Combat Usability of Body Armor

By: Alex De Mostafa

Body Armor is heavy and cumbersome to use restricting mobility of the soldiers. There is always a constant need of trade off between increased protection and the loss of mobility and comfort factor. Some factions of the US arm are in favor of mobility at the cost of some what reduced protection while others are more concerned at protection of the human life even if it comes with some restriction in mobility and requires the soldiers to carry slightly more weight. The debate got a lot of attention during the Iraq War when heavily loaded soldiers very often carrying weights in excess of more than 60 pounds had to deal with insurgents with extreme mobility due to no additional weight. Guerrilla warfare techniques require quick movements and extreme mobility and the US soldiers complained the lack of the required mobility. In Guerrilla warfare the impaired ability to quickly move can prove fatal just like ineffective armor.

The Interceptor Body Armor has time and again proved its protection abilities in Afghanistan and Iraq where many U.S. soldiers had their lives saved by just wearing them. In particular, the Interceptor has been credited by saving the lives of as many as 29 American soldiers in Afghanistan. As the price of a complete Interceptor system was close to $1585 per set, there were budgetary issues whether all the soldiers would be equipped with the Interceptor Body Armor at the time the war was declared. Out of the $87 billion earmarked for Afghanistan and Iraq a mere $300 million is towards provisioning Body Armor for the soldiers. However, inspite of all these live savings US army recalled the use of the Interceptor Body Armor after there were unconfirmed reports about its ability to stop damage from 9mm bullets. However, studies show that soldiers have dies not because of failure of the Body Armor but other injuries and impact trauma.

Adam Anderson writes on topics such as Body Armor and Body Armor for Tactical Gears Visit Combat Usability of Body Armor.