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thedrifter
01-12-06, 06:34 AM
January 11, 2006
Body Armor: Services try to find right mix of protection, mobility
By Rick Maze
Times staff writer

Protecting troops is a top priority, but weighting them down with so much body armor that they are practically unable to move is not the answer to the continued deaths and injuries among armor-wearing deployed forces, military officials said Wednesday.

The Army and Marine Corps are rushing to buy and deploy improved body armor that provides more protection for the sides of the torso, which enemy sharpshooters have targeted as a weak point in U.S. troops’ body armor configurations.

But military officials, called before the Senate Armed Services Committee to discuss the status of the improvements, said they have not yet found a perfect balance between fully protecting troops and weighing them down so heavily that they cannot accomplish their missions.

Sen. John Warner, R-Va., the Armed Services Committee chairman, said he was satisfied the services had the money and authority to get the necessary gear and understood the limitations.

“Everything that can be done is being done,” Warner said.

Full body armor, with all the associated plates and extra protection, can weigh up to 125 pounds, a particularly heavy load in the extreme climates of Iraq and Afghanistan, he said.

Warner said a fully armored service member could actually end up being more vulnerable than one with lighter armor and more freedom of movement.

“Nothing is more important to the Marine Corps than protection for our Marines,” said Maj. Gen. William Catto, commander of the Marine Corps Systems Command.

The Corps began fielding side armor plates in June, with about 9,000 sets now in Iraq and about 28,000 expected by April.

The Army is moving more slowly. It has just completed testing of a side plate and pouch and is about to start production.

“Soldier protection is the highest priority of the Army,” said Maj. Gen. Stephen Speakes, the Army’s director of force development. “We must not burden our soldiers with weight to the point that they become ineffective and susceptible to other dangers.”

The Marine Corps “is doing the absolute best it can” to provide better armor while balancing the demands of having equipment of bearable — and wearable — weight in an environment with high temperatures against the demands of missions requiring the kind of mobility that is just not possible when saddled with the complete set of vest, front, back, side and shoulder armor plates.

At a post-briefing news conference, Marine Sgt. Jared McNerney, dressed in full combat gear to show what equipment is available, said he prefers not to wear a full set of armor in the war zone because of the weight and lack of mobility.

“If I put them on, I can barely extend my arms over my head,” McNerney said. “I need the most mobility possible to climb through windows and jump over walls.”

Constant improvements are being made, Army officials said. Maj. Gen. Jeffrey Sorenson, Army deputy assistant secretary for acquisition and systems management, said the service is now in the seventh iteration of body armor development. He expects about 230,000 sets of improved body armor with side and shoulder plates will be available by the end of 2006.

The equipment, first requested by transportation troops involved in convoy duty, has been developed and tested and is about to enter production. Sorenson refused to provide more details about when it would be available, saying that information could help the enemy. Similarly, Maj. Gen. Catto refused to release the entire six-page Navy medical study of injuries, saying parts of the report talk about specific vulnerabilities that could help those trying to harm U.S. troops.

The Navy study, completed last year, suggested that many deaths and injuries among troops wearing body armor were the result of wounds suffered near the edges of the interceptor body armor. Armor that is a bit longer in the torso, taller in the neck and covers more of the shoulder could save lives.

Military officials told the Armed Services Committee they were already aware of the problem and are constantly looking for fixes and upgrades.

“What we wear today is different than what I wore when I was there a year ago,” Speakes said.

Ellie