My son is a Marine in Iraq right now and I am in the Air Force Reserve. I have been a cop for over 18 years. I wear body armor every day. Over the years the only time I have worn the best armor on the market is when I paid for it myself. Whenever the Government issues it, we get issued armor that is sub standard to the latest Technology. We can never seem to find out who makes the final decision on what we finally are issued. Strange isn't it.
I as well as my son have been issued the Interceptor Armor, which blows my mind since for a couple of years now everyone has known the superiority of Pinnacle's Dragon skin. My son is getting shot at with Ak47's, and 7.62 type rounds. The whole vest should stop these rounds not just where the added SAPI plates are. The current Interceptor unless hit in the SAPI plates only stops a 9mm round. I want my son to be wearing the best and nothing less.
Helmets are also being manufactured with better ballistics and suspension systems that reduce the concussion pressures from blasts and impacts. Why do we issue the next best thing? Because the idiots who are in charge don't have to wear it and someone is making a Buck.
The Military Intelligence thinking is not to allow soldiers to buy their own body armor BUT allow after market armor to be added to soft skinned vehicles. In 2005,I saw plywood walls filled with sandbags stacked 3 to 4 feet above the center of gravity and overloading the steering gear. How many people died in single vehicle rollovers caused by after market armor vs. people that died from privately owned body armor?
As if this is something that was not being told to the military before. Why does it take so long to "investigate" such a high priority situation as this? My best guess is that the contractors of DOD materials pull a lot of "political strings" to keep supplying inferior products at the cost of soldier's lives. Do a search on "dragon skin" here on M.C and you will see many previous articles on the military making soldiers shed their DS armor for the less effective crap they were supplying. Follow the money and as Morpheus said, "The truth will set you free."
Well, I am not sure if you are pointing your finger at the right entity here.
MI does not make policy regarding purchasing Privately Owned Armor. I am thinking that this issue goes higher up the food chain. Now, if you are talking about specific MI units not allowing these purchases, then I can understand where you are coming from.
And yes, I have seen locally manufactured armor (like the plywood contraption you are talking about), but that is not after market armor, it is locally manufactured armor. After Market Armor are off the shelf, readily available armor that has been tested and does/or does not pass MIL Spec requirements.
Having crappy armor is a leadership issue. If your leaders are going to sit there and allow us to go to war without the proper equipment, then it is a serious lack of leadership on the part of people who are paid to make those decisions, but instead are nurturing their careers and waiting for that retirement check.
Don't rock the boat you know.
I guess I am in a pretty cool Guard unit (lot of LE in it). And my leadership will not prevent me from using the best equipment available. I am not going to theater ever again with crappy armor.
I started with the Flak Jacket (about protection level 0 for rounds), bought an interceptor vest from a crooked Active Duty soldier (since we were not getting ours issued), put untested Iraqi Plates, bought some Israeli made ones and then, got some stand alone level IV from a Canadian manufacturer.
Next time I deploy, I am taking Dragon Skin, no matter what anybody says. I can take the court martial, but I cannot take the pine box.
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Dragon Skin Body Armor
