Heeding complaints, Corps seeks better vest

[unhappycamper]

Capt. Mike Hoffman converses with an Afghan national posing as a village elder during a training exercise in Sept. 2008, at the Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center in Twentynine Palms, Calif. Acting on widespread complaints from its troops in Iraq and Afghanistan, the Corps has ordered major changes to its body armor to improve comfort, mobility and safety.


Heeding complaints, Corps seeks better vest
By Chelsea J. Carter - The Associated Press
Posted : Monday Jan 5, 2009 6:31:11 EST

BAGHDAD — Acting on widespread complaints from its troops in Iraq and Afghanistan, the Marine Corps has ordered major modifications to its body armor to improve comfort, mobility and safety, The Associated Press has learned.

The decision results from a survey of more than 1,000 Marines, many of whom reported that their flak jackets, which cost the Marine Corps more than $100 million, were too heavy and restrictive.

“The Marine Corps is developing an Improved Modular Tactical Vest to address the problem areas uncovered by the survey results,” Capt. Geraldine Carey, a Marine spokeswoman, told the AP by e-mail last week.

Earlier in 2008, the Marine Commandant, Gen. James Conway, temporarily suspended an order for more than 20,000 of the so-called Modular Tactical Vests.

“I’ve worn the vest on my travels into Iraq and Afghanistan, and I can tell you those Marines have raised some valid points,” Conway told the AP by e-mail.


Rest of article at: http://www.navytimes.com/news/2009/01/ap_marines_vest_010409/%2e