Kilts with Body Armor

[Miah]

the modern flack jackets do have a little part that comes down to protect you berries. most troops don't wear them that much unless they are going to be doing building clearings and such. While it is a great idea to protect the troops legs and such it is not the main goal of armor. The main goal it to trotect the vital organs, and thats about it.

[Doc Hudson]

the modern flack jackets do have a little part that comes down to protect you berries. most troops don't wear them that much unless they are going to be doing building clearings and such. While it is a great idea to protect the troops legs and such it is not the main goal of armor. The main goal it to trotect the vital organs, and thats about it.

Before anyone thinks legs are not vital organs, let me remind you of General Albert Sidney Johnston. He was wounded in the thigh at Shiloh, no one around him knew how to apply a tourniquet. Before they could get a doctor to him, a matter of less than 20, he bled to death.

[Shay]

Well, you can bleed out from any major wound in 20 minutes without a tourniquet! From what I read, (from other sources, too, wikipedia's just on my favorites list) he didn't think the wound was serious and bled to death because he didn't seek medical attention.

And it's true about soft armour, but it's still like taking a sledgehammer hit instead of a bullet going through you- that baseball's slowing down, but it's still making it through the plane of the sheet!

[Mike n NC]

Anybody remember a little excursion, maybe some others of you were there too, called Viet Nam? There was a very, VERY low tech threat for body armor that, as far as I know still works today especially the soft armor. Ready for the answer?
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Wait for it...
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a pointed stick...

the point doesn't have to break the fiber, just slips between them.

I think I'll just keep my kilts for everyday wear and if it comes down to it, go back to the armored division.


Mike

[Rigged]

Before anyone thinks legs are not vital organs, let me remind you of General Albert Sidney Johnston. He was wounded in the thigh at Shiloh, no one around him knew how to apply a tourniquet. Before they could get a doctor to him, a matter of less than 20, he bled to death.

That would be the femoral artery -- one of the largest arteries in the body. The main part of it extends from the inside of the hip near the groin to where it branches off at the knee.

I take it that "less than 20" means "less than 20 minutes".

Definitely worth protecting.

[Miah]

Before anyone thinks legs are not vital organs, let me remind you of General Albert Sidney Johnston. He was wounded in the thigh at Shiloh, no one around him knew how to apply a tourniquet. Before they could get a doctor to him, a matter of less than 20, he bled to death.

Well not to be to much of a smart **** (well of I am a smart ****) but
all Marines I know for a fact can not graduate Boot camp without the knowledege of basic first aid.... to include how to apply and mark a touriquet.

Anybody remember a little excursion, maybe some others of you were there too, called Viet Nam? There was a very, VERY low tech threat for body armor that, as far as I know still works today especially the soft armor. Ready for the answer?
.
.
.
.
.
.
Wait for it...
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
a pointed stick...

the point doesn't have to break the fiber, just slips between them.

I think I'll just keep my kilts for everyday wear and if it comes down to it, go back to the armored division.

Also the modern Flack jacket has fixed this as well, when troops are going to be doing building clearings or any of that thype of thing where they will come into contact with people that are "suposed" to use the cermic plates that insert into the pockets on the vests.

I know this only because I spent about 2 years training Marines to Clear buildings over in the sand box. The new Vest is a MASSIVE improvment over the Viet Nam Era vest we wore only 5 years ago.
To my knowledge I have not lost any of the boys I trained due to equipment failure. Other then vehicles =( (Hummvee

The vest works if you wear the plates. You can live without a leg be a hell of a Marine still
http://www.tradoc.army.mil/pao/TNSar...r03/122503.htm
not that I think it is a great thing to lose a limb but I just want to point out that it is surviable and people go on and live productive lives.

All this aside I wish there was a better Leg protection out there.
When I was recalled we used a set up that had cermic leg plates over the thighs and it worked out pretty decent but added a good amount of weight and also only protected the outside of the legs. It was a decent Idea just to expensive to outfit everybody with and was mostly reserved for Police type units. With the the fight still on I am sure there will be more tremendous leaps forward in the protection that the body armor and overall uniform provide.

[Streetcar]

FYI -

http://www.galls.com/style.html?asso...=BP216&cat=359

The threat level here refers to the type of ammunition it would stop. IIIA will stop most pistol rounds, but a rifle round will go through it like butter. For that, you need plates (typically ceramic) referred to earlier in the thread.

[Dreadbelly]

I could clear a building. Wearing a kilt. I doubt I would need armor.

Stick my **** in a window or a door, and hell, I wouldn't even need to lift the back of my kilt, self generated wind would do it for me. Just cut loose with a stink like a dead moose. People inside the building would come out gagging and gasping for air. Do with them as you will. Of course, if you were evil, you could lock them inside of the building and seal off the exits.

[Doc Hudson]

As a former Muscogee County Georgia Deputy Sheriff once told me, "Bulletproof vests will keep you out of the graveyard, but they won't keep you out of the hospital."

He spent nearly a week in the hospital recovering from some severe deep tissue bruising after his vest stopped three or four 9 mmP slugs. The perp who fired the rounds didn't fair as well. Don's partner popped him twice witha .357 Magnum, and the perp was not wearing a vest.

This occured in the early 1980's, bullet resistant vests have greatly improved since those days, but you still feel one helluva blow if the bullets don't hit a trauma plate. Even if the bullets strike a trauma plate, you will still feel a blow, just not incapacitating.

[Riverkilt]

Ironic...the Over There episode that got me thinking included a GI losing a leg to an IED.

So hey...lots of input from all directions here...bottom line...is it doable and would it do any good?

I was thinking more shrapnel protection since most GIs are getting killed and wounded by IEDs at this stage of the dance.

One more layer of protection when seated in those unarmored humvees.

Even more sad irony. Just heard from an aunt that a best friend of my Marine cousin was killed with all the Ohio boys. Only he was from Montana. Guess some were from other states.

Lifelong friend of my cousin. Eating them up with grief.

Sooooooo sad. Biting my tongue again.

Yes, I remember Viet Nam....its baaaaack.......

Ron