New head gear for the troops

Milford Daily News:

Learning from combat lessons in Iraq and Afghanistan, a new futuristic helmet being designed by researchers at Natick Labs will feature better ballistic protection and technological advances.
In the meantime, a Houston-based, nonprofit organization called Operation Helmet is sending padded helmet upgrade kits to troops, that will help protect them from brain injuries suffered by roadside bomb blasts, rocket-propelled grenades, bullets, shrapnel and other war-zone perils.

Researchers say American soldiers have suffered more head and brain injuries during the Iraq conflict than during any other war, and standard-issue helmets have not sufficiently protected the troops.
A "next generation" Future Force Warrior helmet, being designed at the U.S. Army Soldier Systems Center in Natick, will hit the battlefield in 2010.
Until then, Operation Helmet’s founder, Dr. Bob Meaders and his team are outfitting the troops with the kits funded by citizen donations.
Included in the kit are seven shock-absorbing helmet pads that have a three-fold function -- to keep the helmet stable on the soldier’s head, to boost protection with shock-absorbing pads, and to provide comfort.

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In a report issued by the U.S. Marine Corps, program manager D.M. Fitzgerald wrote that a Field User Evaluation found that Marines preferred the unpadded lightweight model to having padded inserts. Soldiers complained, the study found, about the padded helmets’ thickness which "(increased) head temperature and discomfort" and didn’t allow for "the evaporation of sweat."
Many argue that comfort should be sacrificed for safety.
Bill Petro of Framingham, whose son Marine Sgt. William Petro has just returned to the States from Fallujah, Iraq, said that comfort would come after time.
"I think if they were a little uncomfortable, they would get used to it. If they get protected, I think that would be more important," said the former Marine.
Natick Lab researchers say soldiers in the field report having trouble keeping on their helmets, which shift upon impact and shock from explosions.
"We are taking lessons learned from the (Advanced Combat Helmet) in Afghanistan and Iraq," said Dutch DeGay, equipment specialist for the Future Force Warrior program at Natick Labs, alluding to the high number of brain and head traumas suffered by soldiers.

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Helmets are basically protection against schrapnel wounds typically caused by morter shells or grenades. They could never protect from an RPG which was designed to penetrate armor on tanks and APC's. Weight is also a consideration. It has to be factored into the total weight the troops is carrying. This total weight effects his ability to maneuver and avoid injury as well as inflict injury on the enemy. There is more.