source GAIA package: Sx_MilitaryTimes_M6200910905010314_5675.zip Origin key: Sx_MilitaryTimes_M6200910905010314 imported at Fri Jan 8 18:18:02 2016
The Army has recalled about 30,000 of its Advanced Combat Helmets after a manufacture's defect caused the helmets to fail ballistic testing.
The helmets issued to soldiers and Air Force personnel from November 2008 to February 2009 are the subject of an investigation by Army Criminal Investigation Command.
Gentex Corp. of Carbondale, Penn., was "supposed to provide a particular product and they provided something different," Lt. Col. Robert Myles, product manager for Soldier Survivability, told Army Times April 30.
Gentex notified the Army in January that one of its subcontractors used "a different finish on the screws than what is required by the government," Myles said. The finish is designed to protect the screws from corrosion.
The former subcontractor, A.J. Hughes Screw Products Company Inc., is under investigation by Army CID and Gentex is not, said Ken Lee, corporate counsel for Gentex.
The Army pulled samples of the helmets and found that extreme environmental conditions caused the substitute screw coating to degrade prematurely and create a weak spot in the helmet, Myles said.
Army equipment officials said "they take this incident with the helmet very seriously," but stressed that it's unlikely the helmets identified under Gentex contract number W911QY-05-D-0003 pose an immediate safety risk to soldiers and airmen wearing them, Myles said.
The contract provides for 37,000 helmets, but 6,838 were never issued from the Defense Logistics Agency, Army officials said. Of the 30,000 issued to soldiers and airmen, about 27,000 have been recovered, Army officials said May 1. As of that date, about 3,000 helmets are still unaccounted for.
No soldiers or airmen have been injured as a result of the defect, Army officials said. They don't know how many of the helmets have been worn into combat, they said, but about 30,000 of them have been issued to soldiers and airmen.
A.J. Hughes Screw Products Company vice president Greg Tremaine said the company has no comment about the investigation.
The Army released an All Army Commands message April 29, ordering commands to inspect all of their ACHs for lot numbers 98Z-139Z, according to the message.
These lot numbers have the following National Stock Numbers:
• 8470-01-529-6302
• 8470-01-529-6329
• 8470-01-529-6344
• 8470-01-529-6365
The numbers are located on the inside lower left portion of the helmet, according to the message.
Units who that find the helmets in question are to turn them in to their central issuing facilities for replacement.
The Army has issued about 1.2 million ACHs since it began fielding the helmet in 2002 to replace the Personnel Armor System for Ground Troops helmet.
