Pentagon: Better Armor Would Have Saved Soldiers

[JohnnyWalkerBlackLabel]

Most torso wounds that killed Marines in Iraq would have been prevented or minimized by improved body armor, a revolutionary Pentagon study found.

The unreleased study looked at 93 fatal wounds from the start of the war in March 2003 through June 2005. It concluded that 74 were bullet or shrapnel wounds to shoulders or areas of the torso not properly protected.

The findings underscore the difficulty facing the Army and Marine Corps in providing the optimum level of body armor protection in a war against an insurgency whose tactics constantly change.

According to a summary of the study obtained by The Associated Press, the 93 Marines who died from a primary lethal injury of the torso were among 401 Marines who died from combat injuries in Iraq between the start of the war and last June.

Autopsy reports and photographic records were analyzed to help the military determine possible body armor redesign. A military advocacy group, Soldiers for Truth, posted an article about the study on its Web site this week. On Friday evening, The New York Times reported in its online edition that the study for the first time shows the cost in lives lost from inadequate armor.

The study found that of 39 fatal torso wounds in which the bullet or shrapnel entered the Marine’s body outside of the ceramic armor plate that protects the chest and back, 31 were close to the plate’s edge. “Either a larger plate or superior protection around the plate would have had the potential to alter the final outcome,” the report concluded.

[TrueBeauty TS]

Get ready to be called a Left Wing, Liberal fanatic - you unamerican communist.

Why don't you try supporting our troops????

[JohnnyWalkerBlackLabel]

Get ready to be called a Left Wing, Liberal fanatic - you unamerican communist.

Why don't you try supporting our troops????

True what the fuck are you talking about?

[fishman33]

Good post, JWBL, it's true that better protection could have saved some lives. Unfortunately, there is only so much you can do in the ways of body armor and still be able to perform necessary duties. Maintain sufficient agility I guess would be a better way to put that. What I'd like to see over improved body armor is better protection in the vehicles. A majority of casualties were the result of buried IEDs exploding underneath vehicles and tearing through the unarmored underbellies. And the sides of the hummer are only about 1/2-3/4 of an inch thick.

[JohnnyWalkerBlackLabel]

Good post, JWBL, it's true that better protection could have saved some lives. Unfortunately, there is only so much you can do in the ways of body armor and still be able to perform necessary duties. Maintain sufficient agility I guess would be a better way to put that. What I'd like to see over improved body armor is better protection in the vehicles. A majority of casualties were the result of buried IEDs exploding underneath vehicles and tearing through the unarmored underbellies. And the sides of the hummer are only about 1/2-3/4 of an inch thick.

thanks fishman

[Quinn]

Good post, JWBL, it's true that better protection could have saved some lives. Unfortunately, there is only so much you can do in the ways of body armor and still be able to perform necessary duties. Maintain sufficient agility I guess would be a better way to put that. What I'd like to see over improved body armor is better protection in the vehicles. A majority of casualties were the result of buried IEDs exploding underneath vehicles and tearing through the unarmored underbellies. And the sides of the hummer are only about 1/2-3/4 of an inch thick.

This is a great point; however, the new IEDs being supplied by the Iranian Pasdaran are very sophisticated and are capable of taking out even upgraded vehicles. About the only thing they can't take out are M1's, and even that is open to speculation now.

-Quinn

[fishman33]

This is a great point; however, the new IEDs being supplied by the Iranian Pasdaran are very sophisticated and are capable of taking out even upgraded vehicles. About the only thing they can't take out are M1's, and even that is open to speculation now.

-Quinn

Quinn, what is more sophisticated about them? I honestly haven't kept up to date on a lot of that stuff. What I was experienced with were basically just 155s burried in the ground and set-off by cell phones. Obviously a 155 is a big bopper, and within a certain range is definately capable of KOing anything, tanks included, but better armoring would greatly reduce the effective blast radius.

[The American Nightmare]

Get ready to be called a Left Wing, Liberal fanatic - you unamerican communist.

Why don't you try supporting our troops????

True what the fuck are you talking about?

She was joking.

[Quinn]

This is a great point; however, the new IEDs being supplied by the Iranian Pasdaran are very sophisticated and are capable of taking out even upgraded vehicles. About the only thing they can't take out are M1's, and even that is open to speculation now.

-Quinn

Quinn, what is more sophisticated about them? I honestly haven't kept up to date on a lot of that stuff. What I was experienced with were basically just 155s burried in the ground and set-off by cell phones. Obviously a 155 is a big bopper, and within a certain range is definately capable of KOing anything, tanks included, but better armoring would greatly reduce the effective blast radius.

Among other things, the new IEDs use shaped-explosive charges specifically designed to penetrate heavy armor - which is a huge step up from buried 155s and the like. There is an unverified rumor that they were actually able to take out an M1 this month. If this is true, it is a quantum leap forward given that the M1 uses Chobham armor (supposedly the best in the world).

-Quinn

[fishman33]

Among other things, the new IEDs use shaped-explosive charges specifically designed to penetrate heavy armor - which is a huge step up from buried 155s and the like. There is an unverified rumor that they were actually able to take out an M1 this month. If this is true, it is a quantum leap forward given that the M1 uses Chobham armor (supposedly the best in the world).

-Quinn

wow...had no idea they had advanced to that level. thanks for the info, quinn. Interested to know exactly how a shaped charge works after penetrating the ground they were buried in. Are they buried in more shallow holes?