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August 14, 2007: The Dragon Skin armor was recently decertified by the National Institute of Justice, adding more controversy to the debate over the value of this armor design for protective vests. This loss of certification will cause many police agencies to reject this armor as a result. This is a serious blow to the manufacturer, which is trying to get the armor adopted by the Department of Defense. Dragon Skin was intended to provide better all-around protection against incoming fire. One problem with most protective vests is that there are places where the protective ceramic plates only cover a...

Hot Air: NBC's 'Emotional Terrorism' Following 'Bogus' Armor Report Posted by Dave Pierre on July 4, 2007 - 10:43. Via Bryan Preston at Hot Air: On May 17, NBC reported a blockbuster exclusive on the superiority of Dragon Skin body armor over Interceptor, the body armor that the US Army issues to soldiers in combat zones. But NBC’s story has a major flaw: It’s wrong about nearly everything. Watch the latest installment of Hot Air's Vent and actually hear an Army official, Brigadier General Mark Brown, conclude that NBC News possibly committed "emotional terrorism" after airing an "exclusive" segment on...

NBC Accuses Pentagon of Using Less Safe Body Armor… But is it? Posted by Warner Todd Huston on June 18, 2007 - 10:16. Back on May 20th, the NBC News Investigative Unit excitedly reported that US Armed forces and the Pentagon may be forcing our soldiers to use body armor that is not as effective as newer models being produced. In an alarming TV report called "Are U.S. soldiers wearing the best body armor?", NBC intimated that the Pentagon was sending our troops substandard bullet proof vests when they knew there was a better product out there suggesting that our...

ONE OF THE RECURRING themes of press coverage of the Long War, and particularly the conflict in Iraq, is that soldiers are victims. According to this trope, soldiers and Marines are sacrificing themselves in a cause already lost, by an administration that cares little for the men and women in uniform. The proof of this last proposition was demonstrated to the media's satisfaction long ago, and confirmed for them in former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld's proclamation that we went to war with the force we had rather than the one we'd liked to have. Exhibit number one in the press's...

The technical expert solicited by a major news network to certify its tests of Dragon Skin body armor admitted Wednesday that the controversial vests weren't "ready for prime time." In an investigative report broadcast by NBC May 20, the network used the expert opinion of Dr. Phillip Coyle - the former director of test and evaluation at the Pentagon during the Clinton administration - to certify results of side-by-side tests conducted at NBC's expense in Germany. In testimony submitted to the House Armed Services Committee during a June 6 hearing in the issue, Coyle stated Dragon Skin - manufactured by...

WASHINGTON | A manufacturer of body armor is under criminal investigation for possibly making false claims, Pentagon officials said Wednesday. Lawmakers are pressing for an independent test to determine whether the company’s vests are better than the ones U.S. troops in Iraq are wearing. Air Force investigators said they had been investigating Pinnacle Armor of Fresno, Calif., for a year, looking into allegations the company lied about having its vests certified as safe. Pinnacle made the claim nine months before it received the federal certification, officials said. Lawmakers from both parties accused Pinnacle’s president, Murray Neal, of hyping his product,...

The Marine Corps wants its Marines and sailors to know that the body armor it issues is the best available for combat despite recent inquiries concerning replacement gear. The armor the Marine Corps issues has met government test standards, and in many cases, the standards exceed civilian testing, said Maj. Bradford W. Tippett, infantry advocate for Headquarters Marine Corps in a recent interview with reporter Lance Cpl. David Rodgers.

The Army plans to brief Congress about test failures of Dragon Skin body armor after recent news reports touting the vest's capabilities prompted calls from lawmakers for an official explanation. The service's top soldier equipment buyer, Brig. Gen. Mark Brown, said he plans to meet with lawmakers and staff this week after NBC News broadcast an investigative report Sunday claiming Dragon Skin - which uses a series of interlocking ceramic disks to stop armor-piercing bullets - outperformed armor currently issued by the Army. "Since the report, we have gotten a flurry of interest" from Capitol Hill, Brown said at a...

Connecticut Congressman Joe Courtney is wading into the debate over body armor for U.S. soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan. The freshman congressman is calling for a congressional investigation into which systems provide the best protection. A spokesman says Courtney sent a letter to the Government Accountability Office to ask for an investigation of the body armor systems being issued by the military services and the Special Operations Command. The freshman congressman's letter cited recent NBC News reports suggesting Dragon Skin, a privately sold flexible body armor that some families have sought for their soldiers, may be better than Army-issued Interceptor...

The U.S. Army, in a rare move Monday, released a barrage of test results showing that a privately-sold flexible body armor that some families have sought for their soldiers failed extensive military testing. Pieces of the hefty Dragon Skin armor, with ragged holes torn through its yellow inner skin, were propped up on the floor in the Pentagon, as Army officials systematically detailed the battery of ammunition and temperature testing the armor failed. Although the tests were done nearly a year ago, the Army declined to release details until Monday, after recent NBC News reports suggested that the Dragon Skin...

Army Orders Soldiers to Shed Dragon Skin or Lose SGLI Death Benefits By Nathaniel R. Helms Two deploying soldiers and a concerned mother reported Friday afternoon that the U.S. Army appears to be singling out soldiers who have purchased Pinnacle's Dragon Skin Body Armor for special treatment. The soldiers, who are currently staging for combat operations from a secret location, reported that their commander told them if they were wearing Pinnacle Dragon Skin and were killed their beneficiaries might not receive the death benefits from their $400,000 SGLI life insurance policies. The soldiers were ordered to leave their privately purchased...