Why don't soldiers wear bullet proof vest/armor?

most of the soldiers in combat situations do....

What the sofa king said..

However, most body armor only covers the trunk area and they aren't very protective vs explosive devices.

Soldiers do in fact wear vests of different types of material, one being Kevlar sometimes with a ceramic plate inserted in the vital organs region for further protection. The headgear is also Kevlar. Newer materials have been developed since I last wore bullet resistant vest. I believe one is snakeskin. Special ops types I assume don't wear the vests due to weight and restrictive nature of vests. They are hot and heavy, during the summer months. Google army medic shot in Iraq and you will see the effectiveness of the armor.

We do

Thats a great idea, man. You should write a general and offer him your suggestion.

quote:

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1. War movies are not real battles so take them with a grain of salt.
2.Guys do wear gear but many bullets today have been designed to penetrate armor such as FMJ's
3.Navy Seals don't wear them because they are not a unit that is designed for sustained combat. SEALs are designed for small team combat units that get in, do the job, and get out. That's why SEALs go in to compounds to raid them, take out specific targets, etc. Marines/army regulars battle the sustained fights.

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Respectfully, other than your first point - which is spot on - it does not appear that you have any knowledge of what you're talking about.

FMJ aren't "designed" to penetrate armor. That's anti-gun propoganda. FMJ rifle bullets end up penetrating obstacles as a secondary effect of their design. Now - some rounds are designed to penetrate armor, but it's cost and availability make it relatively unavailable for most threats. The other dirty little secret is that body armor is primarily effective against pistols, shrapnel, etc., and you have to increase the weight and cost to provide even modest protection against rifles, generally, anyway, although that has improved, measurably, over the past couple of decades.

And special operators wear body armor all the time. Because of their unique nature, high optempo, etc., they can afford the best of the best equipment and utilize it. Part of the reason their conditioning requirements are so high is the increased weight of their gear package, the heaviest item of which is body armor, generally.

On a positve note, based on the war movies when you do get shot it is usually no big deal.

Aw yeah bro. 10 shots to the chest is no biggie......




In hollywood.