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