Why can only a few "select members" of the military wear Dragon Skin armor when it has been banned by the Army

And when I say "select members", I'm talking about the higher-ranking officers, "significant" civilian contractors, and some special forces groups.

Why can only a few "select members" of the military wear Dragon Skin armor when it has been banned by the Army
(1) Those who work for PMCs (Private Military Corporations) do not have to follow DoD guidelines on weapons or protective gear. Those in Group (SF) have their own budget and more or less carte blanche on what gear they can take into theater. As for commissioned officers, you're going to have to get some source attributon there, because I have seen everyone upto the Brigade Commander employ IBA (you don't see 1-stars and above pull constant patrols outside the wire for obvious reasons).





(2) You all are making this sound like this is a huge tragedy when there are logistical concerns governing what gear is used and what is not, besides the obvious concerns of safety. I don't see Sobe, Pepsico and other drinkmakers lining up and saying locally produced bottled water in Iraq and Afghanistan is unsafe, and pushing for us to import water from the States because it's "safer", so what gives when it comes to armor? Do you really think Dragonskin is that safe? Were you part of the testing process? Would you like to wear it while I shoot you dead center of mass with my M14 at point blank range to find out?





It gets really stupid when people - especialy civilians - will grab at any and all issues in order to be seen as some sort of conscientious whistleblower. There are FAR more pressing issues, people. FAR more pressing issues. Go rediscover them.
Reply:Can you provide us with the _name_ of one of these people dumb enough to wear body armor (Dragonskin) that was tested by the US Army and determined to be inferior?





Stop reading the advertising brochures. The stuff was tested by the Army ad found to be inferior to the stuff they are already using.
Reply:Dragon Skin armor does not pass the stringent military standards that the Interceptor armor has. It is not as effective. Many who do not fall under the DOD may wear it, but they do not fall under the same regulations. People should really stop listening to the things they hear on TV, and do a little bit of research for themselves.
Reply:Dragon Skin is a very new armor system with ceramic disks that when sewn togather are quite flexable compared to the regular body armor. This is good for special forces who do not patrol like regular units but rather swoope in and kick ***, but falls apart compared to conventional armor when subjected to rigorous tests like intense blast feilds and extreme debris.





Higher ranking officers do not have there a** in the grass unless there on a picnic.





Contracters are on there own as far as what they want to or not want to wear. They could wear veitnamn era body armor if they wanted.
Reply:chalemen hit the nail on the head, dragon skin is great when you are not in battlefield conditions so yeah when someone is in nice hotels and Humvee dragon skin is the best option. but when your *** in unbelievable heat and sand for hours at a time then no it is not a suitable choice.
Reply:Because the military don't give a **** about the lower class of soldiers. To hell with all military and the government. POWER TO THE PEOPLE BABY!
Reply:By few select members you are talking about the generals, and isn't that a whole load of crap. Dragon Skin armor has been proven more effective than the armor the lower ranking soldiers are wearing, the ones that are getting killed and maimed in Iraq.