European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - October 23, 1967, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Page 8 the stars and stripes monday october 23, 1967 body Armor proves its Mettle in combat Saigon special air Force crewmen flying in Southeast Asia Are now wearing a new Type of body Armor and special helmets As Protection against enemy ground  protective Armor decreases the vulnerability of aircrews to Small arms ground fire during Rescue defoliation and ground support missions. Bot body Armor and protective helmets Are being used by crewmen in c123 andc130 aircraft and hh3e Jolly Green giant helicopter the body Armor which covers the Back and Chest is made of a Ceramic material backed with Nylon to prevent pieces from flying off if struck by Small arms fragments. A new Type protective headgear called a ballistic helmet also pro edits Merit quickly under fire. During a Rescue Mission in a helicopter in Viet Nam airman 2.c. Duane Hackney a Par Rescue Man was wearing the new helmet when hit in the head by Shrap Nel As the Craft was raked by ground fire. Force of the Impact knocked Hackney Down but the ballistic Hel met stopped the fragments leaving him unscathed. The helmet Shell is fabricated from ballistic Nylon and is laminated witha synthetic resin. An Energy absorbing liner is worn under the  ballistic helmets designed by the army s Natick laboratories i Massachusetts were modified for air Force use and sent to Southeast Asia for evaluation earlier this year. Favourable reports resulted in an addition Al air Force requirement for air com Mando squadrons and air Rescue units and crewmen on c123 ranch hand defoliation missions. In addition Armor resembling hockey goalie s gear is being designed to protect the legs of crewmen exposed to enemy fire when standing in the doorway of helicopters while Low ering hoists during Rescue operations. The personal Armor program is directed by the air Force systems come s aeronautical systems division and right Patterson fab Ohio the command s focal Point for develop ment of equipment to support afar units in Vietnam. And procured an initial order of body Armor for tests in the Field after a 7th air Force cited the vulnerability of Crews in certain operations in trans s port Type aircraft and helicopters. Some redesign of the body Armor 5 was made to enhance its effectiveness after the initial evaluation in the com s Bat area. Additional engineering work Sis in Progress by systems come s Aero e space medical division an Brooks Tafb tex., to further Mold the Armor 5 to the Man s body and make it thinner Ein less critical areas to reduce weight g and bulk. Work is underway to develop Armor providing greater Protection for a the neck sides shoulders and lower Torso areas. One Hundred thirty five a sets will be built for test. E device cuts death toll of tankers cd Chi Vietnam up army sgt. John f Shiflet who burned his hands in a desperate attempt to free four of his men trapped in an exploding tank has invented a device which May save hundreds of men fro death by mines and rocket at tacks. The four Youg men died an the next Day Shiflet lost four More from his Small mechanize reconnaissance unit when the to Lead track hit an antitank  attack was different but the Story was the same. It was Al ways the Lead track and the men who suffered were inside and did t have time to get out. Shiflet and his men tried everything from carrying their ammunition in trailers to cutting Down the Lead track team to two. Still the Viet Cong too their toll. Last month the men in the unit came up with a modified steering mechanism which Al lows the Driver of the track to sit on the top and not inside the machine. The device consists of two Long bars that slip Over the steering apparatus and a third that bolts onto the accelerator pedal. The bars extend up out of the Driver s Hatch and allow him to sit on top of the track. If the track detonates a mine the worst that can happen is that heis thrown to the ground. The device already has pro edits Worth four lives have been saved. On the second Day of it trial run the modified Lead track hit a mine. The drive was thrown off suffering a Cut Over the left  155mm mine blasted the engine into the Driver s seat. Inthe following week three More Drivers were  each platoon carries two spares. Port wears completion Saigon special Portland a new . Army logistic port 230 Miles Northeast of Here is nearing completion after nearly 16 months of construction barmy engineers at Vung to Bay in  began on june 26, 1966, when a task Force of com Bat engineers landed on the Nar Row Beach in support of a search destroy and secure operation conducted by a brigade of the 101st airborne div. Rough trip it. Col. Robert f. Wilke an a1e sky Raider Pilot surveys the damage to his aircraft after returning from a Rescue Mission in North  is assigned to the 602nd fighter so commando. Rescue missions Over the North Are continuing despite heavy anti aircraft fire encountered by the tactical fighter pilots. Of photo hands free for weapons radio chips on him Washington special growing number of radio opera tors in Vietnam Are Able to Monitor combat communication nets while keeping both hands Freeto handle their weapons As the result of work by an army Industry team. The Quick reaction project entailed adapting a featherweight hands free speaker for the widely used Back pack from the Hel met mounted receiver of the miniature squad radio. Meantime the squad set itself which includes its separate trans Mitter also is being employed in the Southeast Asia action. Standard speaker elements Are in a Handset which also contains the microphone. As born out by reports from the men in the thick of the Jungle fighting having one Arm tied up by con stantly holding the Handset against an ear to Monitor a radio net is sometimes More than a simple inconvenience. The chances of remaining inaction or surviving Are better if operators can quickly swing their weapons into action especially during Surprise  monitoring also helps ensure against missing important messages during such com Bat. In order to keep both their hands free a number of foot borne operators have been try ing a four Pound speaker de signed to convert the usual Lyback packed set to vehicular use to the top of the radio Case so that the speaker lies close to an ear. By contrast with this arrangement the squad radio speaker clips into position on the helmet rim and weighs Only six ounces a significant weight Sav ing for a heavily loaded foot sol Dier. Cache troops of the 9th inf div stack some of the More than600 weapons uncovered in a Viet Cong Tunnel about 30 Miles from Saigon. Found in the Tunnel exploration was 20,000 rounds of ammunition. Associated press photo of hits target in Selling bows for tribesmen Plesku Vietnam special a unique cooperative arrange ment Between two air Force officers and montagnard tribes men in the Vietnam Centra Highlands has Given a boost to the tribesmen s self help pro Gram. Maj. Robert g. Schuitz 633rdcombat support up director of personnel and capt. Daniel , director of base medical services Are the proprietors of montagnard industries an air Force civic action project that buys native crossbows from the Highland villages around Plesku air base and resells them As souvenirs to air Force Mem Bers at Plesku and other bases. Crossbows Are purchased froma Village cooperative in plei Brel with plasters and resold Ata profit. The profits Are used by air Force civic action officials to buy items for the Hill people that Are not available inthe Plesku area such As soap clothes medical supplies an tools. During the past eight months More than 1,000 bows have been sold to give the tribesmen an their families nearly $10,000 value in both plasters and goods