lack of armor in Iraq

The vest armor now used by the Marines in Iraq is the Corps' third since 2001.

An initial 84,000 vests at a cost of more than $84 million were ordered in September 2006, nine months after an urgent request came in from the field for better protection. Conway, who became commandant after the contract was issued, put a hold on the last batch of 20,000 vests, questioning their design and testing.

Body armor has been an issue since the Iraq war began in 2003. The Army reportedly had a shortage of the ceramic protective plates needed to make vests effective, and lawmakers demanded answers from the Department of Defense after reports surfaced of soldiers' families buying the plates themselves and sending them to Iraq.

Our troops were sent to Iraq without proper armor for themselves or their vehicles.