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Letter Re: Surplus Interceptor Body Armor
James,
Military surplus Interceptor Body Armor (IBA) is starting to show up on eBay from
Iraq war veterans who had to purchase the military spec armor themselves before
the
military was able to issue the armor to every soldier. This week, I purchased
a full set of the Interceptor body armor with the front and back small
arms protective insert small
arms protective insert (SAPI) rifle
plates from an Army officer via eBay. This equipment is heavy (around 17 pounds)
tactical armor that is bulky. It offers good
protection and intimidation factors for
post-TEOTWAWKI uses
and is perfect for guard duty or working security related jobs. The Dragonskin
armor is better but is too expensive (~$5,000) unless
if you need it for a day job (e.g. contractor in Iraq or Afghanistan). I would
still recommend separately buying a concealable, lighter Level IIIA bullet
proof vest for use in day-to-day, non-tactical applications, particularly for
trading and leaving your home or retreat during an economic collapse or severe
economic depression. Finally, your mileage can vary purchasing on eBay. The
condition of the equipment varies greatly, not all auctions include the SAPI
rifle plates, and some are for the older (defective) versions that used the
Zylan material. I would recommend that SurvivalBlog readers create an e-mail
alert on eBay to have eBay send them an email when the key word "interceptor
armor" appears in new auctions. There are some bargains and more sets
of Interceptor Body Armor are starting to show up in eBay auctions. - Dr. Richard
