Master Sgt. Jonathan Holmes says civilian audiences usually express polite interest in the array of elbow- and knee-pads, ballistic eye wear and other soldier protective gear that he's got on display. But what they really want to know about -- especially if they've got someone in the Army -- is the body armor."That's the main thing," Holmes said during a recent visit to Fort Lewis in Washington, where he and others from the Army program that develops soldier gear showed off the latest line."That's the one that stops the bullets. That's the one that's going to make sure their soldier comes home," Holmes said. "Talking to family members, they ask some very specific questions, because they want to know."Holmes works for PEO Soldier - more formally, Program Executive Office Soldier out of Fort Belvoir, Va. - the Army agency responsible for fielding virtually every piece of equipment a soldier wears or carries into combat. For the last year or so, the office has taken its show on the road to U.S. military installations and community events.In part, employees are after feedback from the users -- soldiers who've been to Iraq and Afghanistan. But they also want to reassure family members that the days of "hillbilly armor" are long gone, and to dispel the notion that soldiers and their families have to dig into their own pockets if they want the best gear."We want to educate the family members that they are receiving the best equipment possible," said Debi Dawson, a PEO Soldier spokeswoman, "and that we're always looking for the next best things."Most of the gear was familiar to soldiers at Fort Lewis. The soldiers from the four Fort Lewis Stryker brigades to deploy to Iraq have been outfitted with the Army's latest high-speed equipment.Experts also showed off an array of crew-served weapons, including a prototype lightweight .50-caliber machine gun. There were sniper rifles, sights, laser range finders, helmets, gloves, cold-weather gear, eye protection and dozens of other items and systems.Command Sgt. Maj. Jeff Huggins, who stopped by with his fiancee, Penny Unsinn, offered an impromptu testimonial for some of the gear.He returned home to Fort Lewis last October after an Iraq tour with the 5th Battalion, 20th Infantry Regiment, a Stryker unit that saw heavy fighting in Baqoubah.Huggins said one of his soldiers had three pairs of ballistic glasses shot off his face and two others blown off in explosions -- all without injury.He also said he kept a collection of some of the protective chest and back plates worn by soldiers that had been hit by enemy rifle fire. None of the soldiers was seriously wounded. He inscribed each with the soldier's name, and the date and location of the hit, Huggins said.His battalion lost soldiers, but none to bullets that penetrated their body armor, Huggins said."Nobody had a hole," he said. "I like my plates."E-mail Michael Gilbert at mike.gilbert(at)thenewstribune.com(Distributed by Scripps Howard News Service, www.scrippsnews.com.)
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