Soldier Owes Life to Ballistic Plate Coated with LINE-X
Washington, DC. (April 15, 2005) -The article below is taken from the American Forces Press Services. According to the ballistic plate manufacturer, the plate being handed to Secretary of Defense, Donald Rumsfeld was one of over 50,000 LINE-X coated plates in service in Iraq and Afghanistan.
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By Kathleen T. Rhem
American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, April 18, 2005 – Less than a month ago, Army Spc. Anthony Dowden was shot in the back with a sniper rifle. But he survived with nothing more serious than bruises, thanks to a new high-tech “small-arms protective insert” armored plate in his ballistic vest.

The 22-year-old tank crewman, deployed from Fort Stewart, Ga., was on a routine security patrol here March 22. After spending some time performing “overwatch” at a checkpoint, Dowden stood up in his tank’s turret to get a better look at a young Iraqi man with what appeared to be an AK-47 rifle.

He soon realized the young man had a pellet gun and posed no threat.

“After a few minutes of observing him wondering why he was running around, what exactly he was doing, I put my binoculars down and looked down inside my tank to look for footing to lower myself down,” Dowden said in an interview with American Forces Press Service. “And that’s when I got hit.”

He said his unit’s leaders believe he was shot with a sniper rifle.

“I felt just this incredible force on my back,” Dowden said. “It threw me forward.

The shot took a divot out of the lower edge of the armor plate and resulted in a bruised kidney and “a massive bruise” on the side of Dowden’s back. Paperwork has been submitted to award the Hilton Head, S.C., native a Purple Heart medal.

Dowden, a member of 1st Battalion, 64th Armor Regiment, of the 3rd Infantry Division, said he feels without a doubt that the SAPI plate saved his life. He said he believes he’s well-served by the Army-issued protective equipment. “It’s the best that we can get right now,” he said.

During an April 11 visit to Baghdad by Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld, Dowden and his division commander, Maj. Gen. William Webster, presented the damaged plate to the secretary as a memento.

“Thank goodness this sniper round hit this SAPI plate,” Webster said during a town hall-style meeting here. “This is his SAPI plate that he’d like to present to you, sir, for all the things you do for our soldiers.”

Dowden later said it wasn’t his idea to present the plate to Rumsfeld, “but it sounded like a good idea.”

SAPI plates are designed to stop a 7.62 mm round, which is standard AK-47 rifle ammunition, a DoD spokesman said. As of February 2004, all soldiers and Marines in Iraq and Afghanistan have the plates.

 

I'm curious to know what kind of role the Line-X played in the whole thing...
Cool story nonetheless.

 

Obviously, LINE-X did not stop that bullet. I figure, the plates are LINE-X'd to keep the plates moisture free and to maintain the plates' structural integrity.

 

"Soldier Owes Life to Ballistic Plate Coated with LINE-X"

I could be wrong though.

 

I think the title is more accurate as "Soldier Owes Life to Ballistic Plate (which happened to be coated) with LINE-X"

I have some very serious doubts about LINE-X being bulletproof.

Cruzin90:
Yeah, I'd agree with your assessment. People do sweat a lot with vests on in just normal summer weather. Summer in Iraq must be brutal.

 

lol I doubt line x is bulletproof too.

 

wow ... was that him in that video that has been going around?

 

My friend's theory: The plate is most likely ceramic so the line-X keeps it from fragmenting.

 

Cool story.

 

Most of the SAPI plates are a combination of ceramic and titanium, ceramic to absorb the impact, and titanium to keep the ceramic fragments from doing damage. In the heat of the desert the temperature wears down on the plates due to the different expansion rates of the ceramic and titanium. The plates are usually coated with nylon, kevlar or in this case Line-x to insulate and "Idiot-proof" the plates. If the Line-X played a role it would have been keeping the ceramic intact and at its full strength.

 

Awesome explanation Josh

 

Nice post!