New body armour saves soldier's everyday life in Afghanistan

A soldier has defended the army's new entire body armour right after he credited it with saving his life when he was shot on patrol in Helmand. driving bbc

Ranger Ryan Boyd from The Royal Irish regiment was shot from the facet, however the bullet went to the steel plates in his armour as opposed to his entire body.

The Osprey armour has been criticised for staying too restrictive to maneuver freely plus the plates staying too large.

But 27-year-old Boyd from Northern Ireland thinks the criticism is unfair.

"It's an astounding bit of equipment," he claimed. "People give it negative press but I think it is really excellent.

"If I hadn't received the new entire body armour plus the facet plates fitted, the round would have surely passed straight as a result of my lungs and my heart and i probably wouldn't be right here now."

The Osprey Assault entire body armour has all of the stopping energy of previous equipment however the Ministry of Defence (MoD) says it is really additional tailored for troops in locations like Afghanistan.

They say it is really closer fitting, less cumbersome and less difficult to maneuver in regardless of the criticism.

Though the latest armour weighs the identical as older tools, it is really a third of the thickness and spreads the load amongst the shoulders plus the waist.

You can find also new pockets from the sides which make it possible for soldiers to put in smaller armoured plates roughly the dimension of a notepad, among which saved Ranger Ryan Boyd's life.
On patrol

Boyd was on a program patrol from the Nad-e Ali region when he came under fire by insurgents.

He claimed: "When I used to be shot it hit me from the facet, it spun me suitable round and i ended up from the ditch on my rear like a turtle."

He describes obtaining shot as just like "getting punched from the ribs 20 occasions in one go".

When he bought up he felt something operating down his chest, nevertheless it wasn't blood.

The bullet received gone as a result of his h2o bottle just before hitting his armour.

He says he didn't realise how close a shave he received received right up until he bought rear from patrol.

"Once I bought rear into camp I used to be fairly shook up, it kicked in what happened.

"When it happened I used to be laughing about it from the ditch but then it kicked in and i commenced to sense the worry of it.

"But I am rear out on patrol. I am all suitable."