OR, the SS doesn't like Deadeye Dick
A laminar armor (which is what the Dragon Skin looks like, overlapping small scales) would offer better protection.
The Army's trying to protect its contractor, who's probably been paying generals for years and has a vested interest in the status quo. Meanwhile, soldiers die.
he said vested , hehehe
My understanding is that Dragon skin doesn't stand up well to day to day use. The "scales" have a tendency to drop and fall out of place and then you just have a whole bunch of scales sitting at the bottom of the vest.
Now, this is just a second hand report and I'm not sure how much I believe of that. I find it difficult to believe that they would go to production with such a huge design flaw like that but you never know.
I find it difficult to believe that they would go to production with such a huge design flaw like that but you never know.
I can't say I'm an informed commenter re: this issue, so I wouldn't venture an opinion either way about the vests.
However, as someone who has seen firsthand how product design and manufacturing works (or doesn't), the possibility of products with "huge design flaws" getting out the door doesn't seem remote to me at all.
Again, this may or may not apply to Dragon Skin...but when big bux are on the line, the suits will lean on whomever they have to, if the sales guys have orders to be filled and they need widgets in the pipeline.
That said, I would bet many quatloos that The Wanderer's comment is on the mark...
*cough*The Osprey*cough*
The army has always had an unstated policy of supporting contractors regardless of the costs. Once they make a decision they stick with it until they fix the flaws. For example the M-16 which took about 20 years before it became a decent weapon and everyone gets nostalgic for it like the Sherman or other crappy weapons like the bradley.
Re: Dragon skin and "de-scaling"
My understanding is that the manufacturer is quite small and with relativly little "wasta" in the pentagon. I can understand them trying to get something out in a hurry if they were running out of money and had to show a product but it is a little mystifying that DragonSkin 2.0 hasn't come out with a fix to the "de-scaling" or where they just planing to complain their way into a huge defence contract.
Maybe it is a superior body armour ONCE, and then you have to throw it away. I'd love to see how they would sell that to the american public.
I don't know which is better or worse. I'm just throwing a couple of things out there that I've heard or heard speculated about.
Defence contracting is like laws and sausages, etc.
Regards
Ol’ Dead Eye Dick wears Dragon Skin? Hey man! Nothing but the best for our vice-chancellor. He didn’t spend 5 deferments to stay out of Viet Nam, only to be offed as a civilian in a war he started.
What about the troops? They will wear what the Army supplies them with, or they will wear nothing. The Army buys armor not to protect the troops; it buys armor to make corporate America richer. The bottom line is, after all, the bottom line.
If the Secret Service is so concerned for Cheney’s life, why do they even let him walk? I mean, he’s had like 4 or 5 heart attacks. A bullet-proof sedan chair, carried by Blackwater mercs is more in his style.
Nice photo op in front of a C-17 named the Spirit of 9-11 “Let’s Roll!” Does Cheney still travel in a customized Airstream trailer in the C-17's cargo hold?
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/1.../
15TRAILER.html
The Poor Man (haven’t been able to access his web site lately) once called this mode of travel a Turducken; a turkey, stuffed with a duck, stuffed with a chicken. Ha, ha, ha!
The man loves being called Darth Cheney by those who despise him. He is truly a cartoon villain.
Thanks to Jesse for alerting me to this email from the gentleman at the VA. I've done some further research on the matter and writen a new post.
"A bullet-proof sedan chair, carried by Blackwater mercs is more in his style." - I.M. Shocked.
More like a palanquin, like the eight-manpower throne the Pope used to drive.
More like a palanquin, like the eight-manpower throne the Pope used to drive.
The Wanderer | Homepage | 01.02.08 - 5:23 pm
I see your point, but Dubya would use the palanquin ‘cuz he’s the one who talks to God, like the Pope. Ol’ Dead Eye is more low key, y’see. Plus, he’d get better handling in the war zone with the smaller, lighter sedan chair and only 2 mercs.
Commenting by HaloScan
