Hard and fast
Protective gear introduced in rapid acquisition

Sgt Stuart Rodgers-Fuller, DMO, models some of the new protective equipment being issued to Australian troops in Iraq. Photo by Pte John Wellfare, Army newspaper

20mm fragmentation used in testing.

The new ballistic plates recently shipped to Iraq were tested against 20mm fragmentation. The plates will gradually replace the current-issue ballistic plate Army-wide. Photos by Pte John Wellfare, Army newspaper

By Pte John Wellfare

TROOPS serving in Iraq have begun to receive a collection of new equipment in a rapid acquisition initiative to increase the level of individual soldier protection.

Key equipment items currently issued or en-route to troops in Iraq include new body armour and ballistic plates, advanced shell dressings and a coolant vest, as well as the recently acquired Enhanced Combat Helmet. Testing has also been underway on a protective visor for use with the helmet in static positions.

Staff Officer Equipment Management Lt-Col Nick Stanton said the new items had been procured quickly in a bid to increase the level of protection for Australian soldiers serving in Iraq in the shortest possible time.

‘THE CDF [Gen Peter Cosgrove] saw the prototypes on the July 12, and he said ‘that’s what I want, go and get it’, which was the trigger to get everything that was available within the week,” Lt-Col Stanton said.

“The body armour wasn’t done, but [Gen Cosgrove’s approval] was the trigger to continue the development.”

The production of body armour occurred immediately and the first vests were scheduled to leave for Iraq on September 20, for issue to the Secdet, with all troops in country expected to have the armour by November 1.

The new body armour, in which front and rear ballistic plates are inserted, provides shoulder, neck and side protection, as well as detachable groin and buttock flaps for use in static positions.

A NATA independent testing authority had to conduct ballistic testing of the body armour to ensure it met with requirements, before the equipment could be sent to troops in Iraq.

The new ballistic plate now in use in Iraq provides the same level of protection as earlier models, but, at 1.7kg, weighs about 800g less than the previous plate.

Testing of the ballistic plate in combination with the new body armour is still underway.

200 coolant vests were also sent on short notice. The off-the-shelf vests use non-poisonous chemical crystals that react with water to form a gel that can be refrigerated and remain cold for up-to a few hours.

Lt-Col Stanton said the vests had been procured to provide a quick solution to the intense heat in Iraq and that DSTO was developing technology for possible introduction across the ADF in the future.

Soldier Support Systems Program Office ADF Clothing Staff Officer Norm Thomas said the speedy procurement process had been made possible by the collaborative effort between a number of organisations, particularly Army Headquarters, DMO and industry.

“From July 12 to September 14 we managed to get [body armour] first-time designed, built and tested, and over there for the 20th [of September], so the time frames are pretty good there,” he said.

“We still put it to tender, but I reduced the tender time to one week only.

“We said in our tender documents: ‘the essence of this tender is – fully comply with specifications, delivery will be of the essence, combined with value for money and competitive pricing’.

“It’s important to have good market intelligence so that we can react to meet these directives.

“Industry need to be patted on the back; they met the challenge. We’ve said we want urgent delivery, they’ve dropped whatever jobs they were doing and they’ve put these jobs up front.”

Mr Thomas said it was important that quality control was not lost in the rush to provide the required items and DMO’s other projects could not be allowed to fall by the wayside either.

“There’s a lot of trust put on us because we’ve said we can deliver and we’ve shown that we can,” he said.

Keep an eye out for a more detailed look at the new kit items in future editions of Army.