Free Republic

SAN ANTONIO – When Chance Darby received the helmet that saved his life in Afghanistan, he said it successfully stopped an enemy rifle bullet but left him with two big headaches. One headache lasted a few days after the impact from a high-velocity round. The other lasted several weeks as he tried to keep the news of the incident from his mother, Lynlee Darby, and his then-fiancée and now wife, Cheryl. Chance proposed to Cheryl shortly before deploying to Afghanistan with the 82nd Airborne Division. On May 31, 2012, Taliban ambushed his platoon while it was dismantling an improvised explosive...

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...