#PersonalProtectiveEquipment

While many are seen shooting the latest Gucci AR15 or trying out the latest gear, how many are actually taking the time to ensure their gear is properly set up in a systematic way every time before it is used? The gear is an important facet, but ensuring everything is positioned, running properly, has batteries, is properly loaded or even that you remembered to bring it can be an issue. Following a proper Make Ready Procedure can help you avoid many potential problems.

In the coming decades, it is likely that one of the biggest challenges facing small arms ammunition designers will be solving the problem of how to deal with advanced body armors. The problem is already percolating to the surface, as Level IV body armor – which is immune to virtually all general issue rounds below .50 caliber – becomes more available and less expensive. Already, an individual can equip themselves with a full set of Level IV plates and a carrier for less than $1,000. As armor improves, it will only get lighter, cheaper, and more resistant to fire.

In the comments section of my recent article Are We Gearing Up to Lose the Next War? Overmatch, Part 2: Bullets & Backbreakers, two of TFB’s readers shared documents that help us describe the problem of the modern soldier and Marine’s load. The first, from reader cwolf, is a 2007 report by the Naval Research Advisory Committee entitled Lightening the Load. It is available on Slideshare here, or for download here. The second, from ReanerF, is a GAO report on personal protective equipment (PPE, i.e. body armor) from March of this year. In this brief post, we’ll be taking a glance at these reports, which I highly recommend interested readers make time to read in full.

The US Military is looking into lighter weight armor for the infantry. Both the Army and the Marine Corps are looking into reducing the weight of the personal protective equipment (PPE, read “helmet and body armor”) carried by the infantrymen of both services. Although armor protection has increased greatly since the beginning of the 2000s, it has been recognized that this may negatively affect the infantry via reductions in mobility and agility, as well as increasing the rate of injuries.  Defense-Aerospace.com, citing the GAO, reports: