Posted on 06/06/2007 11:32:55 PM PDT by Sleeping Beauty
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, exploiting the fears of soldiers’ families, misleading Congress and impugning the Army’s integrity.
Neal said his company’s Dragon Skin body armor was superior to the Interceptor brand the Pentagon was buying now. The Army and Marine Corps need 178,000 body armor systems for service members in Iraq and Afghanistan. Some soldiers and Marines have been paying upward of $5,000 to equip themselves with Dragon Skin.
Unlike the solid Interceptor vests, Dragon Skin uses overlapping silver dollar-sized discs. The flexible system is popular with police SWAT teams, Secret Service agents, and others.
Neal contended there was “a pattern of anti-Dragon Skin misinformation coming from the armed forces.” He said a side-by-side test of the two systems, conducted by an independent evaluator, should decide which was more effective.
“I think we can do that in short order,” agreed Rep. Duncan Hunter of California, the senior Republican member of the House Armed Services Committee.
Two members of the Senate Armed Services Committee want the Government Accountability Office to oversee body armor tests.
The Pentagon has tested equipment against certain standards, but not side by side.
Moral to the story -- Don't mess with the Pentagon.
I also heard a reporter say that it was turned down by the Pentagon before it was ever tested by them.
Yep. I’ve seen and heard all that too. He even appeared before congress recently.
But today, the Pentagon told the DOJ to look into criminal charges against Dragon Skin’s president.
That has a somewhat chilling effect.
I was going to say the same thing. I Saw Richard test this stuff, it took a Frag grenade at point blank, nothing the military is buying can do that (and allow the soldier to live) that I am aware of. Nothing can except maybe titanium plate armor. (Laugh)
“I’ve seen the guy on the Discovery Channel test it. My money’s on the Dragon Skin.”
Other than delaminating in heat and weighing 20 pounds more?
When the prices come down a couple thousand I'll buy a vest for myself.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1836003/posts
Especially if it's a cynical butt covering move on the part of our military.
The first is very likely a solvable problem and part of the second may be, too. And if it's gonna save my life, I'd put on another 20 pounds. I've done that and it hasn't even done me any good that I can tell. Can't even wear my old pants.
Check this out
http://op-for.com/2007/05/dragon_skin_redux.html
The test conditions were for crap. They also delaminate when exposed to diesel - a common occurrence. Stopping a grenade is one thing - the shrapnel doesn’t have the same force as a fmj round. In every test, the Dragon Skin failed. It weighs almost 50 pounds.
These guys are going to be in some deep doo doo, and well deserved.
The Problem came out yesterday on The Pentagon Channel...during Cross examination That the test they did for NBC was not the Brand sold to the US Army for use in Operation Iraqi Freedom..it was another Manufacturer. Not even a Licensed Manufacturer. So when they say they are Inferior they were Comparing different Type altogether .. When is NBC going to get Nailed on This..investigation? Very Shoddy Journalism almost in an INFOMERCIAL category.
My money is on someone very important in the government or related to someone very important having a large financial interest in the current body armor being used. Probably a lot of palms being greased to keep from losing the contract also. I saw the demo on the discovery channel and it looked like a very good product to me.
DS testers claimed to have used issue Interceptor plates in the “independent” test. They didn’t. They lied. So - what else did they and the makers lie about lie about.
The Army released a power point presentation about their DS test. It even had the before/after x-rays.
Too bad so many people believe the hype from tabloid journalists and slick marketers.
They went around the Pentagram and showed their stuff on TV....that pissed a lot of generals off!!!
All six have to produce armor that meets Army test standards and they do.
DS did not pass. Yeah, it’s all about big stakes money. If DS fails that means everybody who bought it is going to want a refund. So just who is putting money ahead of the troops?
The contract has to be fulfilled whether they choose to go with a different product or not. If the branches of DOD ordered 1 million IBAs then they are getting and paying 1 million IBAs whether they use them or not.
Too many people accept "Futureweapons" as a final arbiter.
I mean, THERE HAS NEVER, EVER,EVER been anything shown on that show that didn't work - people do know that that isn't reality, right?
what was that Navy Seal shooting with then, in that discovery show
gov approved spit balls?
unless that test was doctored with ammunition that was sub par,
but that thign was stopping large rounds at close range
so if it was a scam it was certainly well orchestrated
What part of “Futureweapons is a commercial for manufacturers to show off their products, not a rigorous test” do you not understand?
a navy seal guy being used for propaganda
i would think he would be able to tell he was firing substandard ammunition
or would realize that test where rigged
is that hard to comprehend for you
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