Wendell B. Leimbach, Jr., USMC

Next Friday, I will attend the pinning ceremony for a new Marine Colonel (Wendell (“Wel”) B. Leimbach, Jr.) at Quantico.  It would be nice if you (and others) could jot a note of appreciation for Wel’s efforts on behalf of our country.  (As I fly on Thursday, I want to print the comments on Wednesday evening.)

I don’t have to tell you about the carnage wreaked on our troops by IEDs in Iraq and Afghanistan.  For his work improving body and vehicular armor to protect against IEDs, Wel was honored with Andrew J. Higgins Award for procurement in 2006.  His work saved countless lives.  Obviously, that effort is not his sole contribution, but it is the one of which I am most aware.

Please do NOT tell Wel’s parents (Wendell, Sr. and Sally Leimbach) about this effort. If you want to compliment them regarding their son, please create a follow-up to do so after September 13, as I intend present the "thank yous" to Wel during his “wetting down” celebration on the 13^th.

Here are some links I found regarding the armor situation.  The last one is a presentation of Wel’s that I found on-line.

        ·         http://www.nytimes.com/2006/01/07/politics/07armor.html?pagewanted=1&_r=3

·         http://www.nationaldefensemagazine.org/archive/2005/October/Pages/amid_bursting5560.aspx

·         http://www.nrl.navy.mil/content_images/06FA3.pdf

·     http://www.dtic.mil/ndia/2007combatvehicle/NDIACOMBATVehiclesDay1/PEOPMLandsYSTEMS1230PM/NDIABrief_Oct2007_3.pdf

 Thanks!