It's become a disgustingly familiar scene: American troops, cornered into to paying for their own protection. When supply chains bunch up, soldiers and marines – or their families – have been forced to dig into their own pockets, for things like body armor.

Now – thank God – they'll finally start to get reimbursed for what they've spent, Strategy Page notes. But only for equipment bought between 9/11 and July 31st of this year. And "despite objections from the Pentagon," according to the New York Times, whose leaders worry that it might "undermine the accountability and effectiveness of equipment used in combat."

"The basic problem is that new technology is coming into use much faster than the traditional military procurement system can deal with," Strategy Page contends.

There’s more useful, often life-saving, gear the troops can use for sale. And the troops don’t wait for the military to get around to stocking the new stuff, and they are not shy about telling each other, or the media, how great the unofficial gear is...

Several years ago, the army thought it had this under control with the “Rapid Fielding Initiative,” which gave combat units millions of dollars to spend as the commanders saw fit. But it was never fast enough. [Especially when its funding keeps getting pushed back into "supplemental budgets.] So the latest attempt to cope with this situation is the annual $1,100 reimbursement.