The long saga of body armor, the Point Blank Interceptor vs Pinnacle’s Dragon Skin, has reached a new chapter.

As I noted here, the Army's current Interceptor is made by a company associated with David H Brooks, a deep-pockets Republican campaign donor. It utilizes a base of Kevlar sheets reinforced with ceramic plates to provide a degree of protection. The first issues had no side protection, a matter the Army corrected with add-on units until a new design could be produced.

Pinnacle makes their armor differently, with a Kevlar base and interlocking laminated ceramic plates that sort of resemble fish scales. (Although I’m sure “Dragon Skin” sounds more dynamic that “carp skin.”)

Soldiers have been prohibited from buying and using the Dragon Skin armor in the sandbox. In fact they’ve been told that if they use it, the Army will void their GI Life Insurance policies.

WASHINGTON (AP) - Soldiers will no longer be allowed to wear body armor other than the protective gear issued by the military, Army officials said Thursday, the latest twist in a running battle over the equipment the Pentagon gives its troops in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Army officials told The Associated Press that the order was prompted by concerns that soldiers or their families were buying inadequate or untested commercial armor from private companies - including the popular Dragon Skin gear made by California-based Pinnacle Armor.

"We're very concerned that people are spending their hard-earned money on something that doesn't provide the level of protection that the Army requires people to wear. So they're, frankly, wasting their money on substandard stuff," said Col. Thomas Spoehr, director of materiel for the Army.

This may surprise some people, but quite a few generals in Iraq and Afghanistan wear Dragon Skin. It’s apparently also the body armor of choice for Republicans when they sneak into Iraq for a photo op.

A cynical man would wonder how the generals would react to the news that their families would get no SGLI payment if they got capped. I don’t know whether junketing Republicans would get their life insurance paid, because…. Well, just because.

When Murry Neal, CEO of Pinnacle heard about the embargo of his armor other than for the nomemklatura he said,

"We know of no reason the Army may have to justify this action," Neal said. "On the surface this looks to be another of many attempts by the Army to cover up the billions of dollars spent on ineffective body armor systems which they continue to try quick fixes on to no avail."

NBC did an investigation about the body armor problem and as part of their investigation conducted some independent ballistics tests which showed the Dragon Skin armor was superior. The Army counter-attacked, claiming that in their tests the Dragon Skin failed, noting specifically that armor-piercing ammunition was stopped more often by the Point Blank vest.

The Army's ESAPI is a rigid ceramic plate about 12-inches high and six inches wide. Soldiers wear front and back plates and two smaller side plates, all of which are designed to stop armor piercing AK-47 rounds found in the war zone. [emph added]

Pressed by a House Armed Services Committee investigation, Mr Neal asked for a “fair test” of his armor against the Point Blank vest.

Pinnacle president Murray Neal faced sharp questions from skeptical Armed Services Committee members during the June 6 hearing, many of whom wondered how earlier Army tests that showed massive failures of Dragon Skin could jibe with the NBC report and Neal's own contention that the government tests were inaccurate or rigged.

In late 2005, Army and Marine officials were startled to note that the Point Blank vests were being penetrated by a new type of armor-piercing round.

Interestingly enough, the Army put out a solicitation for new vests on June 20th asking for vests capable of defeating armor-piercing rounds. [emph added] The Army has agreed to include Pinnacle’s Dragon Skin armor in the new tests.