[Shadow_Group] Bulletproof vests Iraq-bound - FL

[shadowgroup-l at lists.resist.ca]

Dec 9, 8:01 PM 
Bulletproof vests Iraq-bound 

Mims mother collects nearly 500 to help protect Marine
son's unit 
BY TOM BREEN 
FLORIDA TODAY 

FROM:
http://www.floridatoday.com/!NEWSROOM/localstoryN1210HUMVEE0.htm<http://www.floridatoday.com/!NEWSROOM/localstoryN1210HUMVEE0.htm>
Joanne Homer would do anything for her son, the
Marine. 

Joanne Homer of the Brevard County Sheriff's
Department hands Susan Johnson some bulletproof vests.
Central Florida law enforcement agencies donated the
vests to Homer's son, Marine Sgt. Jessie Holton and
his fellow Marines, who will be deployed to Iraq in
January. Image by Rik Jesse, FLORIDA TODAY 
And the Mims mom is doing it now -- trying to keep him
from harm by helping gather nearly 500 bulletproof
vests for the troops in his unit to use to protect the
Humvees they'll ride through the war zone in Iraq. 

Similar concerns about a lack of armored protection
for U.S. troops in Iraq and Afghanistan are growing. 

On Wednesday, a Tennessee National Guard soldier in
Kuwait asked Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld why "we
soldiers have to dig through local landfills for
pieces of scrap metal and compromised ballistic glass
to up-armor vehicles." 

On Thursday, a Pentagon spokesman, Lawrence Di Rita,
acknowledged that the Pentagon had not anticipated the
number of homemade bombs, called improvised explosive
devices, that are striking vehicles, armored and
unarmored. 

Homer's son, Sgt. Jessie Holton, 25, is a combat
veteran who previously served in Iraq and Afghanistan.
He joined the Marines two days after the Sept. 11,
2001, attack. His unit is headed to Iraq early next
year. 

"He was ambushed in Afghanistan in a Humvee, but
wasn't injured, knock on wood," Homer said. "He told
me the vests might stop some of the damage from
homemade bombs on the roads. He loves the Marines and
is determined to do everything he can to protect the
boys in his unit." 

Around the country, other families and community
members have taken similar actions. In Alabama, for
example, soldiers and high school students from the
small town of Foley put improvised armor on vehicles
before the unit went to Iraq. 

The bulletproof vests heading to Holt's unit are
coming from law-enforcement agencies around Central
Florida, including many in Brevard County. 

The vests are not being used by police agencies
because of expired warranty dates, but still are
effective, officials said. By lining the inside of
their vehicles, the Marines hope to add a measure of
protection. 

"These vests have been retired from police service
because of having passed their warranty date, but, to
be honest, I would take a shot wearing any one of
these vests," said Sheriff Phil Williams, who
spearheaded the effort to gather the vests. "They're
designed to last." 

Homer, who works in the Brevard County Sheriff's
Office, said her son called her at work in October and
asked if she could find some bulletproof vests. 

She asked Sheriff's Lt. Susan Johnson, a supervisor in
Homer's office to help. Johnson contacted Williams,
who made phone calls around the state. 

The law-enforcement agencies responded immediately. 

Homer said her son drove about 80 of the vests from
Brevard to his unit at Camp Lejeune, N.C., during the
Thanksgiving holiday. 

Capt. Will Klumpp, a spokesman for Sgt. Holton's 26th
Marine Expeditionary Unit at Camp Lejeune, said he was
unaware of the Brevard effort, but said the 26th was
hardening all of its vehicles before deployment next
year. 

Meanwhile, Homer she will drive the rest of the vests
to Camp Lejeune next Thursday, accompanied by her
husband, Sgt. Mike Homer of the Brevard County
Sheriff's Office, Lt. Johnson and some others.

Contact Breen at 242-3612 or tbreen at 242-3612<mailto:tbreen at 242-3612>. 



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