Geez, I can't believe this.
Sometimes I get the impression the media thinks we have a short-term memory problem.
This armor issue was beaten almost completely flat months ago, and the NYT resurrects it as though nothing whatsoever was done about it, or explained, or anything else.
Other military people commented on the Web on the recent armor story you quote. Did you see any of it? Did the NYT go out and check with the units these Marines had replaced?
Try here, or here, for starters. Jason's unit was in that area before the Marines were, and there's a lot more to the story than the NYT had.