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On the face of it a layer of orange jelly may not sound the best way to protect a soldier's head from high velocity bullets and shrapnel.But the British Army's standard-issue combat helmet is set to be upgraded with a liner made from gooey miracle gel, which responds to a sudden impact by locking instantly into a solid form - absorbing huge amounts of energy harmlessly.A UK-based technology company was today celebrating a £100,000 contract from the Ministry of Defence to develop its D3O shock-absorbing gel to help save the lives of British troops fighting on the frontline in Afghanistan.

When it comes to developing a tire that can take on tough terrain, such as exploring trails or crawling rocks, engineers at Goodyear say they “left no stone unturned” when developing the new Wrangler MT/R tire with Kevlar. Due to be available in March, it is the company’s first off-road tire built with DuPont’s Kevlar material for enhanced sidewall puncture resistance. The use of Kevlar, which is reportedly pound-for-pound five times stronger than steel, brings superb sidewall cut- and puncture-resistance to an area of the tire that demands extra toughness when driving off-road, according to Melissa Montisano, Goodyear’s general manager...

Carrying heavy combat loads is taking a quiet but serious toll on troops deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan, contributing to injuries that are sidelining them in growing numbers, according to senior military and defense officials. Rising concern over the muscle and bone injuries -- as well as the hindrance caused by the cumbersome gear as troops maneuver in Afghanistan's mountains -- prompted Army and Marine Corps leaders and commanders to launch initiatives last month that will introduce lighter equipment for some U.S. troops. As the military prepares to significantly increase the number of troops in Afghanistan -- including sending as...

Barack Obama was sworn in as the 44th president on Tuesday under tight security. He rode to the Capitol in an armored Cadillac limo, spoke behind a protective glass shield, and wore "bullet-resistant clothing." Is that the same thing as a bulletproof vest? Not quite. The vests familiar from cop shows and news footage of SWAT teams are manufactured to be maximally effective with no consideration for how they might look under a dress shirt. It's unclear what brand of body armor Obama sported at the inauguration, but several companies produce discreet, thinner vests that can be worn underneath clothing,...

Army News video: Air Force pilots test new helmet during Army exerciseNELLIS AIR FORCE BASE, Nevada — CF-18 fighter pilots participate in Exercise BOLD QUEST

Two whistleblowers claim that a $1.9 million fine leveled against their former bosses - who allegedly underweighted the bulletproof material in combat helmets to save money - is too measly and part of a Pentagon cover-up. Jeff Kenner and Tamara Elshaug, who worked at the Sioux Manufacturing Corp. in North Dakota, had charged that their company was involved in the "underweaving" of the bulletproof fabric in more than 2 million "P.A.S.G.T." helmets handed out to National Guardsmen, Army Soldiers and Navy Sailors across the country. ... "Any time there's less Kevlar, there's less protection. The American people should know about...

A North Dakota manufacturer has agreed to pay $2 million to settle a suit saying it had repeatedly shortchanged the armor in up to 2.2 million helmets for the military, including those for the first troops sent to Iraq and Afghanistan. Jeff Kenner and Tamra Elshaug, former managers, filed a whistle-blower suit accusing Sioux Manufacturing of fraud and safety violations. Twelve days before the settlement with the Justice Department was announced, the company, Sioux Manufacturing of Fort Totten, was given a new contract of up to $74 million to make more armor for helmets to replace the old ones, which...

The headline in the Daily Mail is a grabber: "Stab-proof school uniforms go on sale to protect pupils from knife attacks "Parents are sending children to school in stab-proof uniforms to guard against knife crime, it has emerged. "They are paying a firm which makes body armour to line blazers and jumpers with a stab-resistant material called Kevlar. The precautions are aimed at protecting pupils from knife attacks as street crime spills over into schools." According to a spokesman for the manufacturer, BladeRunner "From what I can gather and from speaking to parents it's just peace of mind for them....

Many Stabbings Force British Families To Take Action (CBS) LONDON -- Pencils, notebooks and … stab-proof vests? It doesn't sound like your usual back to school list, but some British families are shelling out hundreds of dollars for the protective uniforms, all due to a danger that has parents concerned. The mean streets of Britain can be deadly. Surveillance cameras captured one attack that left a young man in the stabbed to death. Teenage killings here have skyrocketed. As kids go back to school, petrified parents are taking an extraordinary step, outfitting their children with stab-proof school uniforms, lined with...

U.S. Army Staff Sergeant Kyle Keenan sent them an e-mail with the alarming subject line: "Well you'll never believe this I GOT SHOT IN THE HEAD." An Army news release says the helmet Keenan prefers to wear low over his eyes deflected the bullet Sunday. In the e-mail, the 2001 graduate of Newark High School and Licking County Joint Vocational School used colorful language to describe his anger over the attack. He quickly fired back, killing the insurgent. Keenan says he came away from the episode with just a headache, as well as a "Thank God, I'm alive" feeling.

September 4, 2005: Late last year, the U.S. Army began issuing the new ACH (Advanced Combat Helmet) on a wide scale. At the same time, the marines began distributing a similar "Marine Corps Lightweight Helmet", which is actually 15 percent larger than the ACH (but still smaller and lighter than the older helmet). Since then, there has been a dispute over whether or not fabric padding should be inserted between the webbing like helmet liner, which rests on the wearers skull, and the top of the helmet. The army believes the padding provides additional protection from bomb blasts. The marines...

BUHRIZ, Iraq (May 1, 2006) – Capt. John McFarlin owes his life to the Army Combat Helmet. While McFarlin’s unit recently responded to attacks on an Iraqi police station in Buhriz, he was hit in the helmet with a shot from an AK-47. “I was suppressed for a moment and then I got back up" and returned fire, said McFarlin of the 3rd Heavy Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, Task Force Band of Brothers’ Military Transition Team who oversees the 2nd Brigade, 5th Iraqi Army Division. A day after the attack, McFarlin was still sporting the damaged helmet. He...

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) - With red flags flying high for the 2006 hurricane season, consumers who are thinking about sprucing up their homes this year may be better off adding a lifesaving "storm room" instead of that fancy whirlpool. Chemical maker DuPont (Research), which invented such products as nylon, Teflon and the bullet-resistant Kevlar fiber, has been testing the market for pre-built storm rooms in the tornado-prone regions of Texas and Oklahoma for the past two years. DuPont says its 'storm room', made of bullet-resistant Kevlar, can provide protection against wind speeds of up to 250 miles an hour. The...

MARINE CORPS RECRUIT DEPOT SAN DIEGO (March 10, 2006) -- Giving up the fame of the football field at 29 years old, one Company B recruit looked for a glory that was more permanent than any trophy. At age 13, Pfc. Jeremy Staat was 75 inches tall and weighed 230 pounds. It seemed as if he was built for football, according to Staat. “I really didn’t have to work hard at it,” said Staat. Starting as an offensive lineman, Staat grew as a football player and saw his first glimpse of the Marine Corps not long after starting at Arizona...

Some Sanity on the Body Armor Issue The author of... Source: Brainster's Blog - Saturday, January 14 - GO TO THIS WEBLOG » Some Sanity on the Body Armor Issue The author of this piece, who knows what he's talking about, is perhaps a little too kind to Hillary. THIS week Senator Hillary Clinton, citing a secret Pentagon report that suggested some marines killed in Iraq might have survived had they been wearing more body armor, became the latest in a long line of politicians to castigate the Pentagon for a supposed failure to adequately protect our fighting men and...

WESTBURY, N.Y., Sept. 22 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- DHB Industries Inc. (Amex: DHB - News), DHB Industries, Inc., operating principally in the field of body armor, announced that, since September 16, 2005, it has been served with a number of lawsuits, all of which contain similar allegations. One of the lawsuits is filed as a derivative action and names the Company and all of its directors as defendants. All of the other lawsuits are purported class actions and name the Company and all or some of its directors as defendants. The lawsuits allege violations of the federal securities laws and/or state law...

Just had one of the local SWAT teams over for some lunch and to play pool at my house here.. Had a long talk with them and inspected their equipment and see that they are woefully inadequate to do their job. Get this... They fire maybe 20 rounds every 6months with their 9mm Barettas and even less than that with their M16's. They have no kevlar vests or helmets, no accessory flashlights or lasers for their weapons. These guys are brave as hell, though. Just saw on the news where they captured 3 NPA (Commie Guerillas) Commanders two days ago...

ASADABAD, Afghanistan — The nurse looked at Spc. Adrian Danczyk in disbelief when he finally made it to the aid station after a firefight. Second Lt. John Bradley wears the Army’s Advanced Combat Helmet, which is lighter and stronger than the old helmets, while in Iraq. “The medics were working on the guys who were hurt the worst, and I was just sort of sitting back out of the way,” said Danczyk, Company D, 1st Battalion, 505th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 82nd Airborne Division. Lt. Col. Chuck Williams, commander of 1st Squadron, 1st Cavalry Regiment of the 1st Armored Division, wears...

ASADABAD, Afghanistan — The nurse looked at Spc. Adrian Danczyk in disbelief when he finally made it to the aid station after a firefight. “The medics were working on the guys who were hurt the worst, and I was just sort of sitting back out of the way,” said Danczyk, Company D, 1st Battalion, 505th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 82nd Airborne Division. A nurse finally noticed his face was covered with blood. “She said, ‘What happened to you,’” Danczyk said. “I got shot in the head,” he said. “She looked at me like a ghost.” The date of that firefight just...

A new, locally made military helmet being used by troops in Iraq provides less coverage and may result in more serious head traumas, the Army's senior neurosurgeon told The Wall Street Journal. Lt. Col. Jeff Poffenbarger, stationed in Baghdad, is critical of the helmets, which are smaller and offer less protection on the back and sides of the head, according to an article published Wednesday. He estimates a 30 percent increase in serious head traumas if the helmets are distributed throughout the entire force in Iraq. Despite Poffenbarger's misgivings, the Army hasn't changed its original specifications, and production of 107,000...

CAMP RAMADI, Iraq(July 5, 2004) -- Marines here from 3rd Battalion, 11th Marine Regiment are currently testing lower body armor developed by the Marine Corps Warfighting Laboratory in Quantico, Va. The Kevlar shorts were designed to repel razor-sharp shrapnel from improvised explosive devices detonated by anti-Iraqi fighters along transportation routes throughout the country. According to Lt. Col. Lance A. McDaniel, battalion executive officer, the artillery unit received ten pairs of the shorts from the Warfighting Lab. The shorts arrived nearly a week ago and were distributed amongst the battalion's batteries. "The gunners in our vehicles seem to be the most...

ABERDEEN PROVING GROUND, Md. (Army News Service, April 21, 2004) -- Liquid armor for Kevlar vests is one of the newest technologies being developed at the U.S. Army Research Laboratory to save Soldiers' lives. This type of body armor is light and flexible, which allows soldiers to be more mobile and won’t hinder an individual from running or aiming his or her weapon. The key component of liquid armor is a shear thickening fluid. STF is composed of hard particles suspended in a liquid. The liquid, polyethylene glycol, is non-toxic, and can withstand a wide range of temperatures. Hard, nano-particles...

ARLINGTON, Va. — Working full-tilt, nine contractors have finished crafting 160,000 Interceptor body armor vests, and the equipment is now en route to units preparing to deploy to Iraq and a central distribution point in Kuwait, according to Army officials. This month’s production run of the Interceptor tactical vests fulfills a promise to Congress by Army officials, who said that by January the service would have enough of the vests to outfit every soldier deployed to Iraq, according to Army spokesman Maj. Gary Tallman. “Congress has been notified that the requirement has been met,” Tallman said Friday. Interceptor vests are...

New Protection Ahead in Helmets, Body Armor By Donna MilesAmerican Forces Press Service WASHINGTON, Nov. 20, 2003 -- New, reinforced helmets and body armor being fielded to the military today represent just the tip of the iceberg in terms of what's on the drawing board for protecting warfighters of the future. Tomorrow's fighting force will have far superior protective systems that provide enhanced capabilities while imposing less weight on the user, according to officials at the U.S. Army Soldier Systems Center at Natick, Mass. The center conducts research and product development for all the military services. Robert Kinney, director...

Thursday October 02, 2003 Families chip in for flak jackets 02.10.2003 - By ANDREW GUMBEL in Los Angeles United States soldiers in Iraq are so short of up-to-date flak jackets - often the difference between survivable injury and death in combat - that their families back home have begun buying them out of their own pocket. Campaigners for military families opposed to the continuing occupation angrily denounced the lack of adequate protection yesterday, calling it "outrageous" and part of a pattern of general failure to provide adequate supplies to the troops almost five months after the formal end of the...

Columbia Investigator Fears NASA Won't Change By Marcia Dunn CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) -- A Nobel Prize-winning member of the board investigating the space shuttle Columbia disaster says he fears NASA won't change its culture, possibly leading to yet another accident. The "same faulty reasoning" that led to the 1986 Challenger accident also led to Columbia, said Douglas Osheroff, one of the 13 board members wrapping up the report on the Columbia accident. "No matter how good the report looks, if we don't do something to change the way NASA makes its decisions, I would say that we will...

WASHINGTON — Starting this summer, the Marine Corps will field 43,000 new helmets, a lighter, stronger version of the “Kevlar” helmet used since the early 1980s. The Marine Corps Lightweight Helmet looks very similar to the current Personnel Armor System, Ground Troops (PASGT) helmet, but is improved in many ways, according to Brad Sutter, project manager for the helmet at manufacturer Gentex Corp. “What’s really good is the weight versus ballistic performance,” Sutter said. The helmet’s shell is shaped like the PASGT, but new materials bring a 6 percent improvement in fragmentation protection as well as the ability to stop...

SEA-TAC AIRPORT - 20-year-old Marine Lance Corporal Ryan Harnish came as close to death as you can get. That is why the reunion with his family and friends at Sea-Tac Airport Friday night was so emotional. Harnish was one of the first Marines into Baghdad. While under enemy fire, he was hit in the head by a rocket propelled grenade. "It hit me square on," said Harnish. The grenade didn't explode, but left a hole in his kevlar helmet. Harnish was knocked out for several minutes, but amazingly as soon as he came to, he grabbed his rifle and continued...

<p>LONDON — Royal Marine Commando Eric Walderman was dubbed the luckiest soldier in Iraq after apparently surviving four sniper shots to the head -- thanks to his bulletproof helmet.</p> <p>But it emerged the so-called brush with death by the "miracle marine," dramatized in newspapers worldwide, was a hoax.</p>

EXCLUSIVE Mr Lucky was not so pluckyBy JOHN KAYTHE “Stay Lucky” soldier pictured wearing a helmet riddled with bullet holes was playing a PRANK, The Sun can reveal. Comical commando Eric Walderman and his comrades fooled Gulf War II newsmen by pretending he had escaped death by inches when he was shot at while fighting Iraqis. RELATED STORIES • Gulf War in pictures In fact his Kevlar helmet was just lying on top of his pack when it was peppered by fellow Marines trying to hit an unexploded anti-tank weapon. Eric, 28, then popped it on his head and posed...

  Cheeky cheat ... Eric in that hat     EXCLUSIVE Mr Lucky was not so pluckyBy JOHN KAYTHE “Stay Lucky” soldier pictured wearing a helmet riddled with bullet holes was playing a PRANK, The Sun can reveal.  Comical commando Eric Walderman and his comrades fooled Gulf War II newsmen by pretending he had escaped death by inches when he was shot at while fighting Iraqis.   RELATED STORIES • Gulf War in pictures   In fact his Kevlar helmet was just lying on top of his pack when it was peppered by fellow Marines trying to hit an unexploded...

Luckiest man in Iraq By Matt Sun March 28, 2003 THIS is the luckiest man in Iraq - a Royal Marine who cheated death despite being shot four times in the head during a raging battle. (Soldier Eric Walderman wearing the hat that saved his life. Picture: AFP) Marine Eric Walderman was hit by a volley of bullets while fighting Iraqi soldiers at Umm Qasr in southern Iraq. The bullets hit his Kevlar helmet just above his eye, tearing the camouflage lining and ricocheting away. If a round had struck a 1cm lower, he would have been killed. Marine Walderman...

Marine Eric Walderman wearing his lucky helmet LUCKY MARINE TRICKS DEATH A Royal Marine Commando who was shot in the head four times has lived to tell the tale of his lucky escape.Eric Walderman's life was saved by his tough Kevlar helmet after he was caught in enemy gun sights during a savage firefight in Umm Qasr. The four bullets ripped through the outer camouflage of the 25-year-olds' standard-issue helmet but were stopped by the ultra-tough protective Kevlar shell.Just an inch lower and the father-of-one could have joined the list of British casualties.His relieved partner Lindsey Robinson, 25, at...

I apologize if this has been posted (other than the one time I've used it as a reply) already. Although the site I found it on is a leftist POS place, this poster kicks ass. I think that the leftists assume this poster is a slam on Rummy, when in fact it is patriotic - just shows how twisted their thinking is!

Cannabis poses a greater threat to health than tobacco, lung experts have warned. The warning comes on the day that Home Secretary David Blunkett is due to make a Commons statement about the future of government drug policy. Many young people are simply not aware that smoking cannabis may put them at increased risk of respiratory cancers and infections . Dame Helena Shovelton: The Home Affairs Select Committee has recommended that cannabis is downgraded from a class B drug to class C. This would mean that possession would lead to a caution, rather than arrest. The British Lung Foundation is...