Airmen take steps to ensure body armor stays intact

  • Published
  • By Tech. Sgt. Paul Dean
  • 407th Air Expeditionary Group Public Affairs
ALI BASE, Iraq (AFPN) --  Several unpleasant reactions may have crossed the minds of Airmen when the supply person handed them body armor for a deployment, and "heavy" was undoubtedly the most common reaction.

A two-plated vest body armor design, weighing more than some 3-year-olds and a necessity in many deployed locations, was never geared toward the casual lifestyle, but its weight, rigidity and unflinching resistance to comfort unarguably gives an unparalleled sense of security. There are times, however, when this sense of security is just that, a sense, because the plates that protect Airmen are useless dead weight.

Body armor is designed to protect Airmen from small-arms fire and fragmentation ammunitions, but it will fail if the integrity of the armor plates has been compromised. When the armor plates fail, bullets and fragments pass through the vest into the body.

Here, body armor plates no longer intact sit in a large crate in the 407th Expeditionary Logistics Readiness Squadron’s supply warehouse. The plates came from vests turned in by Airmen who redeployed home. There are currently more than 150 potential injuries or deaths in the crate.

“I wouldn’t want to be walking around with a vest with these plates in it -- that’s just a waste of energy,” said Master Sgt. Steve Strange, the 407th ELRS supply supervisor who is deployed from the Indiana Air National Guard’s 181st Fighter Wing.

Personal safety is first and foremost here, but this is also a money issue. Depending on the size of the vest each plate came from, the average plate replacement cost is $460. Putting that in perspective, the body armor in the one crate here has a replacement value of about $70,000 -- enough to rebuild a home in New Orleans.

Some of the plates are broken unavoidably, but most are broken because of mishandling.

“One of the biggest problems is that a lot of people put their vest in the bottom of their A-Bag in transit,” said Capt. Michael Robinson, the 407th Expeditionary Security Forces Squadron operations officer who is deployed from Spangdahlem Air Base, Germany. “Then the bags are thrown here and there during transport and loading, landing on the vest over and over.”

“It may sound funny, but the body armor, which is strong enough to stop a bullet, has to be handled carefully,” said Senior Airman Josh Warren, a 407th ELRS supply journeyman. "Dropping, tossing and carelessly storing body armor will render it useless when it has to do its job."

Although there are no regulations outlining scheduled interval inspections of body armor, Airmen should take the plates out of their vests and inspect them once a week. Airmen should check the plates for frayed outer skins, bursting seams, cracks and powder at the bottom of the vest pocket.

Another initiative that security forces have taken was to build racks for their body armor.

“They’re just simple crosses on a frame,” Captain Robinson said. “Nothing fancy, just a good place to hang the vests so they don’t get damaged.”

Captain Robinson and Sergeant Strange recommend Airmen hang vests on the back of a chair or on a strong hook, or set it flat on a sturdy surface when it is not being worn if racks are not available.

Proper handling, storage and periodic inspections are the key to making sure that body armor does its job when needed, Captain Robinson said.