QuadGard Arm and Leg Protection Against IED’s

Improvised explosive devices (IED’s), such as those in Iraq, are a challenging threat to U.S. military forces. These blast weapons, often rigged to detonate conventional munitions such as artillery shells, have caused fatalities and severe injuries to Marines and soldiers. The introduction of the outer tactical vest (OTV) with soft armor to protect the upper torso against fragments, along with the ceramic small arms protective insert (SAPI) plates, has shifted the injury patterns sustained by Marines and soldiers. The superb effectiveness of this armor protects soldiers who would otherwise have received fatal wounds to the chest, but produces significant numbers of casualties with arm and leg injuries. Now, as a result of this trend, one quarter of all injuries incurred affect the arms and one third affect the legs. Limb amputation rates have been more than twice as common as in previous conflicts. New lightweight and flexible limb protection options were needed for the Marines and soldiers. After visiting amputees at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in late 2003, Secretary of the Navy Gordon England asked the Office of Naval Research (ONR) to assess the situation and develop new protective equipment options for the Marines in Iraq. The The Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) led a government-university-industry team that developed the “QuadGard” arm and leg body armor from initial concept to industrial production over a period of 17 months. QuadGard provides extremity protection against fragments from conventional munitions and improvised explosive devices (IED’s) in an innovative flexible design, based on combat casualty trends. Weighing only 10 lb, it achieved a high level of acceptance during test and evaluation by warfighters for its flexibility and comfort. The first three design phases were performed under an Office of Naval Research program, from April to December 2004. The final design phase and preparation for production was performed for the Marine Corps Systems Command (MCSC) in the spring of 2005. More than 4800 sets of QuadGard were then procured by MCSC for use by 50-caliber turret gunners and shipped forward for operations in Iraq between October 2005 and January 2006. An additional 300 sets were purchased by the Joint IED Defeat Task Force. These were delivered in November and December 2005 for test, evaluation, and operational use in Iraq by additional Marine Corps, Army, and Air Force units. Finally, 100 sets were purchased by the Naval Facilities Expeditionary Logistics Center in January 2006 for the Navy’s Seabees in Iraq.