Battalion COs to make body armor decisions - Marine Corps News | News from Afghanistan & Iraq - Marine Corps Times

Battalion COs to make body armor decisions

The Corps will give primary control over how much body armor Marines wear to battalion and squadron commanders, an attempt to localize decision-making and cut weight from the combat load when possible.

The move, announced Friday in Marine administrative message 254/09, means that lieutenant colonels will typically make the decision, rather than colonels who command larger regimental combat teams. Higher-ranking commanders still have the authority to make decisions on body armor if they feel it is necessary, said Maj. Tom Wood, infantry advocate for the Plans, Policies and Operations Branch at Marine Corps headquarters.

Wood said the new policy stemmed from the operating forces and the recognition that the CO of a battalion or squadron with closer proximity to Marines could make a better judgment on how much armor was necessary.

“That RCT commander at the [colonel] level was not at an optimum spot to make the decision on what level of protection his Marines should be wearing,” Wood said.

The Corps also is in the process of developing a service-level policy defining specific armor protection levels, with the purpose of enabling commanders to tailor body armor to threat levels in a specific area. Details on what kind of vest and gear will be assigned to each protection level will be released within the next few weeks, the MarAdmin said.

“It is impractical to attempt to protect against all conceivable threats, but it is imperative for the Marine Corps to shift paradigms away from the one-size-fits-all approach when dealing with ballistic protection,” officials said in the MarAdmin. “Marine Corps unit commanders must rely on mission analysis and military judgment in making critical decision which affect the personal protective posture of their Marines, and must take advantage of the full scalability of the [personal protective equipment] fielded.”

Under the new policy, the Corps will continue to issue both the heavy-duty Modular Tactical Vest and the Scalable Plate Carrier, which was first fielded last year as a lighter-weight alternative. Most Marines in Afghanistan have been issued both the MTV and SPC, officials said.