The American Trial Lawyers Association

Since the start of the Iraq War, the funding of body armor and protective supplies for our troops has been deplorable. Not only have we been hit with a constant stream of reports showing that our troops are in the field with outdated equipment, but now Pete Geren, Army Secretary, has recalled more than 16,000 bullet-proof vests because they failed during tests.


This leads to two possible conclusions. The first is that our soldiers fighting overseas were given equipment that was not adequately tested before being used in the field. The second is that the Army knew that the products did not pass testing, but were shipped out anyway.


According to the story by the Associated Press, the former seems to be the case. From the LA Times:


The audit by the office of the Defense Department inspector general, not yet made public but obtained by the Associated Press, faults the Army for flawed testing procedures.


In a letter dated Jan. 27 to acting Inspector General Gordon Heddell, Geren said he did not agree that the plates had failed the testing or that soldiers were issued deficient gear. He said his opinion was backed by the Pentagon's top testing director. But Geren said he was recalling the sets as a precaution and asking that a senior Pentagon official resolve the disagreement between the Army and the inspector general's office.


Hundreds of thousands of body armor sets have been manufactured by several companies in the last seven years. Vests are standard gear for troops in Iraq and Afghanistan.


The contract examined by the inspector general's office is listed in the audit only as W91CRB-04-D-0040. An Aug. 20, 2004, announcement on the Defense Department's website says a contract under that designation was awarded to Armor Works of Chandler, Ariz.


The Army bought 51,334 sets of the protective inserts under the contract for just over $57 million, according to the inspector general.

Labels: Army, Body Armor, Global Warming, Iraq, Malfunction, Recall