Service members deployed for combat operations should be provided the most effective body armor available.  In 2007, with then-Senator Hillary Clinton, I called for a Government Accountability Office (GAO) investigation to reassess the effectiveness and reliability of body armor systems currently being issued by all the military services and the Special Operations Command.  We owe it to those who are serving in harm’s way to provide them with the best protection possible.

In response to this request, the GAO conducted one of its lengthiest and most detailed audits, culminating in a comprehensive report in October 2009 that identified numerous recommendations to improve the standardization of Army testing and certification procedures.

Despite initial objections from the Department of Defense to a number of the GAO’s findings, my continued engagement with the Secretary of the Army led to the acceptance of nearly all of the GAO’s recommendations, including one calling for a contract with the National Research Council to conduct an independent assessment of ongoing body-armor testing in 2010.

The National Research Council has completed two phases of its three-part assessment.  It will complete its final phase early in 2011, at which time a final report on its findings will be issued.