Okinawa Marines first to receive new body armor

Photo By Sgt. Ethan Rocke | C.J. Quinlan, owner of Tactical Applications Group and designer of the Modular Tactical Vest, talks to Marines at the conclusion of a three-hour training block on the new vest. Instructors with TAG, the company that designed the vest, and Protective Products International, the manufacturer, trained 1,000 3rd MLG Marines, who were issued the vest last week, how to properly configure, wear and care for the MTV.  

CAMP FOSTER, OKINAWA, JAPAN

04.10.2007

Story by Cpl. Juan D. Alfonso 

III Marine Expeditionary Force   

CAMP FOSTER, OKINAWA, Japan - Okinawa Marines received the first 1,000 units of the Corps' latest improvement in battlefield protection March 29-30, and initial reviews of the new Modular Tactical Vest suggest Marines throughout the Corps will soon be saying, "I want my MTV."

Marines from Combat Logistics Battalion 4, Combat Logistics Regiment 3, 3rd Marine Logistics Group on Camp Foster were the first of about 60,000 Marines scheduled to receive the new body armor by October.

Marine officials are touting a laundry list of improvements over the Outer Tactical Vest currently fielded to most Marine units, and a random survey of junior Marines and noncommissioned officers from CLB-4's Security Company, including Iraq war veterans, affirmed those claims.

"The overall capabilities of the vest are excellent," said Pfc. Anthony A. Thelin, a parachute rigger with Security Company. "I give it a nine out of 10."

All the Marines surveyed said they preferred the new vest for a myriad of reasons. At the top of the list of improvements were some of the initial requirements the Corps set out to address, including increased protection, improved load carriage and more overall comfort.

Though the OTV was not designed to do so, Marines use it to carry significant equipment loads during combat missions.

The need for a vest that doubles as body armor and load-bearing vest spurred ground commanders in Iraq to generate an Urgent Universal Needs Statement, according to Maj. John Gutierrez, an acquisition project officer at Marine Corps Systems Command. Officials at Marine Corps Combat Development Command then validated and approved the vest requirement.

"Every particular improvement with this vest came from requirements identified by the warfighter," Gutierrez said.

MTV designer C. J. Quinlan is a former Marine staff sergeant who served two tours in Operation Iraqi Freedom. Quinlan owns the Jacksonville, N.C.-based Tactical Applications Group, whose vest design was selected by Corps officials over those of about 20 other competing companies.

"I started designing this vest as an active-duty sergeant with input from Marines in my unit," said Quinlan, a former scout sniper. "We took it upon ourselves to fix something that needed to be fixed."

And the fixes Quinlan's vest brings are many.

A quick-release mechanism allows Marines to get out of the vest hastily in emergency situations and allows for immediate access for medical personnel to provide first-aid.

The vest provides more protection from shrapnel in the lower back and kidney area and protects the side torso area from bullets thanks to the integration of side armor plate carriers. The integrated cummerbund provides the improved load carriage and weight distribution - a feature that caught Marines' attention immediately.

Despite the fact that the MTV is slightly heavier than the OTV, several Marines commented that the new vest "feels lighter."

The MTV's added "bells and whistles" wowed Marines as well. The adjustable rifle bolster that allows a wearer to better seat a rifle stock in his shoulder was a big hit, as were the internal pathways for communication wiring and cables.

Not surprisingly, the Marines said the vest's biggest selling point is that it manages to increase protection while at the same time improving comfort.

"With the old vest, there was virtually zero adjustability," Thelin said. "This vest basically form fits to any person's body type."

The vest's many enhancements do come with costs, of course. In addition to the $33,000,000 price tag attached to the rollout of 60,000 vests, each Marine has to invest about three hours to learn how to configure, wear and care for the MTV.

Trainers from Tactical Applications Group and Protective Products International, the company that manufactures the vest, are providing the three-hour training blocks to Marines with a "train-the-trainer" approach, meaning Marines trained by the contractors should then be capable of training others.

There are even help desks at Camp Pendleton, Calif., and Camp Lejeune, N.C. that Marines can call with questions relating to the vest.

"The Marine Corps has invested a lot of time, energy and money in developing and providing for Marines the best personal protective equipment in the world," Gutierrez said.

Another 1,200 III Marine Expeditionary Force Marines will receive a second batch of MTVs next month, according to Gutierrez. The fielding allocation for the vests came from Marine Forces Central Command, which oversees Operation Iraqi Freedom.

Gutierrez said III MEF Marines received the gear in order to meet requirements for upcoming exercises such as Mojave Viper in California and further deployments to the Central Command area of responsibility.

While the current allocation calls for only 60,000 vests, Gutierrez said the MTV will be the next vest for the Marine Corps.

"This will replace the OTV," he said.

• Date Taken: 04.10.2007
• Date Posted: 04.10.2007 08:45
• Story ID: 9834
• Location: CAMP FOSTER, OKINAWA, JP