thedrifter
08-10-06, 06:22 PM
August 10, 2006
Navy buys body armor from troubled company
By Andrew Scutro
Staff writer
The Navy ordered more than $9 million worth of body armor from a company whose equipment was recalled last year by the Army and Marine Corps.
A delivery order placed by Naval Sea Systems Command for “desert-use” body armor should be complete this month, according to a contract announcement by the Defense Department on July 14.
The $9.2 million order buys 5,000 Interceptor units of body armor, according to Landon Hutchens, a media officer for Naval Sea Systems Command in Washington, D.C. The vests include throat and groin protectors as well as Small Arms Protective Inserts (SAPI) plates for the chest and back.
The vest itself is designed for Level III protection, capable or protection against 9mm bullet and shrapnel. The plate inserts are designed to defeat a 7.62mm rifle bullet.
The vests are intended for sailors going to the Central Command area of operations, Hutchens said. Those sailors are mostly individual augmentees going to ground units. He said the vests are also intended for those supporting EA-6B Prowlers assigned to expeditionary air wings.
“We’re providing the top of the line ballistic protection body armor for our sailors deploying to the CentCom area of operations,” he said.
But Point Blank Body Armor has a troubled history.
On July 14, the day the Defense Department announced the contract, David H. Brooks, the founder and chairman of Point Blank’s parent company DHB Industries, was forced to resign in connection with shareholder lawsuits, according to news reports.
A May 2005 investigation by Marine Corps Times revealed that some vests made by Point Blank and bought by the Marines failed ballistic tests. The Marines recalled 5,000 vests that May.
In November 2005, following a Pentagon evaluation of Point Blank vests, the Marines recalled 10,342 vests and the Army recalled 8,083 vests.
Attempts to reach a spokesperson at Point Blank have so far not been successful.
Ellie
Navy buys body armor from troubled company
By Andrew Scutro
Staff writer
The Navy ordered more than $9 million worth of body armor from a company whose equipment was recalled last year by the Army and Marine Corps.
A delivery order placed by Naval Sea Systems Command for “desert-use” body armor should be complete this month, according to a contract announcement by the Defense Department on July 14.
The $9.2 million order buys 5,000 Interceptor units of body armor, according to Landon Hutchens, a media officer for Naval Sea Systems Command in Washington, D.C. The vests include throat and groin protectors as well as Small Arms Protective Inserts (SAPI) plates for the chest and back.
The vest itself is designed for Level III protection, capable or protection against 9mm bullet and shrapnel. The plate inserts are designed to defeat a 7.62mm rifle bullet.
The vests are intended for sailors going to the Central Command area of operations, Hutchens said. Those sailors are mostly individual augmentees going to ground units. He said the vests are also intended for those supporting EA-6B Prowlers assigned to expeditionary air wings.
“We’re providing the top of the line ballistic protection body armor for our sailors deploying to the CentCom area of operations,” he said.
But Point Blank Body Armor has a troubled history.
On July 14, the day the Defense Department announced the contract, David H. Brooks, the founder and chairman of Point Blank’s parent company DHB Industries, was forced to resign in connection with shareholder lawsuits, according to news reports.
A May 2005 investigation by Marine Corps Times revealed that some vests made by Point Blank and bought by the Marines failed ballistic tests. The Marines recalled 5,000 vests that May.
In November 2005, following a Pentagon evaluation of Point Blank vests, the Marines recalled 10,342 vests and the Army recalled 8,083 vests.
Attempts to reach a spokesperson at Point Blank have so far not been successful.
Ellie