Ballistic Combat Shirt: Individual – civilian winner Rob- ert DiLalla leveraged multiple components across the Army’s research and development programs to develop the new combat shirt. DiLalla is a supervisory general engineer at NSRDEC and leader of the Infantry Combat Equipment Team. (See Faces of the Force, Page 72.)


During peak deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom, Soldiers’ protective gear expanded in number of parts and in weight. In FY12, NSRDEC engaged in a deliberate science and technology initiative intended to revolutionize body armor architecture and thus enhance Soldier performance and surviv- ability. With the support of the Program Executive Office for Soldier since 2014, DiLalla and a team of scientists and engi- neers integrated more than four types of high-performance materials created through research by the athletic apparel indus- try and the Army to produce the Ballistic Combat Shirt.


In a statement endorsing DiLalla’s efforts, NSRDEC Director Douglas A. Tamilio said the Ballistic Combat Shirt “signifi- cantly increases the protection and flexibility of our personal protective ensemble, ensuring we are giving our Soldiers the edge they need.” Te Ballistic Combat Shirt will be part of the Army’s Torso and Extremities Protection system, slated for field- ing in 2019, which incorporates lightweight materials such as polyethylene—a type of plastic—instead of heavier Kevlar for lower-risk missions.


SURVIVABILITY GOES MORE MOBILE


The Ballistic Combat Shirt, which provides Soldiers with better range of motion, less bulk and increased mobility, is the result of NSRDEC research using various high-performance materials created through athletic apparel industry and Army efforts. NSRDEC undertook the research in response to an increase in the weight and complexity of Soldiers’ battlefield protective gear. (U.S. Army photo courtesy of PEO Soldier)


Greene was a proponent of technologies that could give Soldiers the advantage in battle, notably when he was deputy commanding general of the U.S. Army Research, Development and Engineering Command and simultaneously senior commander of NSRDEC from May 2009 to May 2011.


SAM Junctional Tourniquet: Te winning submission in the group category was designed by a team from the Army Institute of Surgical Research. Te device was conceived through part- nerships with the U.S. Army Medical Research and Materiel Command, the U.S. Army Medical Department Center and School, Wake Forest University, and SAM Medical Products, driven by data on recurring problems for medics responding to combat trauma.


“Hemorrhage remains the leading cause of death among combat casualties in conventional warfare,” said Dr. John F. Kragh Jr., an orthopedic surgeon and researcher at the institute. Kragh, a retired Army colonel who served for 30 years and returned to Army medicine as a civilian, brought together a multidisciplinary team of experts to develop the tourniquet. In a case report of its first use on the battlefield, in January 2014, the team described the basis for developing the tourniquet. It was the story of Sgt. 1st Class Kurt Schmid, a special operations forces medic who tried every means available to him to save the life of Cpl. Jamie Smith, but could not, after Smith was wounded on the streets of Mogadishu, Somalia. Te story became part of the book and movie “Black Hawk Down,” and the experience led Kragh and


ASC.ARMY.MIL 85


SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY +


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