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FUBAR: Army Blew Tests on 5 Million Body Armor Plates

The U.S. Army didn’t bother to properly test five million body armor plates that were supposed to protect soldiers on the battlefield. In some cases, certain tests of the live-saving gear were ignored altogether.

That’s according to a new report from the Defense Department Inspector General, which found that the Army office in charge of insuring the armor’s quality essentially fell asleep at the switch. Inserts were tested improperly and in some cases not at all. The testing flubs don’t prove that all five million plates are defective, but they deprive the Army of information about the reliability of a lot of equipment needed to protect troops in the field.

"The Army cannot be sure that the appropriate level of protection has been achieved," the report says. Now, it’ll go back and retest the vests, some of which were bought as long as seven years ago.

By Adam Rawnsley

Full Story: http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2011/08/fubar-army-blew-tests-on-5-million-body-armor-plates/

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