WASHINGTON, April 1: The US Army said on Friday soldiers can only use body armour provided by the Pentagon even though some have bought their own because they felt what the military provided was insufficient. “There is, obviously, sufficient body armour for every deployed service member,” said Bryan Whitman, a senior Pentagon spokesman, in outlining the new policy.
Mr Whitman said military leaders had decided to require soldiers to use Pentagon-issued armour because they did not want to ‘put anybody at risk by using something that is inferior to the high-quality, tested product that they are providing their service members’.
The Army took the action of banning the private body armour purchases on its own, while the other branches of the military have not. The Army provides the vast majority of ground troops in Iraq, while the Marines provide a smaller portion.—Reuters
