Body Armor Defective!

[greensideout]

On another post troop901 said the body armor that the Marines and others wear in Iraq is defective.

He is so right! It degrades with time. "Quick time"!

The recall goes back to a 2001 notification by Toyobo of Japan, that manufactures the product "Zylon" that is used to make the vests. They said,"Tests showed degradation of Zylon-based fiber over a shorter period of time then had been expected."

From what I've read, if it's a year old I would not trust that it would work at all!

This is not only bad news for our troops but for our law inforcement people as well!

http://www.newssafety.com/safety/recall.htm

[snipowsky]

Imagine that! Uncle Sam buying up a bunch of junk! Nothing new here!

[lucien2]

I have never heard of Zylon, most LE agencies use Kevlar products which claims a 5 year life span. The body armor that you are refering to is for fragmentation or is it actually bullet resistant?

[Osotogary]

Body armor article.
Tuesday, January 25,2005
www.herald.com
Broward Plus Section
Page 8b
Title: FSU prof leads drive for new body armor
by Phil Long (Plog@herald.com)

In brief-
Tallahassee- A Florida State University engineering professor and fellow researchers are trying to develop a lightweight composite material to protect soldiers' arms and legs from bullets and shrapnel without weighing them down like knights of the Middle Ages.
...The Marine Corps is testing a leg protector and the Army is at work on extremities protection for soldiers' in vehicles and those who work with disarming bombs and mines.
The ballistic shield that Prof.Thagard is working on could weigh less than one pound per square foot for protection equal to vests now in use. Protection that would stop bullets from a high-powered rifle or assault weapon could weigh four to six pounds per square foot.
There is more to this article. Check out he website link that I have provided.
Gary

[mrbsox]

There was something on the Discovery channel (i think) several years ago, where some 'dufus' made a suit out of SPIDERWEB.

Yep... SPIDERWEB

He was wanting to do some up close and personal nature study on Grizzly bears, and was looking for some protection.

IT WORKED

Hummmmm......