Too many of the U.S. military's humvees don't have enough armor to protect the soldiers inside. The CH-47 Chinook helicopter that Iraqis downed Nov. 2, though equipped with the standard package of defensive flares and chaff, was not carrying the newest and most sophisticated antimissile system, which might have protected it from the shoulder-fired missile that apparently brought it down, killing 16.

The Army isn't taking any chances with the $3.4 million Stryker, its first new combat vehicle in 20 years. Currently stationed in Kuwait, 300 of the Strykers are due to cross the border into Iraq in the coming weeks, but they need some beefing up before they roll. The Army is concerned that the eight-wheel battle wagons are vulnerable to the insurgents' favorite weapon--the primitive but ubiquitous rocket-propelled grenade (RPG). So more than 100 soldiers and contractors have been working virtually around the clock, bolting a 5,200-lb. metal cage resembling a big green catcher's mask around each vehicle. The cage's metal slats are designed to detonate an incoming RPG some 18 in. away from the Stryker, minimizing the round's ability to bore through its skin and injure those inside. So why didn't the Army anticipate such a problem? It did: future versions of the Stryker will sport four tons of custom-made, high-tech armor, but those currently bound for Iraq are early models, making the ungainly $100,000 cages a necessary, if temporary, fix. --By Mark Thompson