Army Recalls Some Combat Helmets

The Army has issued a recall of more than 30,000 helmets -- not because the helmet shells are flawed, but because it found that four screws that attach the chinstrap and related parts didn't meet Army specs.

The screws were supplied by a subcontractor to helmet-maker Gentex Corp., according to the Army. In a press release issued yesterday, the Army said Gentex is alleging the subcontractor falsified certificates of compliance for the steel screws it furnished for the helmets.

In all, 34,218 Advanced Combat Helmets are being recalled for failing ballistic tests. The number includes 15,380 Army helmets, 12,000 Air Force helmets and another 6,838 helmets which were never issued by Defense Logistics Agency.

Gentex is one of four companies that makes the helmets, and has delivered 297,000 of the 1.2 million that the Army has received, officials said.

The helmet shells are "absolutely safe and effective, that's the bottom line," Lt. Col. Robert Myles, product manager for Soldier Survivability, said in the Army's press statement.

"Gentex made the mistake and corrected themselves by bringing it to the government and letting us know that their subcontractor had replaced the hardware with unauthorized hardware," said Myles.

Myles said once Army Criminal Investigation Division has completed its investigation, Gentex will absorb the costs and resources to change out the screws. The subcontractor was not identified in the Army's statement.

Myles said the helmet itself passed ballistic testing without any problems, and that it's just the screw that needs to be replaced, added Myles.

The screws failed the ballistics tests at temperatures of minus 60 degrees Fahrenheit and at temperatures above 160 degrees Fahrenheit. In those extreme conditions, rounds were fired directly at the screw heads.

"The four screws on the helmet combined represent less than one half of one percent of the total surface area of the helmet," Barry Hauck, deputy program manager for Soldier Survivability, said in the Army's statement. Though the temperature extremes are severe, the requirements are set to far exceed the environments the helmets are eventually bound to operate in, he said.