Body Army Recalled...but wait, that's not the end of the story

It's big news when soldiers in Iraq or Afghanistan get affected by something as dramatic as body armor. Nobody wants to see our soldiers without the best available protection. So when the AP reported today that the Army has recalled the body armor out in the field today because the armor failed testing it made headlines in major newspapers and is being reported front and center at Military.com

See here at Military.com for the whole story.

"Army Secretary Pete Geren has ordered the recall of more than 16,000 sets of body armor following an audit that concluded the bullet-blocking plates in the vests failed testing and may not provide Soldiers with adequate protection.
The audit by the office of the Defense Departmet inspector general, not yet made public but obtained by The Associated Press, faults the Army for flawed testing procedures before awarding a contract for the armor.
In a letter dated Jan. 27 to Acting Inspector General Gordon Heddell, Geren said he did not agree that the plates failed the testing or that Soldiers were issued deficient gear. He said his opinion was backed by the Pentagon's top testing director. ?"

One would think that the Army could recall and send out some good armor to the field, right? Unfortunately it's not that simple, or nearly that quick. PEO Soldier in Natick will have a time on their hand re-fielding correct armor. The Army doesn't have a quick recall process like a auto maker in a repair and return service might. Right now they are looking at a a refield of good ceramic plates for vests on an availablity basis as fast as a manufacturer can make them. This won't be a week, maybe even a month, and this won't be until a FAT (first article test) is done on replacement plates. The logistics tail on this one is long. And that's only after the replacement plates are identified and on contract. The article doesn't say this is the case but since the decision has only just been made for the recall you can fathom that they aren't.