thedrifter
06-17-07, 05:29 PM
Congress orders tests on helmet pads
Marines say protective devices cause headaches
By Michael Hoffman - Staff writer
Posted : Sunday Jun 17, 2007 9:01:35 EDT
Pop superstar Cher and other members of a grass-roots movement stood up in Congress last fall to help persuade the Marine Corps to replace the leather slings in its lightweight Kevlar helmets with safer and more comfortable pads.
The Corps made the change, but for some leathernecks and lawmakers, it’s still not enough.
Months after the switch, in which all Marines were issued shock-absorbing helmet pads made by Cleveland-based Team Wendy, Marines are now saying the helmets fit poorly with the bulky pads inside, and are so stiff they are causing headaches.
Amid the gripes, the House Armed Services Committee passed legislation calling for new testing on padded suspension systems in its annual authorization bill, saying the testing process that resulted in Team Wendy’s favor was flawed.
“There are concerns regarding the validity of congressionally mandated tests conducted last summer, and the Committee feels this equipment is too valuable to our service members for it not to have a comprehensive test and evaluation including an operational evaluation of all systems by qualified military personnel under realistic environmental conditions,” according to highlights accompanying the House version of the fiscal 2008 defense authorization bill.
The tests conducted last year by the Army Aeromedical Research Laboratory proved that pads, which the Army has used in its advanced combat helmets for the past four years, provide more protection against blunt-force trauma to the head than the leather sling formerly issued for Marine helmets.
The Corps chose Team Wendy, which is also the standard-issue pad system for the Army, because the pads performed the best during the test at reducing G forces to the head during a blunt-force trauma event, said 1st Lt. Geraldine Carey, a spokeswoman for Marine Corps Systems Command at Quantico, Va. Pads made by Oregon Aero, a Scappoose, Ore.-based company, came in a close second. Since then, claims have surfaced that the Oregon Aero pads are just as safe, and are much more comfortable.
Marines were allowed to wear either pad system in their helmets, but that changed in April, when the Corps banned Marines from using non-issued protective equipment, which includes the Oregon Aero pads. However, several Marines, including officers, said they are still using those pads.
Both Oregon Aero and House Armed Services Committee officials — along with members of Operation Helmet, the grass-roots movement — pointed out flaws with the original test on the padded suspension systems. The first test measured which pad system protected a leatherneck’s head from blunt force trauma, but it did not include any field testing or a survey on the pads’ comfort, said officials from both pad makers.
The test also analyzed the pads under 14-, 78- and 130-degree temperatures. However, it did not account for the Marine’s 98.6-degree head, therefore making it extremely rare for the pads to remain at extreme temperatures while sitting on a human head, they said.
“If the pads stay at 14 and 130 degrees then that Marine is going to die,” said Anthony Erickson, head of pad research and development for Oregon Aero.
Team Wendy provided better protection in the extreme temperatures, while Oregon Aero BLU pads won out by a slim margin over Team Wendy in an ambient setting, according to the test results.
Officials with Oregon Aero and Operation Helmet also took issue with the drastically different test results of two almost identical Oregon Aero pad systems — the difference being one included a chin strap, which had no bearing on the results.
Both pad makers welcomed the concept of a new round of testing, but also requested that independent — not military — labs hold the survey. Team Wendy’s CEO also called for even more stringent safety tests.
Dr. Robert Meaders is a former Navy flight surgeon and founder of Operation Helmet, which pushed for the introduction of the pads and now donates Oregon Aero pad systems to Marines. He outlined the testing problems in a letter to Kenneth Krieg, undersecretary of defense for acquisition, technology and logistics. Krieg, in a letter posted on Operation Helmet’s Web site, told Meaders he had brought his concerns to the Army and Marine Corps.
“I am satisfied the testing conducted by the U.S. Army Aeromedical Research Laboratory was fully responsive to the request I received from members of the House Armed Services Committee,” Krieg wrote.
In the meantime, SysCom has issued a survey on the pads on its Web site. The majority of the questions deal with the pads’ comfort, as well as the protection they provide. Four days since the survey was posted June 8, more than 400 Marines had taken the survey. It will close June 30.
Carey said the survey is not being conducted in response to Operation Helmet or the House Armed Services Committee’s findings.
Operation Helmet
Meaders created Operation Helmet three years ago after his Marine grandson started wearing the Oregon Aero pads and asked his grandfather if there was a way other Marines could get them. The retired Navy doctor started raising money and researching the different pad systems before settling on Oregon Aero. He contacted a group of French doctors studying helmets, Navy Explosive Research doctors and demining professionals in the U.S., Sweden and France.
“I found out that not all pads are created equal,” Meaders said.
Cher later got involved after one of her friends read about Operation Helmet in a local newspaper, said Mark Meaders, a retired Air Force major who is the son of Meaders and East Coast director of the group. Cher has donated over $200,000 and spoke in support of the padded helmets at the congressional hearings last October.
Robert Meaders, whose organization has sent pad systems to more than 36,000 service members in combat zones, said Operation Helmet purchases the Oregon Aero pad system because it provides the same protection, but a much higher level of comfort, than the Team Wendy pads.
Meaders said he has received multiple complaints from Marines that the Team Wendy pad system does not fit properly and causes headaches. He has posted 13 pages of comments on his group’s Web site, www.operation-helmet.org.
During his last deployment, Cpl. Dustin Engelken with Regimental Combat Team 2 purchased a set of Oregon Aero pads for his helmet. Now stationed at Al Asad Air Base, Iraq, he received a new helmet outfitted with the Team Wendy pads and says he can tell the difference.
“They are definitely a lot cheaper,” he told Marine Corps Times, referring to the Team Wendy pads. And they were “much harder.”
Some Marines, such as Cpl. Adam Bailey, also with RCT-2, are just happy to be rid of the leather sling and have not experienced the headaches with the Team Wendy pads.
“As a driver during my last deployment I used to get headaches all the time and have to take off my helmet every 30 minutes,” he said.
“This time with the pads I have had no headaches and no reason to take my Kevlar off.”
John Sweeny, chief executive officer of Team Wendy, said his company designed the pad system with protection as the No. 1 priority.
“You wear your helmet for one reason,” Sweeny said. “Do you want more protection or less protection? Our pad system was conceived and refined to do nothing other than protection.”
First Sgt. Ben Granger, with 1st Battalion, 25th Marines, said the helmet’s comfort is vital to maintaining focus in the field. During his last deployment to Fallujah, Iraq, his Marines received Oregon Aero pads from Operation Helmet.
“Before we had the pads my guys always had their hands on their helmet to readjust it and letting go of their weapons,” he said. “After, they didn’t have to move the helmet at all.”
Marines have complained after receiving their issued pads that their helmets no longer fit. The Marine helmet was designed for a half-inch space between the head and the Kevlar. The pads Marines receive are three-fourths-of-an-inch thick.
Many have reported needing to get a larger-size helmet to accommodate the pads, several sources said.
Thus far, Team Wendy has received no official or unofficial complaints from the Corps or individual Marines regarding the pads’ comfort, Sweeny said.
He added that his company could use softer foam for the pads, but it wouldn’t absorb as much energy as the foam currently used.
“We absolutely work toward comfort, but we are not going to make a tradeoff that makes them less protective,” he said.
However, Meaders said the Oregon Aero pads are just as safe. Both Oregon Aero and Team Wendy proved more protective in tests those companies commissioned independently.
Operational Helmet held a survey on its Web site comparing the competing pad systems. Of the more than 200 responses received by service members, Oregon Aero earned the highest ranking while Team Wendy received the lowest by Marines. Skydex pad systems earned the second ranking of the three pad makers named in the survey.
“A commanding officer in Iraq told me [the Oregon Aero pads] are a force multiplier because the pads can take their mind off their helmet and the headaches and instead focus on their job,” Meaders said.
Ellie
Marines say protective devices cause headaches
By Michael Hoffman - Staff writer
Posted : Sunday Jun 17, 2007 9:01:35 EDT
Pop superstar Cher and other members of a grass-roots movement stood up in Congress last fall to help persuade the Marine Corps to replace the leather slings in its lightweight Kevlar helmets with safer and more comfortable pads.
The Corps made the change, but for some leathernecks and lawmakers, it’s still not enough.
Months after the switch, in which all Marines were issued shock-absorbing helmet pads made by Cleveland-based Team Wendy, Marines are now saying the helmets fit poorly with the bulky pads inside, and are so stiff they are causing headaches.
Amid the gripes, the House Armed Services Committee passed legislation calling for new testing on padded suspension systems in its annual authorization bill, saying the testing process that resulted in Team Wendy’s favor was flawed.
“There are concerns regarding the validity of congressionally mandated tests conducted last summer, and the Committee feels this equipment is too valuable to our service members for it not to have a comprehensive test and evaluation including an operational evaluation of all systems by qualified military personnel under realistic environmental conditions,” according to highlights accompanying the House version of the fiscal 2008 defense authorization bill.
The tests conducted last year by the Army Aeromedical Research Laboratory proved that pads, which the Army has used in its advanced combat helmets for the past four years, provide more protection against blunt-force trauma to the head than the leather sling formerly issued for Marine helmets.
The Corps chose Team Wendy, which is also the standard-issue pad system for the Army, because the pads performed the best during the test at reducing G forces to the head during a blunt-force trauma event, said 1st Lt. Geraldine Carey, a spokeswoman for Marine Corps Systems Command at Quantico, Va. Pads made by Oregon Aero, a Scappoose, Ore.-based company, came in a close second. Since then, claims have surfaced that the Oregon Aero pads are just as safe, and are much more comfortable.
Marines were allowed to wear either pad system in their helmets, but that changed in April, when the Corps banned Marines from using non-issued protective equipment, which includes the Oregon Aero pads. However, several Marines, including officers, said they are still using those pads.
Both Oregon Aero and House Armed Services Committee officials — along with members of Operation Helmet, the grass-roots movement — pointed out flaws with the original test on the padded suspension systems. The first test measured which pad system protected a leatherneck’s head from blunt force trauma, but it did not include any field testing or a survey on the pads’ comfort, said officials from both pad makers.
The test also analyzed the pads under 14-, 78- and 130-degree temperatures. However, it did not account for the Marine’s 98.6-degree head, therefore making it extremely rare for the pads to remain at extreme temperatures while sitting on a human head, they said.
“If the pads stay at 14 and 130 degrees then that Marine is going to die,” said Anthony Erickson, head of pad research and development for Oregon Aero.
Team Wendy provided better protection in the extreme temperatures, while Oregon Aero BLU pads won out by a slim margin over Team Wendy in an ambient setting, according to the test results.
Officials with Oregon Aero and Operation Helmet also took issue with the drastically different test results of two almost identical Oregon Aero pad systems — the difference being one included a chin strap, which had no bearing on the results.
Both pad makers welcomed the concept of a new round of testing, but also requested that independent — not military — labs hold the survey. Team Wendy’s CEO also called for even more stringent safety tests.
Dr. Robert Meaders is a former Navy flight surgeon and founder of Operation Helmet, which pushed for the introduction of the pads and now donates Oregon Aero pad systems to Marines. He outlined the testing problems in a letter to Kenneth Krieg, undersecretary of defense for acquisition, technology and logistics. Krieg, in a letter posted on Operation Helmet’s Web site, told Meaders he had brought his concerns to the Army and Marine Corps.
“I am satisfied the testing conducted by the U.S. Army Aeromedical Research Laboratory was fully responsive to the request I received from members of the House Armed Services Committee,” Krieg wrote.
In the meantime, SysCom has issued a survey on the pads on its Web site. The majority of the questions deal with the pads’ comfort, as well as the protection they provide. Four days since the survey was posted June 8, more than 400 Marines had taken the survey. It will close June 30.
Carey said the survey is not being conducted in response to Operation Helmet or the House Armed Services Committee’s findings.
Operation Helmet
Meaders created Operation Helmet three years ago after his Marine grandson started wearing the Oregon Aero pads and asked his grandfather if there was a way other Marines could get them. The retired Navy doctor started raising money and researching the different pad systems before settling on Oregon Aero. He contacted a group of French doctors studying helmets, Navy Explosive Research doctors and demining professionals in the U.S., Sweden and France.
“I found out that not all pads are created equal,” Meaders said.
Cher later got involved after one of her friends read about Operation Helmet in a local newspaper, said Mark Meaders, a retired Air Force major who is the son of Meaders and East Coast director of the group. Cher has donated over $200,000 and spoke in support of the padded helmets at the congressional hearings last October.
Robert Meaders, whose organization has sent pad systems to more than 36,000 service members in combat zones, said Operation Helmet purchases the Oregon Aero pad system because it provides the same protection, but a much higher level of comfort, than the Team Wendy pads.
Meaders said he has received multiple complaints from Marines that the Team Wendy pad system does not fit properly and causes headaches. He has posted 13 pages of comments on his group’s Web site, www.operation-helmet.org.
During his last deployment, Cpl. Dustin Engelken with Regimental Combat Team 2 purchased a set of Oregon Aero pads for his helmet. Now stationed at Al Asad Air Base, Iraq, he received a new helmet outfitted with the Team Wendy pads and says he can tell the difference.
“They are definitely a lot cheaper,” he told Marine Corps Times, referring to the Team Wendy pads. And they were “much harder.”
Some Marines, such as Cpl. Adam Bailey, also with RCT-2, are just happy to be rid of the leather sling and have not experienced the headaches with the Team Wendy pads.
“As a driver during my last deployment I used to get headaches all the time and have to take off my helmet every 30 minutes,” he said.
“This time with the pads I have had no headaches and no reason to take my Kevlar off.”
John Sweeny, chief executive officer of Team Wendy, said his company designed the pad system with protection as the No. 1 priority.
“You wear your helmet for one reason,” Sweeny said. “Do you want more protection or less protection? Our pad system was conceived and refined to do nothing other than protection.”
First Sgt. Ben Granger, with 1st Battalion, 25th Marines, said the helmet’s comfort is vital to maintaining focus in the field. During his last deployment to Fallujah, Iraq, his Marines received Oregon Aero pads from Operation Helmet.
“Before we had the pads my guys always had their hands on their helmet to readjust it and letting go of their weapons,” he said. “After, they didn’t have to move the helmet at all.”
Marines have complained after receiving their issued pads that their helmets no longer fit. The Marine helmet was designed for a half-inch space between the head and the Kevlar. The pads Marines receive are three-fourths-of-an-inch thick.
Many have reported needing to get a larger-size helmet to accommodate the pads, several sources said.
Thus far, Team Wendy has received no official or unofficial complaints from the Corps or individual Marines regarding the pads’ comfort, Sweeny said.
He added that his company could use softer foam for the pads, but it wouldn’t absorb as much energy as the foam currently used.
“We absolutely work toward comfort, but we are not going to make a tradeoff that makes them less protective,” he said.
However, Meaders said the Oregon Aero pads are just as safe. Both Oregon Aero and Team Wendy proved more protective in tests those companies commissioned independently.
Operational Helmet held a survey on its Web site comparing the competing pad systems. Of the more than 200 responses received by service members, Oregon Aero earned the highest ranking while Team Wendy received the lowest by Marines. Skydex pad systems earned the second ranking of the three pad makers named in the survey.
“A commanding officer in Iraq told me [the Oregon Aero pads] are a force multiplier because the pads can take their mind off their helmet and the headaches and instead focus on their job,” Meaders said.
Ellie