Objective
Our objective was to determine whether the Director, Operational Test and Evaluation, coordinated with the Military Services, U.S. Special Operations Command, and Defense agencies to develop the standardized, first article testing procedures for body armor ballistic inserts as agreed to in Recommendation B of DoD IG Report No. D-2009-047, “DoD Testing Requirements for Body Armor,” dated January 29, 2009. Additionally, we determined whether the Military Services, U.S. Special Operations Command, and Defense agencies implemented the procedures to mitigate body armor testing inconsistencies.
Findings
The Director, Operational Test and Evaluation coordinated with the Military Services, U.S. Special Operations Command, and Defense agencies to develop a standardized, first article testing procedures for body armor ballistic inserts as agreed to in Recommendation B. Specifically, the Director, Operational Test and Evaluation:
- collaborated with Army Test and Evaluation Command to develop a sample size for testing that limits the number of possible failures;
- coordinated the draft procedures; and
- issued the final procedures to address Recommendation B.
Further, the Military Services, U.S. Special Operations Command,and Defense agencies incorporated the procedures into their ballistic plates testing documents. This mitigated the issue of testing inconsistency. Management Comments We provided a discussion draft. No written response to this report was required, and none was received. Therefore, we are publishing this report in final form.