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Soldiers Defend Body Armor
Army News Service ^ | July 13, 2007 | Staff Writer

Posted on 07/18/2007 10:37:20 AM PDT by PsyOp

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To: stm

Wow.


21 posted on 07/18/2007 4:43:23 PM PDT by Mr. Lucky
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To: PsyOp

Nothing as powerfull as an Ak round though.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Not sure I follow.

Are you saying that the vests won’t stop anything more powerful than an AK round?

Surely you aren’t saying there isn’t anything more powerful than an AK round, are you?


22 posted on 07/18/2007 4:43:33 PM PDT by mamelukesabre (Those that can do, do. Those that can't do, teach. Those that can't do either, run for office)
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To: PsyOp

I wonder are these some of Ron Paul supporters.


23 posted on 07/18/2007 4:43:43 PM PDT by mimaw
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To: PsyOp
Checkout the Newsbusters story on the NBC presentation about Dragonskin being superior to current service use body armor.

The "expert" they had on worked on the fabric carrier, not the plates. The plates used were not from an approved Govt contractor and the tests did not replicate the Govt tests.

All the NBC story was missing was an exploding pick up truck from the Dateline archives.

The Army put out a rebuttal which included a video. Usually General Officers are restrained, but this guy was laughing at the BS they exposed at NBC.

I believe I've seen the episode you saw a while back. It looks good, but I believe DragonSkin's manufacturer has had other problems other than the Army tests.

24 posted on 07/18/2007 6:51:48 PM PDT by Doctor Raoul (What's the difference between the CIA and the Free Clinic? The Free Clinic knows how to stop leaks.)
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To: CJ Wolf
My stepson came home with one of these vests to show me while he was on leave. Cool stuff. Heavy but cool.

Something tells me that "cool" is not the correct adjective to describe heavy BA in 130 degree temps.

But if it saves a life then I'm sure the guys will gladly deal with the heat. Now if they could build in an efficient, light weight, non constricting cooling system into the BA system...

25 posted on 07/18/2007 7:41:06 PM PDT by AFreeBird (Will NOT vote for Rudy. <--- notice the period)
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To: mamelukesabre
Surely you aren’t saying there isn’t anything more powerful than an AK round, are you?

I simply meant that my brother was shot with a smaller caliber, lower velocity round. And at the time he was wearing a second generation (i think), "Second Chance" brand vest, not the new Interceptor vest our troops are issued.

An AK round would have punched right through the Second Chance vest. That is what I meant. Sorry if I was not clear.

26 posted on 07/19/2007 1:29:09 PM PDT by PsyOp (Truth in itself is rarely sufficient to make men act. - Clauswitz, On War, 1832.)
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To: mimaw
I wonder are these some of Ron Paul supporters.

some of them are I'm sure. After all, they believe the govt was behind 9/11.

27 posted on 07/19/2007 1:30:23 PM PDT by PsyOp (Truth in itself is rarely sufficient to make men act. - Clauswitz, On War, 1832.)
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To: Doctor Raoul
The "expert" they had on worked on the fabric carrier, not the plates.

Let me guess... the "expert" was a disgruntled former employee? Perhaps fired for downloading dirty pictures on a company computer?

All I know is they shot the hell out of the one on Future Weapons and it stopped everything.

People also forget that the military has to consider cost of purchase and later maintenance when it fields any type of gear. The Dragon Skin may be superior, but is it sufficiently superior to justify the additional cost?

The same nutters that complain about our folks lack of "proper" body armor are the same ones that screech over every nickle in the defense budget.

28 posted on 07/19/2007 1:38:00 PM PDT by PsyOp (Truth in itself is rarely sufficient to make men act. - Clauswitz, On War, 1832.)
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To: PsyOp
Let me guess... the "expert" was a disgruntled former employee?

I don't think so. I believe he padded his resume to get the NBC gig and made sure the Army vest come in second on NBC News.

All I know is they shot the hell out of the one on Future Weapons and it stopped everything.

I saw that too, but that's a show and not a controlled independent evlauation.

I think DS has company problems, temperature problems and off angle problems.

People also forget that the military has to consider cost of purchase and later maintenance when it fields any type of gear. The Dragon Skin may be superior, but is it sufficiently superior to justify the additional cost?

The libs will give you the, "...but if it saves one life it's worth it" crap, as if there were infinite money so that anything that mitigates every threat can be provided. If I get a chance I'll look for that Army rebuttal. The same nutters that complain about our folks lack of "proper" body armor are the same ones that screech over every nickle in the defense budget.

29 posted on 07/19/2007 1:49:23 PM PDT by Doctor Raoul (What's the difference between the CIA and the Free Clinic? The Free Clinic knows how to stop leaks.)
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To: PsyOp
Go to Michelle malkin's Hot Air and find the "Emotional Terrorism" entry. I believe there'a a link to the Army rebuttal or it's in the story itself.

Also search FR for "emotional terrorism" as I believe that Hot Air story was discussed here too.

30 posted on 07/19/2007 1:58:26 PM PDT by Doctor Raoul (What's the difference between the CIA and the Free Clinic? The Free Clinic knows how to stop leaks.)
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To: Doctor Raoul
off angle problems.

I hadn't thought of that, but it makes sense now that I think of it. I can see how a round could slip in between the plates if fired at an oblique angle.

But at $5,000 a pop, I bet cost was a big factor. I don't know what the cost of an Interceptor vest is, but I bet it is a lot less than that. And since the interceptor will also stop an AK round, cost has to be a consideration. You always reach a point of diminishing returns in cost/benefit calculus.

The Army is pretty good at testing equipment before fileding it and they weigh lots of factors that most would never think of. Lots of problems don't show up right away, even with all the testing they do.

People forget that active duty soldiers do the testing. These are people that might one day have to use this stuff themselves and don't want to be left with their asses hanging in the wind.

31 posted on 07/19/2007 2:49:50 PM PDT by PsyOp (Truth in itself is rarely sufficient to make men act. - Clauswitz, On War, 1832.)
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To: Doctor Raoul

I just found and watched the Hot Air Video. There are a lot of facts about Dragon Skin that never made it into the Future Weapons show.

NBC seems bound and determined to stay stuck in the Dan Rather rut of journalistic mud-slinging.

In the video the General in charge said that they had provided NBC with over 20 hours of video and reams of other test data, all of which was ignored.

NBC must have assumed it was all doctored and rigged since it was provided by the military (and you just know you can’t trust those generals and military types to tell the truth).


32 posted on 07/19/2007 3:14:58 PM PDT by PsyOp (Truth in itself is rarely sufficient to make men act. - Clauswitz, On War, 1832.)
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To: PsyOp

I’m surprised that NBC didn’t test DragonSkin’s effectiveness against exploding Dateline pick up trucks...


33 posted on 07/19/2007 5:28:20 PM PDT by Doctor Raoul (What's the difference between the CIA and the Free Clinic? The Free Clinic knows how to stop leaks.)
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To: Doctor Raoul
exploding Dateline pick up trucks...

I'm sure it was discusssed.

34 posted on 07/21/2007 12:09:53 PM PDT by PsyOp (Truth in itself is rarely sufficient to make men act. - Clauswitz, On War, 1832.)
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