Corps to begin X-ray scanning all body armor - Military News | News From Afghanistan, Iraq And Around The World - Military Times

Corps to begin X-ray scanning all body armor

The Marine Corps will begin X-ray scanning all body armor, with scanning equipment eventually located at major bases across the service, Marine officials said.

The ceramic plates will be scanned through a process known as Non-Destructive Test and Evaluation, allowing the Corps to test the plates without shooting at them, said Lt. Col. A.J. Pasagian, head of the Corps’ infantry combat equipment program. Officials began buying the scanners this year and will continue in 2010, with all 220,000 Enhanced Small Arms Protective Insert plates in the Corps’ inventory scanned in about a year.

“We are currently scanning a sample set of plates to help us determine requirements for scanners and where they should be installed,” Pasagian said. “The Marine Corps ... is working closely with the Army on the development and fielding of an automated inspection system designed to inspect” armor plates.

This is a first for the Corps. Currently, each Marine is trained to visually inspect their plates for rips, tears and signs of cracking, but no Corpswide system is in place.

The scanners typically will be located near Central Issue Facilities, where armor plates are stored and maintained primarily by civilian contractors under the direction of Marine officials, Pasagian said. Trained and certified X-ray technicians will operate the machines.

On Aug. 5, Pasagian told the Corps’ gunner community the scanning has never been done before, and will make Marines safer.

“That has not been done yet, and I’m not saying that to put anyone on edge, but because it’s a fact,” he said.

Inspections of individual plates are currently conducted by contractors at warehouses across the Corps.