Six Months in Ramadi: Bloodied Marines Sound Off About Want of Armor and Men - The New York Times > International > Middle East > The Company |

The New York Times > International > Middle East > The Company | Six Months in Ramadi: Bloodied Marines Sound Off About Want of Armor and Men:

"Sergeant Valerio and others had to scrounge for metal scraps to strengthen the Humvees they inherited from the National Guard, which occupied Ramadi before the marines arrived. Among other problems, the armor the marines slapped together included heavier doors that could not be latched, so they 'chicken winged it' by holding them shut with their arms as they traveled.

'We were sitting out in the open, an easy target for everybody,' Cpl. Toby G. Winn of Centerville, Tex., said of the shortages. 'We complained about it every day, to anybody we could. They told us they were listening, but we didn't see it.'"