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Why would the U.S. military prohibit our soldiers from wearing body armor not obtained through official procurement channels? Probably because it's not the best and they want nothing but the best for our troops in the field. That's what you'd think. However, the official military issue body armor is manufactured by DHB Enterprises of Florida. The DHB product is known as “Interceptor”. Apparently that is a misnomer. What do the mucky mucks of the military, CIA personnel in Iraq, and the Presidential protection detail of the secret service use for their personal protection? Interceptor, right? Wrong! When choosing armor for their personal protection they choose a different product from the official U.S. Military issue armor that we supply to our troops in the field. The armor actually chosen by the aforementioned officials and special personnel is known as Dragon Skin, manufactured by Pinnacle Armor of Fresno, CA.

The Dragon Skin body armor is so named because it is constructed of interlocking ceramic composite discs. The scale effect is similar to the construction of reptile skin. The ballistic performance, light weight and flexibility offered by these vests is quite revolutionary, according to those in a position to know. In addition to the superb ballistic performance of the vests, the vests wrap around the body to offer protection from the side, as well as the front and back. In tests, this product has proved effective against multiple strikes from rounds up to, and including .308 (7.62 x 51mm) at close ranges. It even stops high velocity, armor piercing rounds fired from the same type 7.62mm weapons fielded by enemies in Iraq and Afghanistan.

During a labor dispute involving U.S. Army combat engineers disposing of land mines (they wear these vests, you know), testimony in a Florida district court pointed to quality problems with the interceptor vests. The U.S. Army Times newspaper obtained memos from the U.S.M.C. Said that there were "major quality assurance deficiencies within Point Blank.".

According to DefenseReview.com “Pinnacle Armor SOV-2000 (Level III/III+) and SOV-3000 (Level IV) Dragon Skin body armor appears to be significantly superior in every combat-relevant way to U.S. Army PEO Soldier's and U.S. Army Natick Soldier Center (NSC)/Soldier Systems Center's Interceptor Body Armor “ DefenseReview.com's conclusion regarding the performance of Dragon Skin vs. the official, body armor of the U.S. Military? “There's simply no way anyone who has seen the data that we saw could come to any other conclusion other than Dragon Skin is vastly superior to Interceptor Body Armor. It's not even close.”

On April, 30^th, 2006 the History Channel show Mail Call tested the Dragon Skin ballistic vest and gave its performance rave reviews. Admittedly, that's not an approved testing laboratory, but it's just another piece of evidence regarding the Dragon Skin vest.

At Military.com, they report that, regarding the Dragon Skin body armor, “It is good enough body armor that nine American generals in the middle east are wearing it in place of the standard "Interceptor OTV" armor issued to the troops they command. “ I guess what's good for the goose isn't quite good enough for the gander this time.

SWAT teams throughout the country choose Dragon Skin time and again to protect their forces from flying bullets, even though they are significantly more expensive than the Interceptor vests. In Fresno, where the Dragon Skin vests are made, the SWAT team ordered 26 of the vests for team members.

A feature of the Interceptor is that it can deteriorate in sunlight and high temperatures. HUH?? This stuff is being issued to soldiers serving in one of the hottest desert environments in the world. There's sun there too. WTF is our military thinking? We know what the generals in Afghanistan are thinking, because they voted with their dollars to use different body armor. I think most people reading this would do the same.

To make matters worse, it appears that David Brooks, head of DHB Enterprises, makers of Interceptor armor, may not be the greatest corporate citizen. He's currently being sued by investors in U.S. District Court for events surrounding his cashing out $185 million in company stock immediately before the stock took a nose dive, losing about 70% of its value in 2004. It's claimed he may have violated Federal securities laws. It isn't the first time he's been in hot water with authorities, either. A decade ago, he and his brother were fined over $400,000 by the SEC.

The military has classified results of recent Dragon Skin tests. Thank God there are other tests that are not classified showing the efficacy of the the product. I guess that they don't want to be taken to task for issuing our troops less than the best. We'll just sweep these results under the carpet, eh?

As a further slap in the face to our troops in the field, a story from the AP states that “Soldiers will no longer be allowed to wear body armor other than the protective gear issued by the military, Army officials said Thursday “ in addition, the story goes on to say that "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 material for the Army. Sadly, he doesn't see the irony here regarding his own purchases.

It looks like, in a large part, it comes down to dollar cost. A set of Dragon Skin armor costs the U.S. government about $5Gs, while the official issue Interceptor armor runs about 20% of that. You'd think in an area like body armor, a premium would be placed on the product's effectiveness. Why not just remove one F-22 from the Air Force budget and buy all the troops the Dragon Skin armor, even the Air Force personnel? With something this important, there are no second chances, at least for the poor field personnel trapped in sub-standard protective vests. So what is the true cost, really? If you're one of the poor saps caught in an Interceptor vest when some a-hole plugs you with a couple rounds of 7.62 x 39AP at close range, the true cost is likely the ultimate one.