WASHINGTON (Army News Service, April 11, 2008) -- Despite reports to
the contrary, the body armor being used by Soldiers today in Iraq has
been rigorously tested.
During testimony before the House Armed Services Committee subcommittee
on air and land forces, Lt. Gen. N. Ross Thompson III, military deputy
to the acting Assistant Secretary of the Army for Acquisition,
Logistics And Technology, told committee members that a
misinterpretation of the Federal Acquisition Regulation had led some to
believe body armor issued to Soldiers had not been properly tested
before it was fielded.
"The Army has tested all of the body armor and all of the body armor
that is issued to the Soldiers today has passed the rigorous test and
it is the best body armor that is available in the world today; and I
can say that without qualification," Thompson said. "Of all
high-priority programs, force protection is our number one priority."
Both Thompson and Lt. Gen. Stephen M. Speakes, deputy chief Of staff,
G-8, met with lawmakers April 10 to discuss Army acquisition programs
and strategy. The two discussed such issues as equipping the Reserve
component, Army transformation and Future Combat Systems.
Lawmakers asked what the Army is doing to ensure Soldiers in the Army
National Guard and Army Reserve are equipped at the same level as the
active-duty Army. Speakes said the Army has recognized the importance
of the reserve components and takes seriously the requirement to equip
them.
"Those are two key components of our force that are never more
important than they are today," he said. "We count on them from the
stance of homeland defense and as part of our operational force."
The general told congressmen that the Army has developed plans to
eliminate "evil" practices of the past, such as the cascading of used
but serviceable equipment from the active component into the reserve.
"That was a negative practice for a bunch of reasons," he said. "We now
send new equipment to whatever unit is in the transformation process or
is getting ready to go to war. It treats everybody equally in regard to
their access to equipment."
In submitted testimony, Speakes said the Army has made "historic
strides" in improving the quantity and quality of equipment provided to
reserve components. The Army will field more than 518,000 items to the
Army National Guard and Army Reserve during a two-year period that
began in January. That represents some 46 percent of all Army
distributions, he said.
"The equipment they are receiving is materially improving the
capability of the Army Guard to conduct Homeland Security and Homeland
Defense missions," he said.
Speakes also said Army transformation to the modular design creates a
single standard for all components of the service. "We now have one
measuring stick to use for everybody."
Completion of that modernization, across the entire Army, is expected by 2013.
By 2011, the Army expects to field "Spin Out 1" of Future Combat System
technology. That technology includes the Non-Line of Sight Launch
System, Urban Unattended Ground Sensors, Tactical Unattended Ground
Sensors, and FCS Network Integration Kits for Abrams, Bradley, and
Humvee platforms.
Those systems, said Thompson, are key to the Army's transformation efforts.
"We are a high technology Army and we have a comprehensive strategy to
modernize," he said. "Our FCS ... is the foundation of our Army
transformation and really the cornerstone of the Army's future modular
force."
Source and credits:
http://www.army.mil/-news/2008/04/11/8448-soldier-body-armor-was-tested-general-says/
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