Today body armor is an indispensable piece of individual protective gear for military, police, security, and even some civilians. Its main purpose is to guard the wearer against gunshot penetration and blunt-force violence, as well as occasional stabbing or cutting assaults. This paper aims to give individuals clear details on the various levels of body armor the diverse categories and the occasions on which the various body armors can be worn.
Types of Body Armor
Body armor is of different types which can be classified majorly in to soft and hard body armor.
Soft Body Armor is constructed from fabric material, which weaves like those used in ballistic fabric such as Kevlar or other aramid fiber. He noted that it is intended for use in offering protection against threats that have relatively low velocities such as handgun bullets and shrapnel. Owing to its flexibly and light weight, soft body armor is usually worn as concealed vests below the wears, thus commonly used by police and security services.
Hard Body Armor uses rigid plates of steel, ceramics or Ultra high molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE). These plates are able to compromise higher velocity projectiles such as rifle bullets. Hard exhibits more protection, and bulkiness than soft appearing more appropriate for the military uses or regions with maximum danger.
Stab-Resistant Armor is yet another category is designed particularly to offer protection against stabbing and slashing weapons. This type of armor is of great interest to corrections officers and anyone else who faces the risk of edged weapons in the workplace.
Levels of Body Armor
Currently there are different classes of firearms, the level of protection offered by body armor is rated by the National Institute of Justice (NIJ) in the United States. While there may be a few other small standards in other countries, the NIJ levels are known and utilized across the world.
Level IIA and II: These levels provide protection against smaller caliber handguns and are usually light and easy to carry about by the police, which qualify this type of vests for every day use.
Level IIIA: This level affords more protection against larger calibers up to handguns and some submachine gun rounds for this reason it is widely used by policemen and other private securities.
Level III: Protecting against rifle bullets, this level uses hard armor plates. It is ideal for military and other persons in dangerous posts.
Level IV: The highest protection level, sheer bulletproof capability, capable of stopping armor piercing rifle rounds. This level is being adopted mostly by armed forces as well as specialized police departments.
Uses of Body Armor
Military Use: Soldiers in theatres of operation need maximum protection since they could encounter various levels of ballistics threats. In such situations, hard body armor with Level III or IV plates is that is often worn to protect against rifle fire and fragments from explosives.
Law Enforcement: Law enforcement agencies tend to wear soft ballistic vests that are Level II or Level IIIA for handgun threats which are prevalent in most cities. The armor is typically worn beneath the uniform in order to maintain concealment and less invasive comfort.
Private Security: Personal protection officers, personal bodyguards, and cash in-transit personnel covering high-risk areas may use soft ballistic vests with a greater NIJ class or even a hard vest according to the level of risk encountered out there.
Civilians: Although relatively rare occurrences, there are occasions in which civilians may elect to don body armor at their workplace for example during simulating shooting incidents or on any other instance that may make the use of firearms rife. Soft body armor is preferred by civilians because it is not noticeable or noticeable very easily.
Correctional Officers: The risk of staining is higher in prisons than shooting and therefore stab resistant vest can be lifesaving to correctional officers exposed to bladed weapons.
Specialized Units: The officers in SWAT teams and those in other tactical units need a soft and hard body armor while engaging in a range of operations involving threat of attack with firearms, from handguns to rifles.
Conclusion
Therefore, it is necessary to describe various kinds of body armor, their classes, and purposes in order to define which protection is the most suitable one. Western-style tactical soft body armor is also available for civilian use together with armor with fabric badges for military and security personnel Military and law enforcement units will also benefit from correct choice of body armor together with armor with fabric badges suitable for other uses. Specific, measurably achievable goals to consider while making decisions are the environment where person will be experiencing threat; the level of threat that would be posed to him or her; and other needs that he or she may have in the environment.