Air Force Materiel Command wants the Air Force to undertake no new contracts with body armor maker Pinnacle Armor Inc., and, if approved, the debarment request would prohibit any federal agency from dealing with the California-based company, reports Megan Scully of CongressDaily. Pinnacle sold Dragon Skin body armor to the Air Force and other services, claiming that it met a level of ballistic testing certification that it did not. At a hearing on the issue last week, Douglas Thomas, executive director of the Air Force Office of Special Investigations, stated, “All Pinnacle Dragon Skin SOV 2000 armor received by AFOSI were clearly and falsely marked [National Institute of Justice] Level III.” He added that AFOSI had an independent lab test the armor and it failed.
Three of four congressional committees with influence over defense policy have voted to change the official name of the Department of Defense to the Department of War—but final approval of the Pentagon rebrand is months away and not yet assured.