Inmate labor used to make recalled helmets - Marine Corps News | News from Afghanistan & Iraq - Marine Corps Times

Inmate labor used to make recalled helmets

HEBRON, Ohio — The combat helmets made by Hebron-based ArmorSource and recalled by the Army earlier this month were made by a Texas subcontractor that uses federal inmates to do its work.

The Army and ArmorSource confirmed to The Advocate that UNICOR, also called Federal Prison Industries, manufactured all of the 102,000 helmets for the ArmorSource contract with the Army.

The helmets, produced between August 2007 and November 2009, were manufactured at UNICOR’s facility in Beaumont, Texas, where a federal prison is located.

The recall of 44,000 ArmorSource helmets, announced May 14, followed Army testing of the helmets’ ability to withstand gunshots. The recall also came after the Army learned of an ongoing Justice Department investigation into ArmorSource.

“A couple weeks before the Department of Justice alert, we were already noticing some issues with ArmorSource helmets,” Army Lt. Col. Jimmie Cummings said.

The first tests came during development of the Enhanced Combat Helmet, using all four helmet manufacturers. Then came random testing of four ArmorSource lots, revealing problems surviving the multiple shots, Cummings said.

“As far as my knowledge, all the other helmets passed the additional tests,” Cummings said.

The Army will not release the results of such tests, however, he said.

As of Tuesday, the Army had collected 6,246 helmets, 377 of which were in use in Iraq and Afghanistan. The Army hopes to replace all the ArmorSource helmets by June 21.

Paul Garcia, ArmorSource spokesman, said the helmets passed all of the company’s standards, the Army’s tests and independent testing. The subsequent tests were beyond the scope of the contract specifications, he said.

“We have been 100-percent compliant with the contract and exceeded performance expectations,” Garcia said.

A Pennsylvania congressman who represents a district that includes ArmorSource competitor Gentex Corp. criticized the use of inmates to manufacture Army helmets on his Congressional website.

“Federal Prison Industries plays an important role in putting inmates to work,” Democratic Rep. Christopher Carney wrote. “But our military men and women deserve the best-made equipment, and this recall further demonstrates the pitfalls of trusting prisoners with the lives of our soldiers and Marines.”

Carney stated on his website that UNICOR is the subject of a Department of Justice investigation of the company’s helmet production.

Larry Dixon, co-owner of ArmorSource, said UNICOR has manufactured helmets for 20 years and produced effective products, Dixon said. ArmorSource employees and a government representative provided oversight at the Texas facility, he said.

“The inmates, they’re some of the best workers I’ve seen,” Dixon said. “They’re focused, show up for work on time and are motivated. We’ve seen nothing but good work.”

CNN reported Thursday that Federal Prison Industries, which had contracts to produce 600,000 helmets for the Army and 100,000 lightweight helmets to the Marine Corps, has stopped all helmet manufacturing.

Federal Prison Industries also agreed to waive preferential status that gives it right of first refusal on U.S. government contracts, CNN reported.

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• Air Force officials say helmet recall affects thousands

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