05/18/2010 // West Palm Beach, Florida, USA // Nicole Howley // Nicole Howley
Washington, D.C.—Combat helmets being used by U.S. Troops in Afghanistan and possibly Iraq are being recalled after they failed to meet ballistics testing standards. The U.S. Army has recalled some 44,000 helmets, which are being worn by U.S. soldiers, as reported by CNN.
Brig. Gen. Peter N. Fuller, who buys and tests the equipment for soldiers, stated that tests showed the Advance Combat Helmet (ACH), which are the standard issue for all soldiers, did not comply with service requirements. The recall was issued on Thursday, May 13, 2010.
The Justice Department alerted the Army about an ongoing investigation in ArmorSource LLC, the company that makes the helmets, prompting the recall. After the notice of the investigation, the Army began ballistics testing on the helmets, which found that they did meet the required service standards. Officials are currently trying to determine why the helmets failed the Army’s recent ballistic testing, but passed the initial testing when the Army contracted ArmorSource in 2006.
ArmorSource was formally known as Rabintex USA LCC.
An All Army Activities message stated, “There is evidence that ArmorSource and Rabintex ACHs were produced using unauthorized manufacturing practices, defective materials and improper quality procedures which could potentially reduce ballistic and fragmentation protection.”
There are some 55,000 helmets in storage, with another 3,000 that was recently denied when they were delivered. The total number of recalled helmets has reached 102,000. At $250 per helmet, the Army is investigating whether they can recover some of the money already paid to ArmorSource for the defective helmets.
The recalled helmets were dispersed to areas all over the world for distribution. About 24,000 of the helmets were sent to a distribution center that gives them to other services.
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