DragonSkin Body Armor better than Interceptor, but REJECTED?
Posted: Wed Nov 05, 2008 11:25 am
As we all are quite aware of, technological advancements in reference to DOD and Military equipment account for a large portion of spending in our Nation.
This is a small, but serious issue that really hits home being that I've experienced combat. Dragon Skin body armor, as some of you may know, was developed a couple of years ago and employs the use of discs overlapping one another like 'medieval chainmail', allowing it to wrap around the body to cover a much better area of vitals on the upper torso. In tests, it withstood countless rounds from weapons soldiers and other DOD contractors would be facing down range. It even took the full blast of a fragmentation grenade without puncturing the vest itself.
However, in March of 2006, the Army issued a 'cease fire' order on Dragon Skin calling it 'ineffective' and saying that it had failed ballistic tests miserably. The problem here is, the military didn't physically test Dragon Skin till May of 2006. In fact, it was found that higher ranking officials and numerous other individuals were still utilizing the Dragon Skin body armor in VIP transportation missions, etc. The creator of the Interceptor body armor, the armor currently being employed down range, stated in an interview that Dragon Skin was a better choice of armor. He also said that if he had to leave and go to war today, he would choose Dragon skin over the IBA.
NBC conducted an investigation on this controversial matter, and you can view the 5 min. video here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I6z7DTn-M7k.
I bring this to light here because as I've said: I've been there, and done that. I believe that our country doesn't quite value the life of a soldier enough, and found Dragon Skin to be to expensive for use in combat situations. In lamens, I think this is bullshit. It's shady dealings like this that leave me questioning, at times, what exactly I am fighting for. I simply have to remind myself that it's for my family, and your families. The same reason every soldier fights. But let me be a little less than articulate here and say, "Fuck you, Military Officials. You come draw fire in a contact situation, and maybe you'll rethink your choice of our body armor."
If any of you care about this, I'd love to hear what you think. Thanks for reading.
This is a small, but serious issue that really hits home being that I've experienced combat. Dragon Skin body armor, as some of you may know, was developed a couple of years ago and employs the use of discs overlapping one another like 'medieval chainmail', allowing it to wrap around the body to cover a much better area of vitals on the upper torso. In tests, it withstood countless rounds from weapons soldiers and other DOD contractors would be facing down range. It even took the full blast of a fragmentation grenade without puncturing the vest itself.
However, in March of 2006, the Army issued a 'cease fire' order on Dragon Skin calling it 'ineffective' and saying that it had failed ballistic tests miserably. The problem here is, the military didn't physically test Dragon Skin till May of 2006. In fact, it was found that higher ranking officials and numerous other individuals were still utilizing the Dragon Skin body armor in VIP transportation missions, etc. The creator of the Interceptor body armor, the armor currently being employed down range, stated in an interview that Dragon Skin was a better choice of armor. He also said that if he had to leave and go to war today, he would choose Dragon skin over the IBA.
NBC conducted an investigation on this controversial matter, and you can view the 5 min. video here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I6z7DTn-M7k.
I bring this to light here because as I've said: I've been there, and done that. I believe that our country doesn't quite value the life of a soldier enough, and found Dragon Skin to be to expensive for use in combat situations. In lamens, I think this is bullshit. It's shady dealings like this that leave me questioning, at times, what exactly I am fighting for. I simply have to remind myself that it's for my family, and your families. The same reason every soldier fights. But let me be a little less than articulate here and say, "Fuck you, Military Officials. You come draw fire in a contact situation, and maybe you'll rethink your choice of our body armor."
If any of you care about this, I'd love to hear what you think. Thanks for reading.
