thedrifter
07-20-04, 06:54 AM
Issue Date: July 19, 2004
Armor sleeve offers additional protection
Soldiers, airmen test prototypes in combat zone
By Jason Sherman and Deborah Funk
Times staff writers
A government laboratory has invented a device to protect the arms of troops in military vehicles from the blasts of improvised explosives and rocket-propelled grenades.
The Sandia Gauntlet is a Kevlar sleeve with armor plate inserts intended to protect personnel in Humvees, particularly those who stand in the turret while manning the vehicle’s machine gun.
This invention, the brainchild of a retired Army colonel and a scientist at the Sandia National Laboratory in Albuquerque, N.M., is the latest effort to supplement protection provided by body armor for the head, neck and torso.
“We thought we could build a set of Kevlar sleeves that would protect service members’ limbs from the blast effects,” of the rounds, said Jack Jones, the retired colonel and physical security specialist at Sandia.
A small shop at the Sandia lab has built a handful of the devices and shipped them to soldiers and airmen in Iraq to try out. Feedback from the field helped refine the design of a second prototype that Sandia will begin assembling this summer.
While Sandia plans to build 50 additional pairs of the Gauntlets, no formal orders from the Pentagon have materialized. Nor has a manufacturer with the ability to quickly produce large quantities been identified.
Many of the vehicles in use in Iraq feature additional armor to protect those inside, but personnel standing in the turret are left vulnerable from the waist up.
The Gauntlet’s six layers of Kevlar will block the heat of an explosion, and the carbon composite armor plates shield the forearm and biceps.
Each sleeve weighs 4 pounds and does not interfere with operating the machine gun, said Jones. A quick release buckle allows for easy removal.
Before providing initial prototypes to troops in Iraq, the lab subjected a dead pig’s leg encased in a Gauntlet to an anti-tank round detonated 2½ feet away.
After the explosion, the “pig’s leg was almost pristine,” Jones said.
“If we can just save one soldier, sailor or Marine’s arm, all the effort we have gone through to do this will be worth it,” he said.
Improvements to body armor for the head, neck and torso, as well as getting advanced medical care much closer to the battle, have saved lives.
Without those improvements, many wounded troops would have bled to death. Now that torsos are well-protected, military officials want to learn to protect limbs.
“What we’re seeing are survivors of catastrophic injuries from blasts, from mines, from weapons — survivors that we might not have seen, and probably didn’t see, a few years ago,” said Cmdr. David Street Jr., program manager for the Naval Medicine Advanced Research and Development Program.
Compiling injury data
Army and Navy medical workers have sought to better understand injuries to the body — what happens in a blast, for example.
They’ve gathered injury information from the field and developed models, including computer and physical models, of the body, its tissue and organs.
Sensors embedded in the models and post-examination of the models help show how weapons damage the human body.
The researchers work with other federal agencies, such as the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, because head-injury information gleaned from crash tests, for example, applies to some injuries in military members.
Some projects in the works are not made public to prevent the enemy from learning what knowledge U.S. troops have about weapons and how they plan to protect against them, Street said.
Ongoing efforts include developing better boots by improving armor and energy absorption to protect against blasts and mines.
There are efforts to give increased protection to legs while not impeding mobility, Street said.
In April, the Marine Corps shipped shoulder and arm protective equipment to Marines in Iraq and Afghanistan to add to their protective vests. They also shipped more than 60,000 ballistic goggles and 50,000 ballistic earplugs.
Marines in Iraq are testing face masks to protect the areas not covered by goggles or helmets. One such mask resembles a hockey goalie mask, with a flap that covers the throat.
And they are testing three different kinds of Kevlar shorts to help protect legs. The shorts are designed primarily to protect legs when riding in a vehicle.
“But you can maneuver if you need to,” said Marine Lt. Col. Gabe Patricio, program manager for infantry combat equipment with Marine Corps Systems Command at Quantico, Va.
About 20 pairs each of three different designs are being tested.
http://www.marinecorpstimes.com/story.php?f=0-MARINEPAPER-3073418.php
Ellie
Armor sleeve offers additional protection
Soldiers, airmen test prototypes in combat zone
By Jason Sherman and Deborah Funk
Times staff writers
A government laboratory has invented a device to protect the arms of troops in military vehicles from the blasts of improvised explosives and rocket-propelled grenades.
The Sandia Gauntlet is a Kevlar sleeve with armor plate inserts intended to protect personnel in Humvees, particularly those who stand in the turret while manning the vehicle’s machine gun.
This invention, the brainchild of a retired Army colonel and a scientist at the Sandia National Laboratory in Albuquerque, N.M., is the latest effort to supplement protection provided by body armor for the head, neck and torso.
“We thought we could build a set of Kevlar sleeves that would protect service members’ limbs from the blast effects,” of the rounds, said Jack Jones, the retired colonel and physical security specialist at Sandia.
A small shop at the Sandia lab has built a handful of the devices and shipped them to soldiers and airmen in Iraq to try out. Feedback from the field helped refine the design of a second prototype that Sandia will begin assembling this summer.
While Sandia plans to build 50 additional pairs of the Gauntlets, no formal orders from the Pentagon have materialized. Nor has a manufacturer with the ability to quickly produce large quantities been identified.
Many of the vehicles in use in Iraq feature additional armor to protect those inside, but personnel standing in the turret are left vulnerable from the waist up.
The Gauntlet’s six layers of Kevlar will block the heat of an explosion, and the carbon composite armor plates shield the forearm and biceps.
Each sleeve weighs 4 pounds and does not interfere with operating the machine gun, said Jones. A quick release buckle allows for easy removal.
Before providing initial prototypes to troops in Iraq, the lab subjected a dead pig’s leg encased in a Gauntlet to an anti-tank round detonated 2½ feet away.
After the explosion, the “pig’s leg was almost pristine,” Jones said.
“If we can just save one soldier, sailor or Marine’s arm, all the effort we have gone through to do this will be worth it,” he said.
Improvements to body armor for the head, neck and torso, as well as getting advanced medical care much closer to the battle, have saved lives.
Without those improvements, many wounded troops would have bled to death. Now that torsos are well-protected, military officials want to learn to protect limbs.
“What we’re seeing are survivors of catastrophic injuries from blasts, from mines, from weapons — survivors that we might not have seen, and probably didn’t see, a few years ago,” said Cmdr. David Street Jr., program manager for the Naval Medicine Advanced Research and Development Program.
Compiling injury data
Army and Navy medical workers have sought to better understand injuries to the body — what happens in a blast, for example.
They’ve gathered injury information from the field and developed models, including computer and physical models, of the body, its tissue and organs.
Sensors embedded in the models and post-examination of the models help show how weapons damage the human body.
The researchers work with other federal agencies, such as the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, because head-injury information gleaned from crash tests, for example, applies to some injuries in military members.
Some projects in the works are not made public to prevent the enemy from learning what knowledge U.S. troops have about weapons and how they plan to protect against them, Street said.
Ongoing efforts include developing better boots by improving armor and energy absorption to protect against blasts and mines.
There are efforts to give increased protection to legs while not impeding mobility, Street said.
In April, the Marine Corps shipped shoulder and arm protective equipment to Marines in Iraq and Afghanistan to add to their protective vests. They also shipped more than 60,000 ballistic goggles and 50,000 ballistic earplugs.
Marines in Iraq are testing face masks to protect the areas not covered by goggles or helmets. One such mask resembles a hockey goalie mask, with a flap that covers the throat.
And they are testing three different kinds of Kevlar shorts to help protect legs. The shorts are designed primarily to protect legs when riding in a vehicle.
“But you can maneuver if you need to,” said Marine Lt. Col. Gabe Patricio, program manager for infantry combat equipment with Marine Corps Systems Command at Quantico, Va.
About 20 pairs each of three different designs are being tested.
http://www.marinecorpstimes.com/story.php?f=0-MARINEPAPER-3073418.php
Ellie