Body armor

10/19/2009 -- WASHINGTON -- The Department of the Army announced today that it has established additional quality control measures to further ensure that body armor testing documentation and procurement processes are rigorous, consistent, and use available best practices. To this end, the Army has added several quality control positions to include a Senior Executive Service position as the quality assurance director of personal protective equipment. This new senior-level position will report directly to the Army Acquisition Executive.

These changes address issues raised in a GAO report released today entitled “WARFIGHTER SUPPORT, Independent Expert Assessment of Army Body Armor Test Results and Procedures Needed Before Fielding.”    » read more »

October 19, 2009 -- Congresswoman Louise M. Slaughter (D-NY-28), Chairwoman of the House Committee on Rules, issued the following statement following the release of a Government Accountability Office report raising new questions about the Pentagon’s troubled testing program for soldier’s body armor.

Slaughter was the first lawmaker to raise questions about the reliability of the military’s testing system for armor plates, which are worn by some members of the military deployed in Iraq and Afghanistan.    » read more »

Underscores Need for Comprehensive Investigation; Senators Call for Expedited Completion of Current GAO Investigation

April 2, 2008 -- Washington, DC – Senators Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-NY) and Jim Webb (D-VA) today faulted U.S. Army leadership for its failure to comply with federal standards relating to contracts awarded for body armor. According to a report released today, the Department of Defense (DoD) Inspector General “has no assurance” that 13 of the 28 Army body armor contracts—valued at $5.2 billion—“met the required standards.”

Soldiers examine a hole in Iraqi body armor: Photo by John Rohan (CC)    » read more »

May 22, 2007 -- WASHINGTON – Sens. Carl Levin (D-Mich) and John McCain (R-Ariz.), the Chairman and Ranking Member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, today asked Defense Secretary Robert Gates for a comprehensive review of individual body armor systems.    » read more »