Contracts for Body Armor Filled Without Initial Tests

['BusNative]

For $3 billion, you'd figure somebody somewhere would want to run a test or two. Not to mention the body armor is supposed to be protecting Americans.

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Contracts for Body Armor Filled Without Initial Tests
Inspections Skipped in 13 Of 28 Deals, Report Finds

By Dana Hedgpeth
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, April 3, 2008; D01

Government auditors said yesterday that nearly half of 28 contracts to manufacture body armor for Army soldiers were completed without the gear ever going through an initial test.

Nearly $3 billion worth of body armor did not go through early inspections known as "first article testing," or FAT, that are performed before major production to ensure that a company can meet the contract's requirements and to catch any defects, according to a report by the Defense Department's inspector general. Contracting officials say the initial testing is done to save time and money.

"Army contracting officials did not require or perform FAT for 13 of the 28 Army contracts and orders reviewed," the report said. As a result, the Defense Department "has no assurance" that the equipment produced under the 13 contracts "met the required standards," the report said.

Officials with the inspector general's office said its auditors did not test the armor or look for flaws after it was made and put into use. The Army manager who oversees the body armor program told Defense Department officials that "the Army has no evidence of deaths that can be attributed to defective body armor."

A spokesman for the Army said that while some paperwork may have been missing, none of the body armor had problems. "None of this equipment in all of the tests we've done is flawed," said Paul Boyce, the spokesman. "It has not shown any signs of flaws."

Boyce said the Army disagrees with the inspector general's interpretation of the acquisition rules that detail the testing requirements for equipment. "There is a debate as to the timing of the types of tests," Boyce said. "We have a different interpretation."

One manufacturer, Point Blank Body Armor of Pompano Beach, Fla., said in a statement that "there are rigorous testing procedures in place at Point Blank Solutions to ensure that our products are in accordance with the requirements of all of our customers, be it the United States government, U.S. Armed Forces and the various domestic law enforcement agencies we service."

For the report, auditors looked at the pre-solicitation, awarding and administration of 40 contracts awarded to 14 contractors by the Army and the Marine Corps from January 2004 to December 2006. They found no deficiencies with the Marines' 12 contracts.

The report said Army officials "did not follow" federal acquisition regulations in buying body armor, and it found "deficiencies in 16 of the 28 contracts and orders" it reviewed. In some cases, Army officials did not have paperwork showing whether the testing had been done, and in other contracts, the requirements for testing were waived.

Defense officials conducted the audit at the request of Rep. Louise M. Slaughter (D-N.Y.).

"This indicates that nearly half of the Army's contractors did not perform the most basic test on the body armor before it was sent to our troops fighting overseas," Slaughter said in a statement. "It's shameful that the Army would not scrupulously ensure that every piece of equipment is properly tested, especially a fundamentally life and death product such as body armor."

[sandgk]

Rep Slaughter's Opinion on this matter following her review of the report she requested - Huffington Post:

What does all that mean?
That means American taxpayers were charged $3 billion for body armor that has been under-tested.

More importantly, that means our Service members fighting in Iraq are using body armor that has been under-tested.
Unacceptable
It is the responsibility of the Army to ensure that every piece of equipment is properly tested, especially a fundamental life and death product such as body armor.
For a soldier in the field, the only thing standing between their vital organs and the enemy's fire is their body armor.
I am extremely concerned that the Army is effectively gambling on the quality of the body armor that is essential to the safety and security of our troops.
By under-testing armor, the odds are increased that our service men and women will receive a faulty product.

What will she be asking be done?

I have called on the Army to fire any and all individuals responsible for failing to adequately protect our troops and allowing them to go into harms way without properly tested body armor.
I will meet with representatives from the Army to discuss the findings in this report, the fundamental causes for these serious failures, and the Army's plans to correct the problems.
That's what I'm going to do right now. But let me tell you what I'm not going to do.
I am not going to let this get swept under the rug.
The safety and security of our troops is on the line and we have an obligation to ensure that those individuals sacrificing so much for our country have equipment that is scrupulously tested and certain to actually work.
It's the very least we can do.