Recall of 44,00 Combat Helmets Follows Two InvestigationsMay 21, 2010
 The Army is recalling 44,000 Advanced Combat Helmets (ACHs) and the Justice Department has launched an investigation into the manufacturer, according to several reports. All the recalled helmets were made by ArmorSource, formerly Rabintex USA, according to an article in the Army Times. Each helmet costs about $250. "There is evidence that ArmorSource and Rabintex ACHs were produced using unauthorized manufacturing practices, defective materials and improper quality procedures, which could potentially reduce ballistic and fragmentation protection" according to an All Army Activities message. The directive goes on to require a service-wide inspection of all ACHs made by this manufacturer. The Army bought 102,000 helmets from ArmorSource for a total order of 1.6 million ACHs since 2002 from several vendors, CBSNews.com reported. The service had received 99,000 ACHs from ArmorSource and tested every lot it received, noticing that the paint was peeling. It decided to cancel the contract on the remaining 3,000 helmets. Gérard P. Cachon, an operations and information management professor at Wharton, said there must be a more significant problem that led to the order cancellation. "The action strikes me as dramatic. It seems that a negotiated solution in which the company is given the opportunity to fix the problem is the better approach," he said. "However, maybe there is a history of violations.” Indeed, the Army found out that the Justice Department had launched its own investigation. Just what information the Justice Department had is unclear, but it led the Army to retest all the helmets produced by ArmorSource, according to the CBSNews.com report. The helmets in inventory failed the tests, leading the Army to recall the 44,000 helmets in the field. The other 55,000 in storage will be destroyed. Photo Credit: Maj. Web Wright |
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