Defense Logistics: Army and Marine Corps' Body Armor Requirements, Controls, and Other Issues
Published: 2007-06-06T00:00:00

Fast Facts:

Highlights:
section_title: Why GAO Did This Study
paragraphs: In recent years, a number of reports and newspaper articles have cited concerns regarding the level of protection and the available amounts of body armor to protect deployed service members. As part of GAO's efforts to monitor the Department of Defense's (DOD) and the services' action to protect ground forces, GAO reviewed the Army and Marine Corps's actions to address these concerns. On April 26, 2007, GAO issued a report regarding the Army and the Marine Corps's individual body armor systems. Today's testimony summarizes the report's findings regarding the extent to which the Army and Marine Corps (1) have met the theater requirements for body armor, (2) have the controls in place to assure that the manufacturing and fielding of body armor meet requirements, and (3) have shared information regarding their efforts on body armor ballistic requirements and testing. The report also included additional information concerning whether contractors or non-DOD civilians obtain body armor in the same way as U.S. forces and DOD civilians given the number of contractors and non-DOD civilians in Central Command's (CENTCOM) area of operation. GAO did not make recommendations in the report. DOD officials did not provide written comments on the report but technical comments were incorporated as appropriate.
section_title: What GAO Found
paragraphs: Army and Marine Corps body armor currently meets theater ballistic requirements and the required amount needed for personnel in theater, including the amounts needed for the surge of troops into Iraq. The Interceptor Body Armor (IBA) consists of an outer tactical vest with ballistic inserts or plates that cover the front, back, and sides. The vest and inserts currently meet the theater ballistic requirements. The vest provides protection from 9mm rounds, while the inserts provide protection against 7.62mm armor-piercing rounds. CENTCOM requires that all U.S. military forces and all DOD civilians in the area of operations receive the body armor system. Currently, service members receive all service-specific standard components of the body armor system prior to deploying. The Army and the Marine Corps provide the DOD civilians with components of the armor system. The Army and Marine Corps have controls in place during manufacturing and after fielding to assure that body armor meets requirements. Both services conduct quality and ballistic testing prior to fielding, and lots (a grouping of items varying in number) are rejected if the standards are not met. They also conduct formal testing on every lot of body armor (vests and protective inserts) prior to acceptance and issuance to troops. During production, which is done at several sites, the lots of body armor are sent to a National Institute of Justice-certified laboratory for ballistic testing and to the Defense Contract Management Agency for quality testing (size, weight, stitching) prior to issuance to troops. Although not required to do so, after the systems have been used in the field, the Army does limited ballistic and environmental testing to determine future improvements. The Army and Marine Corps share information regarding ballistic requirements and testing although they are not required to do so. Title 10 of the U.S. Code allows each service to have separate programs, according to Army and Marine Corps officials. Nevertheless, the services are sharing information regarding ongoing research and development for the next generation of body armor. DOD Instruction 3020.41 allows DOD to provide body armor to contractors and non-DOD civilians where permitted by applicable DOD instructions and military department regulations and where specified under the terms of the contract. It is CENTCOM's position that body armor will be provided to contractors if it is part of the terms and conditions of the contract. However, the officials indicated that commanders, at their discretion, can provide body armor to any personnel within their area of operation.

section_title: Letter
paragraphs: In recent years, a number of  reports and newspaper articles  have cited concerns regarding the  level of protection and the  available amounts of body armor to  protect deployed service members.   As part of GAO’s efforts to monitor  the Department of Defense’s  (DOD) and the services’ action to  protect ground forces, GAO  reviewed the Army and Marine  Corps’s actions to address these  concerns.
Army and Marine Corps body armor currently meets theater ballistic  requirements and the required amount needed for personnel in theater,  including the amounts needed for the surge of troops into Iraq.  The  Interceptor Body Armor (IBA) consists of an outer tactical vest with  ballistic inserts or plates that cover the front, back, and sides.  The vest  and inserts currently meet the theater ballistic requirements.  The vest  provides protection from 9mm rounds, while the inserts provide  protection against 7.62mm armor-piercing rounds.  CENTCOM requires  that all U.S. military forces and all DOD civilians in the area of operations  receive the body armor system.  Currently, service members receive all  service-specific standard components of the body armor system prior to  deploying.  The Army and the Marine Corps provide the DOD civilians  with components of the armor system.
On April 26, 2007, GAO issued a  report regarding the Army and the  Marine Corps’s individual body  armor systems.  Today’s testimony  summarizes the report’s findings  regarding the extent to which the  Army and Marine Corps (1) have  met the theater requirements for  body armor, (2) have the controls in  place to assure that the  manufacturing and fielding of body  armor meet requirements, and (3)  have shared information regarding  their efforts on body armor ballistic  requirements and testing.  The  report also included additional  information concerning whether  contractors or non-DOD civilians  obtain body armor in the same way  as U.S. forces and DOD civilians  given the number of contractors  and non-DOD civilians in  CENTCOM’s area of operation.   GAO did not make  recommendations in the report.   DOD officials did not provide  written comments on the report but  technical comments were  incorporated as appropriate.
The Army and Marine Corps have controls in place during manufacturing  and after fielding to assure that body armor meets requirements.  Both  services conduct quality and ballistic testing prior to fielding, and lots (a  grouping of items varying in number) are rejected if the standards are not  met.  They also conduct formal testing on every lot of body armor (vests  and protective inserts) prior to acceptance and issuance to troops.   During production, which is done at several sites, the lots of body armor  are sent to a National Institute of Justice-certified laboratory for ballistic  testing and to the Defense Contract Management Agency for quality  testing (size, weight, stitching) prior to issuance to troops. Although not  required to do so, after the systems have been used in the field, the Army  does limited ballistic and environmental testing to determine future  improvements.
The Army and Marine Corps share information regarding ballistic  requirements and testing although they are not required to do so.  Title 10  of the U.S. Code allows each service to have separate programs,  according to Army and Marine Corps officials.  Nevertheless, the services  are sharing information regarding ongoing research and development for  the next generation of body armor. www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-07-911T.
To view the full product, including the scope  and methodology, click on the link above.  For more information, contact William M.Solis  at (202) 512-8365 or solisw@gao.gov.
DOD Instruction 3020.41 allows DOD to provide body armor to  contractors and non-DOD civilians where permitted by applicable DOD  instructions and military department regulations and where specified  under the terms of the contract.  It is CENTCOM’s position that body  armor will be provided to contractors if it is part of the terms and  conditions of the contract.  However, the officials indicated that  commanders, at their discretion, can provide body armor to any  personnel within their area of operation.
Mr. Chairman and Members of the Committee:  I am pleased to be here today to discuss our findings regarding Army and  Marine Corps’s individual body armor systems. As you know, since  combat operations began in Iraq and Afghanistan, U.S. forces have been  subjected to frequent and deadly attacks from insurgents using various  weapons such as improvised explosive devices (IED), mortars, rocket  launchers, and increasingly lethal ballistic threats. Since 2003, to provide  protection from ballistic threats, U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM),  which is responsible for operations in Iraq and Afghanistan and other  areas, has required service members and Department of Defense (DOD)  civilians in its area of operations to be issued the Interceptor Body Armor  (IBA) system.
Congress has expressed strong interest in the quality of our ground force’s  body armor protection, especially since combat operations began in Iraq  and Afghanistan and news reports citing concerns regarding body armor  shortages and quality issues. In response to these concerns, we reviewed  the Army and Marine Corps’s actions regarding individual body armor  systems, and on April 26, 2007, issued a report. My testimony today  summarizes the findings in this report. Specifically, I will discuss the  extent to which the Army and Marine Corps (1) have met the theater  requirements for body armor, (2) have the controls in place to assure that  the manufacturing and fielding of body armor meet requirements, and   (3) have shared information regarding their efforts on body armor ballistic  requirements and testing. I will also include additional information  concerning whether contractors or non-DOD civilians obtain body armor  in the same way as U.S. forces and DOD civilians given the number of  contractors and non-DOD civilians in CENTCOM’s area of operation.
To assess these issues we focused on Army and Marine Corps body armor  systems for U.S. service members and DOD and non-DOD civilian  personnel deployed within CENTCOM’s area of operations, including Iraq  and Afghanistan. To determine whether the Army and Marine Corps are  meeting the theater ballistic and inventory requirements for body armor,  we reviewed documentation and interviewed officials from key DOD,  Army, and Marine Corps organizations, such as the Office of the Under  Secretary of Defense, Acquisition, Technology, and Logistics, the Defense  Logistics Agency, and CENTCOM, which are responsible for managing  theater ballistic and inventory requirements. We analyzed the ballistic  requirements and compared these requirements to the body armor  systems provided to personnel. Moreover, we concentrated on the body  armor system currently being used in CENTCOM’s area of operation. We  also obtained and reviewed the amount of body armor systems available  worldwide for the Army and Marine Corps to determine if the available  amount met the quantity needed in theater. We analyzed the distribution  practices to assure that personnel were receiving body armor systems that  met ballistic theater requirements and that these systems were available  for those preparing to deploy. We did not independently verify that  deployed personnel wore the body armor systems as recommended by  their commanders.
To assess the extent to which the services have controls in place during  manufacturing and after fielding to assure that body armor meets  requirements, we reviewed documentation and discussed the services’  ballistic test processes and procedures with their program and technical  officials. We analyzed these test processes and procedures to determine if  controls are in place that assure body armor meets ballistic requirements  during manufacturing and after fielding. Our analysis included ballistic test  methods for the tactical vests and the protective plate inserts; however,  we did not independently verify test results. In addition, we reviewed the  services’ past experiences where the services concluded that fielded body  armor systems failed to meet contract specifications and ballistic testing  requirements. We analyzed the services’ actions to determine if their  actions corrected the failures. We also reviewed documentation and  interviewed Army and Marine Corps body armor program officials who  provided manufacturer production quality and ballistic testing lot failures  for early 2006 through early 2007.
To identify the extent to which the Army and Marine Corps share  information regarding their efforts on body armor ballistic requirements  and testing, we analyzed the services’ body armor programs and policies  and discussed with service officials whether there is a requirement to  share information between the services regarding their separate programs.  We also discussed with officials and reviewed documentation to determine  whether the services do share information and if shared, what specific  actions they take. To determine whether contractors or non-DOD civilians  obtain body armor in the same way as U.S. forces and DOD civilians in  CENTCOM’s area of operations, we obtained and analyzed DOD and  CENTCOM policy regarding personal protection for contractors and non- DOD civilians. We also interviewed Army, Marine Corps, and CENTCOM  officials on this issue.
We did not make recommendations in our report. DOD officials did not  provide written comments on the report but technical comments were  incorporated as appropriate. We conducted our review from November  2006 to March 2007 in accordance with generally accepted government  auditing standards.
subsections: section_title: Background
paragraphs: Used by all U.S. military service members and DOD civilians in the area of  operations, the IBA consists of an outer tactical vest with ballistic inserts  or plates that cover the front, back, and sides. As the ballistic threat has  evolved, ballistic requirements have also changed. The vest currently  provides protection from 9mm rounds, while the inserts provide  protection against 7.62mm armor-piercing rounds. Additional protection  can also be provided for the shoulder, throat, and groin areas. Figure 1  details the body armor components.
Concerns regarding the level of protection and amount of IBA needed to  protect U.S. forces have been raised in recent years, prompted by a  number of reports, newspaper articles, and recalls of issued body armor  by both the Army and the Marine Corps. In May 2005, the Marine Corps  recalled fielded body armor because it concluded that the body armor  failed to meet contract specifications, and in November 2005, the Army  and Marine Corps recalled 14 lots of body armor that failed original  ballistic testing. Additionally, in April 2005, we reported on shortages of  critical force protection items, including individual body armor.  Specifically, we found that the shortages in body armor were due to  material shortages, production limitations, and in-theater distribution  problems. In the report, we did not make specific recommendations  regarding body armor, but we did make several recommendations to  improve the effectiveness of DOD’s supply system in supporting deployed  forces for contingencies. DOD agreed with the intent of the  recommendations and cited actions it had or was taking to eliminate  supply chain deficiencies.
section_title: Army and Marine Corps Body Army Meets Current Theater Requirements
paragraphs: Army and Marine Corps body armor currently meets theater ballistic  requirements and the required amount needed for personnel in theater,  including the amounts needed for the surge of troops into Iraq. Used by all  U.S. military service members and DOD civilians in the area of operations,  the IBA consists of an outer tactical vest with ballistic inserts or plates  that cover the front, back, and sides. The vest and inserts currently meet  the theater ballistic requirements. The vest provides protection from 9mm  rounds, while the inserts provide protection against 7.62mm armor- piercing rounds. Additional protection can also be provided for the  shoulder, throat, and groin areas. The Army and Marine Corps body armor  meets the required amounts needed for personnel in theater as well. Table  1 details Army and Marine Corps theater requirements and worldwide  inventory quantities of the body armor as of February 2007.
CENTCOM requires that all U.S. military forces and all DOD civilians in  the area of operations receive the body armor system. Currently, service  members receive all service-specific standard components of the body  armor system prior to deploying. For example, the Army issues the  shoulder protection equipment to all its forces; however, Marine Corps  personnel receive this equipment item in theater on an as-needed basis.  The Army and the Marine Corps provide the DOD civilians with  components of the armor system. However, the time frame for receipt of  these items varies as some receive the body armor prior to deploying and  others upon arrival in theater. Army unit commanders only reported one  body armor issue in their December 2006 to February 2007 classified  readiness reports. This one issue did not raise a significant concern  regarding the body armor. Moreover, Marine Corps commanders’  comments contained in the December 2006 and January 2007 readiness  reports did not identify any body armor issues affecting their units’  readiness. In December 2006 and January 2007, the Army, in its critical  equipment list did not identify body armor as a critical equipment item  affecting its unit readiness.
section_title: Controls in Place to Assure Body Armor Meets Requirements
paragraphs: The Army and Marine Corps have controls in place during manufacturing  and after fielding to assure that body armor meets requirements. Both  services conduct quality and ballistic testing prior to fielding and lots are  rejected if the standards are not met. They both also conduct formal  testing on every lot of body armor (vests and protective inserts) prior to  acceptance and issuance to troops. During production, which is done at  several sites, the lots of body armor are sent to a National Institute of  Justice-certified laboratory for ballistic testing and to the Defense  Contract Management Agency for quality testing (size, weight, stitching)  prior to issuance to troops. Figure 2 illustrates the lot acceptance process.
Once approved, the body armor is issued to operating forces. Currently,  both Army and Marine Corps personnel are issued body armor prior to  deployment. The Army lot failure rate from January 2006 to January 2007  was 3.32 percent for the enhanced small arms inserts, and there were no  failures for the outer tactical vests. From February 2006 to February 2007,  the Marine Corps lot failure rate was 4.70 percent for the outer tactical  vests.
Although not required to do so, after the systems have been used in the  field, the Army does limited ballistic testing of outer tactical vests and  environmental testing of the outer tactical vests and the inserts. The  Marine Corps visually inspects the vest and the plates for damage.  According to Army officials, there has been no degradation of body armor  based on ballistic and environmental testing results. Additionally, to  determine future improvements, the Army and the Marine Corps body  armor program offices monitor and assess the use of body armor in the  field, including the review of medical reports from the Armed Forces  Medical Examiner. For example, the Army and Marine Corps added side  plates and throat protection based on body armor usage in the field.
DOD has a standard methodology for ballistic testing of the hard body  armor plates, but not for the soft body armor vest. Currently, DOD’s  Director, Operational Test and Evaluation Office is developing a standard  methodology for ballistic testing of the soft body armor to eliminate  discrepancies in testing methodologies. The new standard is expected to  be issued sometime in 2007.
section_title: Army and Marine Corps Share Body Armor Information
paragraphs: The Army and Marine Corps share information regarding ballistic  requirements and testing, and the development of future body armor  systems, although they are not required to do so. For example, in August  2006, the Marine Corps attended the Army’s test of next generation body  armor types at Fort Benning, Georgia. Similarly, the Army sent  representatives to attend the Marine Corps’s operational assessment of the  new Modular Tactical Vest. DOD officials indicate that there is no  requirement to share information. Title 10 of the U.S. Code allows each  service to have separate programs, according to Army and Marine Corps  officials. Nevertheless, the services are sharing information regarding  ongoing research and development for the next generation of body armor.
section_title: Contractors and Non- DOD Civilians Are Provided Body Armor Where Permitted
paragraphs: Regarding contractors or non-DOD civilians, DOD Instruction 3020.41  allows DOD to provide body armor to contractors where permitted by  applicable DOD instructions and military department regulations and  where specified under the terms of the contract. It is CENTCOM’s position  that body armor will be provided to contractors if it is part of the terms  and conditions of the contract. According to CENTCOM officials, non- DOD government civilians such as State Department civilians are expected  to make their own arrangements to obtain this protection. However, the  officials said that commanders, at their discretion, can provide body armor  to any personnel within their area of operation.
section_title: Conclusion
paragraphs: In conclusion, Mr. Chairman, the Army and Marine Corps have taken  several actions to address concerns, including assuring that the body  armor systems meet the current theater requirements and that the  amounts needed in theater are available. However, ballistic theater threats  can change, and the services will need to continue to monitor and evaluate  the theater ballistic threats in order to develop and provide individual  body armor that can counter these changing threats. The services also will  need to monitor and evaluate new technologies that may counter emerging  theater ballistic threats. Moreover, they will need to continue to assure  that controls are in place during manufacturing and after fielding to assure  that existing and future body armor systems meet theater ballistic  requirements.
Mr. Chairman, this concludes my statement. I would be pleased to respond  to any questions you or other Members of the Committee may have.
section_title: Contacts and Staff Acknowledgments
paragraphs: For more information regarding this testimony, please call me at (202) 512- 8365. Individuals making key contributions to the testimony include: Grace  Coleman, Alfonso Garcia, Lonnie McAllister, Lorelei St. James, and Leo  Sullivan.
This is a work of the U.S. government and is not subject to copyright protection in the  United States. It may be reproduced and distributed in its entirety without further  permission from GAO. However, because this work may contain copyrighted images or  other material, permission from the copyright holder may be necessary if you wish to  reproduce this material separately.