system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
[Starship troopers] why the armor?

I mean its ineffective against bugs, and even bullets, so why have it at all?
gpt
This is clearly about the film and not the novel, since the novel mobile infantry are what directly inspired Space Marines from both Warhammer and Starcraft, but are even more badass than both. Plus, one of the points of the novel is exploring the further dehumanization of war. From armies marching shoulder to shoulder for centuries, to small squads crawling through cities in the 20th century, to finally soldiers completely alone in their combat areas, with only radio communication between themselves. But they are also more machine than human in the end. It's a great image among the essays about service. 

The film is the COMPLETE opposite. In the film, it's very ambiguous if the government is actually behind the asteroid and bug aggression or not. But even if they aren't, they're certainly using it for their own political purposes. That's why the film takes place through the eye of internet-ish propaganda videos. The government isn't fighting a war so much as it's telling a story to the general public. It gives its soldiers just enough training and equipment to feel safe and look good while marching, but still isn't enough to save them from the real horrors of war. It gives a compelling narrative of hopeful young soldiers going to war, losing their innocence, then begging the people back home to help. Mostly through increased spending and donations directly to the bank accounts of the people in charge. 

This narrative continues at the end of the film, with new technologies being deployed and a hopeful message splattered on the screen. In order for a war to continue to inspire the people, your soldiers can't constantly lose. So improvements are doled out bit by bit so the soldiers feel like they have a chance and the people feel safe at home. As long as the common folk are being ground down by the endless war against the most convenient enemy in the galaxy (no way to humanize and sympathize with the bugs!), they will keep following those in charge.