Marines Call New Body Armor Heavy, Impractical

Snaquebite

Special Forces
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BAGHDAD, Iraq — The Pentagon and Marine Corps authorized the purchase of 84,000 bulletproof vests in 2006 that not only are too heavy but are so impractical that some U.S. Marines are asking for their old vests back so they can remain agile enough to fight.

Marine Commandant Gen. James Conway wants to know who authorized the costly purchase of the nearly 30-pound flak jackets and has ordered the Marine procurement officers at the Quantico base in Virginia to halt the rest of an unfilled order, FOX News has learned.

"I’m not quite sure how we got to where we are, but what I do know is it is not a winner," Conway told FOX News at the end of his recent trip to Iraq.

"I think it is foolish to buy more."

The protective jackets, manufactured by Protective Products International in Sunrise, Fla., are known as Modular Tactical Vests, or MTVs.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,333154,00.html
 
Seem the Commandant, General Conway, is looking to bust someone behinds for this purchase approval.

More over at Fox News.

Somebody's got some splainin to do.
 
that vest doesn't look too far off of what is already in use. how the hell did they cram so much weight into that thing? Double layer kevler? Dick/Ass plates? Then again, i haven't even weighed my armor to know the difference, i just shut up and wear it.

I could see that shit being good for convoy ops or aircrew.
 
3 pounds doesn't seem that significant, depending on what the added protection benefit is.. Especially if it is distributed more evenly as it indicates.

The issue seems to be the construction design.. I can tell you, I sometimes put my kit on over my head if I am in a hurry, and that Goddamn scraped nose hurts like Hell!! Done that. Looks kinda questionable too.

The Corp is taking a beating lately on equipment issues...Sucks.
 
I guarantee you an investigation of the COR that signed this contract is underway right now. Typically senior ranking members of the military retire, see $$ signs, and campaign for their 'company / 'corporation' to win high dollar contracts.

if the R & D is done correctly, the best product for the best price wins.

Low bidder not always the case, and, it appears, low quality either......

With the military the way it is now after the CPA, TSGTs in the AF are COR's on high $$$/millions of $$$ contracts (and the Army, too ... SSG's/SFC's)

Someone will go down for this one....Any kinks in the R & D chain / bidding process will be scrutinized down the the dotted i's.....

Inferior heavy body armor is a thing of the past / dinosaur age...

:2c::2c:
 
Hmmm...

I've got the MTV over here right now. Is it the best thing since sliced bread? No. Is it better than the old Interceptor vest? Yes. It rides better, it sits higher so you aren't catching it on stuff, it has semi-built in pockets for the side SAPIs (vice them flapping around like in the older systems), and has better attachment points for pouches and such. I know some people don't like the "over the head" system, and it gets on my nerves too, seeing as how I have an extra large head. But once you adjust it right, it's better than the old vest and actually slips on pretty easily.

I don't think the problem is the MTV per-say. The problem is the concept that if we cover ourselves with enough armor we won't lose any Marines. Or if we put enough armor on our vehicles then no one will get killed on patrol. We all know how the heavy armor thing worked out for the medieval knights...

I'd hate to do NK with the armor systems and philosophy we have now.
 
C'mon guys. Unfuck this already.

How hard is it to get the body armor issue unfucked?

We can shoot down a friggin satellite traveling 18,000 mph, 180 miles above the earth- the equivalent of shooting a gnat with a .223; we can make radio-controlled stealth airplanes with enough power to destroy a city block, guided by someone with a laptop from 4-thousand miles away.

I think we can get this dang-blamed body armor issue resolved.
 
I thought the MTV (was a cable station), sorry had to.

Seriously, I thought MTV and IOTV were the same. The side plates are incorporated into the vest, less snagging getting in/out (my ruck straps always seem to snag one of the side plates when I take it off).

Moms/Dads think looking like a turtle will get Jr home safe, congress forces gear on us to make mom/dad/spouse happy, and the joes live and adapt.
 
MTV Pics

070329-M-3819R-018_low.jpg


40930_1021154758b.jpg


mt_bodyarmor_800_070419.JPG
 
Jesus, they're really getting out of controll with this whole armor thing. I understand the whole concept like SOWT said makes mom/dad/spouse happy, and probably makes some of the troops feel safer. I've been there many times, and like anybody else I like too have some nice body Armor. But come on, body armor is like the Bell curve. Too little and it's not worth having because it won't protect anything, but too much and you can't freaking move to engage the enemy. You end up looking like the Michelin man.

It's like when I was working out of one of the Camps in Iraq and you see these turret gunners wearing more or less an EOD suit. Great he's protected from head to toe, now how the hell is he suppose to quickly unass that vehicle when it catches fire or gets ambushed, it took him damn near 20 seconds just to get into the damn thing. :doh:

You have to except the fact that people will get shoot and people will die. Hell, until they make a forcefield you can put a sapi plate on every part of the torso you want but thats only going to make a slow moving target thats bullet proof from the waist up.

I don't even want to think about trying to do a long range foot patrol in Iraq or Afganistan in the summer time wearing that damn thing plus, a kevlar, plus ammo, plus mission essential gear.:-x
 
I'm dealing with the same issues right now. People in the CoC seem to think that mobility is not important. A large, cumbersome vest will get people killed. The fuckers who make these kind of decisions are not the same people who wear the vests everyday.
 
3 pounds doesn't seem that significant,

You responded...

thats a lot of weight when youre on a patrol...



I know, and agree...But what I said was.....


3 pounds doesn't seem that significant, depending on what the added protection benefit is.. Especially if it is distributed more evenly as it indicates.

Please don't take what I said out of context to make it appear like I have never humped a ruck or walked a patrol.

I agree with you, any weight is alot on a patrol. But personally I would rather carry the extra 3 lbs if it is positioned well, spread more evenly over your body, as opposed to 3 lbs less distributed poorly.

Thanks
 
Sigh...

I can't make any comments here without people's feelings getting hurt.

Nothing was taken out of context.

Considering this website, with lot's of former or current Spec Op's bubbas, no one is here, especially me will ever say or add anything that will ever tarnish your service.

Me... I'm just a dumb grunt who found this site by chance almost 1.5 years ago.




All you guys here know how it is...

While in combat, if it's your time to go, its your time to go.
I do not believe that by having "more" is always better.

Me? I would rather have much more ability to fire and manuever, instead of the "extra" weight that would hold me down...

Marines and soldiers currently carry so much combat load, that the extra 3 pounds will actually make it harder for them to fight properly.

That's just my .02

Adding a :) and :p because I come in peace.
 
Sigh...

I can't make any comments here without people's feelings getting hurt.

Nothing was taken out of context.

Considering this website, with lot's of former or current Spec Op's bubbas, no one is here, especially me will ever say or add anything that will ever tarnish your service.

Me... I'm just a dumb grunt who found this site by chance almost 1.5 years ago.




All you guys here know how it is...

While in combat, if it's your time to go, its your time to go.
I do not believe that by having "more" is always better.

Me? I would rather have much more ability to fire and manuever, instead of the "extra" weight that would hold me down...

Marines and soldiers currently carry so much combat load, that the extra 3 pounds will actually make it harder for them to fight properly.

That's just my .02

Adding a :) and :p because I come in peace.


Feelings not hurt at all Brother:) I was simply clarifying the statement I made, which is why I posted the entire sentence for accuracy.

And I agree with you, 3 lbs feels like 30 at the end of a hump.

But it is all relative, finding a balance between carrying the weight YOU need (my soldiering days are behind me) to accomplish the mission, and carrying so much that you CAN'T accomplish the mission. I am with you.

If those 3 lbs come in the form of a much improved piece of protective equipment, that spreads the load better and offers enhanced protection, then perhaps it is worth it. If it comes at a minimal overall gain, then I say it is not worth it.

I think we are on the same page. :cool:
 
03Gunner31, you are killing me with that titty dance pic...:D

Every time I'm in the middle of reading a serious thread, about MOA, or CAS, or body armor, or whatever, I get down halfway into it, and BAM there's your post with tig-o-bitty's in it!
 
They seem to be pulsating... at a frequency...

are they trying to tell me something?

OK, I'll stop now...:)
 
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