Families chip in for flak jackets

New Zealand Herald ^ | 10/02/03 | Andrew Gumbel

[bethelgrad]

flak jackets are not designed to stop rounds (yep, point of the article) only secondary fragmentation; rock, dirt and even some shrapnel.

i would imagine bullet proof jackets would be incredibly expensive. also, like Jim Carey said in dumb and dumber; "What if he shot you in the face?"

[Publius6961]

almost five months after the formal end of the war in Iraq.

By the accessories shall ye know them.
They got as*****S in kiwiland too eh?
There seems to be an international equivalent of the DNC talking points.

The formal end of the war?
Gee, that's news to me!

OK, there might be a difference of opinion as to what "major hostilities" is... it is a bit more complex than what is the meaning of "is"... but.

Let's find out who the two guys are who lost their flak jackets and replace them, shall we?

[milemark]

What's the problem with WND? I hardly ever check that site out but I was under the impression that is was a conservative news source. I just scanned their front page and see nothing outlandish.

[milemark]

Flak jackets are not designed to stop rounds...

One sergeant with the 3rd Armoured Cavalry Regiment, Zachariah Byrd, recently survived being shot four times by an AK-47, thanks to a kind fellow soldier who lent him his Kevlar Interceptor jacket. The jacket he had been issued probably would not have saved his life.

Is this a false claim? I didn't think flak jackets were bulletproof, but what about body armor? Would this "Kevlar Interceptor jacket" mentioned be misrepresented when refered to as a flak jacket?

[niteowl77]

Did I say it wasn't "conservative?" I don't think I did. But there are other things which it definitely is not. WND is not a terrible site by any means, but if you wish to take things presented there without several grains of salt, then that is your decision.

[bethelgrad]

I can only offer my own experience (USMC 92-96). We were issued very old "Flak Jackets" that were probably 10 to 20 years old at the time. They made it very clear that they are not bullet proof and only for secondary frag. It was demonstrated for us at a range once when an instructor fired at a flak down range. I've never heard of the flak interceptor. That must be something new or more "bullet proof" like.

[Prodigal Son]

One more crazy thing about a crazy war.

It's always been this way. Nothing new. I was an infantryman for 8 years in the 1990s. I never (or I should say- rarely) had the best equipment the Army could supply. The Rangers had these ceramic inserts for their vests, we simply had vests. It takes a while for equipment to be issued to all members of the military. It's just the way it is. By the time all the troops get the latest high speed equipment, the SpecOps guys, Rangers, Infantry units (in that order probably) will be moving on to better things and equipment and the lower echelon people will still be using the older stuff.

We will always be in a situation where we can say "Why aren't all the troops equipped with the latest gadgets?" Always.

[Dr. Scarpetta]

The new armor vests, first used by the Rangers, is indeed "bullet-proof" when the ballistic plates are installed in the vest (they are removable-see "Black Hawk Down").

Is there a newspaper article that you know of that describes these "plates" installed in the vests? How many of our soldiers have them?