U.S. military police armor-Point Blank R20-D bulletproof vest

Introduction of Point Blank R20-D bulletproof vest

For any large military base under the US military, the military police unit that maintains military discipline and manages the barracks is indispensable. The personnel of the US military police units deployed in Iraq, Afghanistan and other theaters, because they are in high-risk zones, are usually fully armed like infantrymen of conventional combat units, and can only be identified by the “MP” armband. The US military bases located in the United States and NATO allies are far away from the war zone. Naturally, the military police officers on duty no longer need to be fully armed. They usually wear normal uniforms/camouflage combat uniforms and matching military caps.

However, after the shooting at the Fort Hood base of the US military in Texas, the quiet and peaceful US military base suddenly became dangerous. The U.S. military police on duty at the base, in addition to dealing with the original daily tasks, must also be alert and respond to possible gunmen at any time. After the Fort Hood shooting in 2009, the U.S. military tightened security measures for military bases nationwide and introduced a series of new regulations, including strengthening cooperation with local civilian police and adding content to military training courses about base attacks by insiders (Of course, these measures did not effectively prevent the occurrence of similar incidents). As one of the countermeasures, the U.S. military police began to wear the R20-D bulletproof vest produced by Point Blank when on duty.

Material

The body of the Point Blank R20-D bulletproof vest is made of black nylon (there is also a red Firearms Instructor version), which is fixed by Velcro ELCRO® buckles on both sides of the body. The structure is very simple. The role of Point Blank R20-D bulletproof vest mainly includes three aspects: one is to provide ballistic protection for the military police; the other is identification; and finally, there is a limited carrying capacity.

Structural design

Point Blank R20-D bulletproof vest is equipped with 2 layers of partitions, which can be inserted into the soft bulletproof lining and SAPI hard bulletproof board according to the protection needs to obtain different protection levels. Of course, if you really don’t need protection, you can also remove the bulletproof material, and use the body of the bulletproof vest as a load-bearing vest.

The Point Blank R20-D bulletproof vest is made of black commonly used by law enforcement agencies. There is a large-size Velcro on the chest and on the back, which can be pasted with a black background and white reflective identification logo with the words “MILITARY POLICE”.

In a base where soldiers gather, this black-and-white combination can very intuitively distinguish the military police from ordinary U.S. military officers and soldiers (in fact, the military of various countries will allocate specific uniforms for military police or units with similar functions to distinguish them, such as the British army. The red hat of the military police, the white helmet, gloves, and leggings of the US military police of World War II, the “dog tag” hung on the chest of the German military police of World War II, and the shiny electroplated helmet of the national army).

In the unlikely event of a shooting incident or similar situation, the base’s internal buildings and vehicles are numerous and crowded, creating obstacles for the military police and security personnel to search for and determine targets. Therefore, the mode of wearing a uniform bulletproof vest and multi-person group action can be used as a basis for distinguishing and identifying “foe and self”, preventing misunderstandings between “own people” and letting go of the real goal.

The webbing on the shoulders of the Point Blank R20-D bulletproof vest can be used to mount items such as radio microphones, flashlights and even video recording equipment. Since there is no secondary bag on the back, it won’t look bloated and cramped while wearing the Point Blank R20-D bulletproof vest.

There are a row of 4 fixed sub-bags under the front of the vest. Due to the limited capacity of the secondary bag, when the US military police are on duty, in addition to wearing the Point Blank R20-D bulletproof vest, they also need to wear the Duty Belt with the duty belt. Because the U.S. military police need to carry a lot of weapons and equipment when on duty, they are basically the same as the local civilian police: pistols, backup magazines, Taser stun guns, retractable batons, gas sprayers, handcuffs, handcuff keys, radio stations, flashlights As well as the notepad, plus personal items such as key wallets, the 4 pockets on the R20-D bulletproof vest obviously cannot fit. What’s more, weapons such as pistols, back-up magazines, Taser stun guns, telescopic batons, gas sprayers, handcuffs, and non-lethal police weapons are not simply “bring them with you”. At the critical moment, the weapon must be placed on the waist and other places within easy reach and easy extraction.

In response to the problem of limited carrying capacity, Point Blank specifically modified the design of the R20-D bulletproof vest. The improved Point Blank R20-D bulletproof vest R20-D Tactical Carrier with MOLLE has MOLLE webbing on the surface to facilitate the loading of different sub-bags.

The Point Blank R20-D bulletproof vest procured and equipped by the U.S. Army Gendarmerie, in addition to pasting the large-size “MILITARY POLICE” reflective logo on the front, also adds two small pieces of Velcro under the webbing on the left and right shoulders. The right side is used to paste the name strip with white characters on a black background, and the left side is used to paste the US Army Law Enforcement Shield Velcro seal.