TM 10-8400-203-23
Section Il. REPAIR PROCEDURES
3-4. GENERAL
Materials used in the repair of vests will be serviceable materials recovered from similar salvaged items, when
authorized, or preferably, will be new materials as specified in section Ill. New materials will be requisitioned
from stock under the national stock numbers and/or item descriptions as listed and will conform to the
appropriate specifications. When not available from stock, materials may be purchased locally that conform as
closely as possible to the standard material for emergency repair. Extreme care should be exercised in respect
to emergency materials as replacement for the vinyl casing, The vinyl casing is critical in maintaining the ballistic
integrity of the nylon ballistic insert material as the ballistic protection of the armor is significantly decreased if
the ballistic insert becomes wet.
3-4. REPAIR AND MAINTENANCE OF BODY ARMOR
a. Inspection.
(1)
(2)
(3)
(4)
Inspect the overall condition of the outer shell. It should be carefully examined to determine whether it
is worthy of cleaning and repair of whether it should be replaced with a new outer shell.
Inspect vest for a complete set of internal stiffeners. Any vest without a set of internal stiffeners will
bear a stock number such as 8470-00-823-7370, 8470-00-823-7371, 8470-00-823-7372, or
8470-00-823-7373, and shall be automatically classified as a condition code H. A vest without
stiffeners will be disposed of in accordance with AR 755-20.
Each vest will be inspected to determine the proper classification and identification (item description,
size, and stock number).
Prior to the removal of the outer cover for cleaning, inspect the cover to make sure that the
identification labels (size and stock number is secure and/or the markings are legible). If the vest can
not be properly identified as to size, refer to table 3-1 to determine vest size in relation to
measurements listed.
3-3
