Armor Challenge

Veterans Tech Inc (VTI) successfully unveiled The MitiGator™ shock mitigation system to the Armor Challenge participants on March 8, 2007 near Memphis, TN. The 3 day event held at the Olive Security Training Center near Memphis, TN drew an excellent crowd of body, building and vehicle armor vendors, protection designers and investors from around the country. A variety of ballistic testing, an IED explosion and hand grenade blasts were performed in front of a standing room only group gathered on the 780 acre site of the Olive Security Training Center.

The MitiGator™ is a shock mitigation pad currently used in helicopter seats, Humvees and
Off-Shore boat racing. Produced by Sea Systems of Clarksville, TN, The MitiGator™ will soon be appearing behind body armor at a conflict near you. (Or near someone you love.)

It is no secret that although most body armor is hot to wear, it will do a decent job of preventing penetration. It is the resulting shock carrying through to the body behind the armor that often kills or injures the wearer.

This has been an issue of great concern to military and first responders ever since the use of body armor became widespread. Enter the combined minds of Col. Darrell Combs, USMC (Ret) and Rick and Barb McKinney, owners of Sea Systems.

The MitiGator™ is a fielded technology already successful in helicopters, wheeled vehicles and boats. By reducing shock and increasing protection to the people riding in those, the savings in disability payments alone is worth the effort of up fitting to The MitiGator™.

The next logical step was to develop a product using the same technology that could be used behind existing body armor in order to better protect the human assets wearing it.

The TromPak™ combines the cooling and warming properties of CoolSuite® with the shock mitigation of The MitiGator™. The simple reduction of blunt force trauma is a goal that has been difficult to achieve, but to combine that effect with something that will also keep people cooler when it is hot and warmer when the cold weather strikes is extraordinary.

"It was time to step up and do something for the men and women who put this stuff on to protect us," said Col Combs. "It is crazy that something that works so well and is so affordable is not widely available to the troops. We plan on fixing that. If the government won't buy it right away, families and service groups at home can certainly get it done. It's cheap and it works."

The visual evidence after the ballistic testing at the Armor Challenge bears that thinking out. After shots from 9mm and .45 cal pistols against Level 3 body armor and the NATO rifle rounds of 5.56 and 7.62 against Level 4 ceramic plates were completed, the aftermath was peeled away to view the 5 inches of clay approximating the density of a human body. The clay without The MitiGator™ showed some depressions over 1 inch deep and 3 inches across, which could be fatal or extremely debilitating at the least. The clay protected by The MitiGator™ revealed anything from no mark whatsoever from some rounds to very minor impressions of the patented grid pattern pressed into the clay from the heaviest 7.62 round. The MitiGator™ also proved to be somewhat protective of the backside of the armor plates. The tests without The MitiGator™ showed more damage to the plate than the test plate using The MitiGator™. By dissipating the shock over a wider area, the plate seems to hold together better, allowing it to perhaps repel an extra strike or two if necessary.

"The results are highly conclusive and repeatable every time. The MitiGator™ allows less shock to be transmitted through the armor to the body. That saves lives," said Combs. "It's just that simple."

CoolSuite® is a technology that slows the transfer and exchange of outside temperature and body heat to create a more comfortable personal climate for the wearer in both hot and cold temperatures. By combining CoolSuite® with The MitiGator™, two major issues concerning body armor are addressed; survivability and comfort. The more hours one spends wearing the armor in a hostile environment, the better the odds are it will be on the body when it needs to be protected. The more comfortable the armor is to wear, the better the odds are that it will be worn. Simple concept, but difficult to develop and implement the technology. VTI has done it with the TromPak™.