As we scour the pages of blunder after blunder, we came across the latest on what the US Marine Corps is up to when it comes to buying tactical vests that are bullet proof (?) and lightweight body armor (not). Here is what we found in the Marine Corps Time for January 19, 2009:

Corps to field two new body armor vests

By Dan Lamothe - Staff writer
Posted : Monday Jan 19, 2009 12:16:45 EST

The Corps is seeking replacements for both kinds of body armor it commonly issues, and could have new vests on Marines late this year.

The Improved Modular Tactical Vest and the Improved Scalable Plate Carrier will be sought through separate competitions this summer, said Lt. Col. A.J. Pasagian, program manager of Infantry Combat Equipment at Marine Corps Systems Command at Quantico, Va. They will replace the bulky MTV commonly in use in Iraq and the SPC, which was first fielded widely last year in Afghanistan as a lighter alternative, helpful in mountainous terrain.

While the IMTV will be the main body armor system for Marines, the Corps plans to order about 70,000 of the improved plate carriers, far more than the estimated 10,000 to 14,000 plate carriers in use today, Pasagian said. Many Marines in Afghanistan are now issued both the MTV and SPC.

We are looking at expanding [production of the plate carrier] because its a really valuable alternative for commanders whose units are going into areas where mobility is important, like mountainous areas, or into areas with a hot, jungle environment, Pasagian said. A good amount of Marines are wearing the scalable plate carrier successfully in Afghanistan, and were getting a lot of good feedback on that.

There are about 108,000 MTVs in use Corpswide at a cost of about $1,000 each, Pasagian said that the Corps plans to fully replace with the IMTV. The plate carriers cost $400 to $500 each.

The development of the IMTV grew out of complaints from troops in Iraq about the weight and discomfort of the MTV, which can weigh up to 30 pounds when filled with its associated armor plates.

In the past few months, SysCom Marines have traveled as far as Japan to seek out a grunts-eye view on the MTVs shortcomings, Pasagian said. Infantrymen and other Marines in the fleet reported problems with everything from the vests opening at the neck, where it rubs skin raw, to its cumberbund, where the lack of padding can lead to chafing.

Reducing the weight of the vest is a key issue. But Marine officials also anticipate a new neck hole on the IMTV that is up to a -inch larger than the current version, a move that compromises protection but cuts down on chafing and allows Marines to more quickly turn at the neck, Pasagian said.

The Corps also will redesign the MTVs shoulder area, although what changes will be made remains uncertain, Pasagian said. Marine officials acknowledge something must change, as some Marines have loosened straps on the MTV to better shoulder their weapon and avoid being hammered in the face when rifle butts slip during recoil.

Were Marines doing that? Yes. Is it acceptable? No, Pasagian said. The MTV has multiple adjustment points, and its set up that way so that you can bear the weight and load evenly.

The MTV was approved for use in 2006, and was lauded at the time for offering improved protection and a lighter design than a variation of the Armys Interceptor Outer Tactical Vest that Marines were wearing at the time. The Army later rejected issuing the MTV to soldiers, saying it was too bulky, and instead sent out the Improved Outer Tactical Vest.

Pasagian said the Corps and Army also are working together on a vest that could eventually stabilize the line for body armor. That vest would likely have a different name and draw on lessons learned by both services, with production beginning no earlier than 2012.

I have to wonder, who does the research for the Marines? Don’t they know there is a 13 pound vest with even better body armor protection than anything they are talking about above?

You can help ensure the Marines and other first response forces that face violence from fire arms, schrapnel, knifes and spikes find the best equipment, simply by commenting below.

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Thanks, and great to have you back again.

- Daniel
- Wayne

P.S.
Our body armor - tactical vest - only weighs 11lbs and exceeds this protection.

See the body armor test

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Did you see this last year -

How the US Marines were getting great new tactical gear including tactical bulletproof vests? Only they weren’t so great. Here is what FOX News reported on February 27 of 2008:

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.

“Im 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.”

Click here to view photos.

Twenty-four thousand more vests were scheduled to be shipped to Iraq in the coming months, but Conway halted that order during his trip.

“Ive asked them to tell me to walk me through the whole process … how it evolved,” Conway said.

“It goes back a couple of years. I think the vest has its advantages. It fits pretty well on the waist. The weight is distributed more evenly on the hips than shoulders, but Marines dont like it. I didnt like it when I put it on.”

The protective jackets, manufactured by Protective Products International in Sunrise, Fla., are known as Modular Tactical Vests, or MTVs. With heavy plates, known as sappis, on their sides, they provide more coverage than the older vests. That makes them much safer but also much heavier. The MTVs have more protection than the older “Interceptor,” made by Point Blank, and they distribute weight more evenly.

The new vests, weighing in at about 30 pounds each, are three lbs. more than previous regulation body armor. Marines, who are already carrying up to 95 lbs. depending on the mission, say they feel the difference.

The vest slips over the head, but one Marine said that because of its weight, it often rips the skin off ones nose and scrapes the ears.

It also has a rip cord that allows for quick release should the fighter fall into water. But many Marines say the cord is hard to reach and often gets caught on equipment in their vehicles. They say it literally falls apart; one Marine said it was like getting caught in battle with your pants around your ankles.

Marines are issued an instructional video to learn how to use the vest properly.

The Marine commandant and his sergeant major, Carlton Kent, became aware of the problem during a Thanksgiving visit to Iraq. At town hall meetings, few Marines raised their hands when asked if they liked the new equipment.

Conway and his team refused to wear the vests during their visit to Iraq last week due to their weight and impracticality.

Marine Corps Systems Command, in a written statement to FOX News, said it responded in January 2006 to an Urgent Universal Need Statement from the field for better protective gear and awarded the contract in September 2006 after a series of user conferences at Quantico and in consultation with the Marine Expeditionary Forces.

The order was placed before Conway became commandant in November 2006.

Marine spokesman Lt. Col. TV Johnson said the problem with the vests is not that they are unsafe or impractical.

“Marines are still able to run and climb walls with the gear. The fact that the additional protection adds weight, and that the means of getting in and out of it “over-the-head” seem to be the chief complaints,” Johnson told FOX News in an email.

“In Desert Storm, we wore flack jackets that were a fraction of the weight of the lighter vest we wore before the MTV. They wouldn’t, however, stop a bullet or even a knife, so if I were going to a gunfight, I know what piece of gear I’d take,” said Johnson.

FOX News National Security Correspondent Jennifer Griffin was traveling with the Marine Commandant to Iraq and Afghanistan last week. This report is part of a multi-part series also appearing on Special Report with Brit Hume

Come back soon and you will see exactly how this problem could have been averted with soft body armor far superior to what was sent to the Marines. We don’t need our finest heros getting junk like this.

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Thanks for visiting

- Daniel
- Wayne

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