Troops back armoured underwear dubbed 'combat codpiece' (BBC)

[eppur_se_muova]

By Caroline Wyatt
Defence correspondent, BBC News

The latest piece of high-tech kit due to be issued to all British forces deploying to Helmand already has a nickname. It is known by the troops who have tested it as the "combat codpiece".

The name may be irreverent, but the intention behind the new piece of body armour is deadly serious: to protect soldiers' most important piece of personal kit from blast injuries to the pelvic area caused by the Taliban's roadside bombs.

All those deploying to Helmand are already being issued with four pairs of special anti-blast underpants.

They look like black cycling shorts, but are made from special ballistic material crafted from silk and synthetics, which is ultra-lightweight but can stop or mitigate the effects of most small pieces of shrapnel and dirt travelling at high velocity after a blast.

Although no figures are available, many soldiers wounded by roadside bombs in Afghanistan have suffered severe injuries to the pelvic area, mainly thanks to the increased use of "victim-operated" roadside bombs, when the weight of a soldier or a vehicle triggers the explosion.
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more: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-12014274




Alternative headline: combat troops now wearing silk underwear :evilgrin:

[Adsos Letter]

1. combat codpiece ...Combat...Codpiece ...CombatCodpiece...

I swear...If Skinner EVER allows another user name-change period... :D

[niceypoo]

2. Update us when the 'combat assless leather chaps' come out

Then they will have the full ensemble

[Ozymanithrax]

3. I guess that beats sitting on your helmit. n/t

[petronius]

4. If I'd thought about it, I would have assumed that groinal armor was already standard

Kind of surprised troops are willing to deploy without it - I know I'd trade a helmet or vest for a bulletproof codpiece any day (or I would have when I was 18)...