BAGHDAD, Iraq – The Government and Marine Corps approved purchasing 84,000 bulletproof vests in the year 2006 that does not only are extremely heavy but they are so not practical that some U.S. Marine corps are requesting their old vests back to allow them to remain agile enough to battle.
Marine Commandant Gen. James Conway really wants to know who approved the pricey acquisition of the nearly 30-pound flak jackets and it has purchased the Marine procurement officials in the Quantico base in Virginia to prevent the relaxation of the unfilled order, FOX News is familiar with.
"I’m less than sure the way we reached where we're, but what I know is it's not a champion," Conway told FOX News in the finish of his recent visit to Iraq.
"It is foolish to purchase more."
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Twenty-4, 000 more vests were scheduled to become shipped to Iraq within the coming several weeks, but Conway stopped that order throughout his trip.
"I’ve requested these to let me know — just to walk me through — the entire process ... the way it developed," Conway stated.
"It dates back a few years. I believe the vest has its own advantages. They fit pretty much around the waist. The load is shipped more evenly around the sides than shoulders, but Marine corps don’t enjoy it. I didn’t enjoy it after i use it.Inch
The protective jackets, made by Protective Items Worldwide in Sunrise, Fla., are classified as Modular Tactical Vests, or MTVs. With heavy plates, referred to as sappis, on their own sides, they offer more coverage compared to older vests. Which makes them much safer but additionally much heavier. The MTVs convey more protection compared to older "Interceptor," produced by Point Blank, plus they distribute weight more evenly.
The brand new vests, coming in at about 30 pounds each, are three pounds. greater than previous regulation body armor. Marine corps, who're already transporting as much as 95 pounds. with respect to the mission, say they think the main difference.
The vest slips within the mind, only one Marine stated that due to the weight, it frequently rips your skin off one’s nose and scrapes the ears.
Additionally, it includes a rip cord that enables for convenient release if the fighter fall under water. However, many Marine corps the cord is difficult to achieve and frequently will get caught on equipment within their automobiles. They are saying it literally falls apart one Marine stated it had been like getting caught in fight together with your pants around your ankles.
Marine corps are released an training video to understand ways to use the vest correctly.
The Marine commandant and the sergeant major, Carlton Kent, grew to become conscious of the issue throughout a Thanksgiving trip to Iraq. At town hall conferences, couple of Marine corps elevated their hands when requested when they loved the brand new equipment.
Conway and the team declined to put on the vests throughout their trip to Iraq a week ago because of how much they weigh and impracticality.
Marine Corps Systems Command, inside a written statement to FOX News, stated it responded in The month of january 2006 for an Urgent Universal Need Statement in the area for much better protective equipment and granted anything in September 2006 after a number of user conferences at Quantico as well as in consultation using the Marine Expeditionary Forces.
An order was placed before Conway grew to become commandant in November 2006.
Marine spokesperson Lt. Col. TV Manley stated the issue using the vests isn't that they're unsafe or not practical.
"Marine corps continue to be in a position to run and climb walls using the gear. The truth that the extra protection adds weight, which the way of getting interior and exterior it "over-the-mind" appear is the chief complaints," Manley told FOX News within an email.
"In Desert Storm, we used flack jackets which were a small fraction of the load from the lighter vest we used prior to the MTV. They would not, however, stop a bullet or perhaps a knife, therefore if I would a gunfight, I understand what bit of gear I'd take," stated Manley.
FOX News National Security Correspondent Jennifer Griffin was going with the Marine Commandant to Iraq and Afghanistan a week ago. This report belongs to a multi-part series also showing up on Special Report with Brit Hume at 6 pm ET.
Jennifer Griffin presently works as a national security correspondent for FOX News Funnel (FNC). She became a member of FNC in October 1999 like a Jerusalem-based correspondent. Her first years like a journalist were put in Nigeria.
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