just want to pass this to yall. please help operation helmet if you can . i did ! thanks tbh...........Serving to protect
Retired Navy doctor's nonprofit helps troops upgrade helmets for better comfort, safety
By LINDSAY WISE
HOUSTON CHRONICLE
Dec. 4, 2010, 7:33AM
1 2 .
Julio Cortez Chronicle
Bob Meaders started Operation Helmet, a nonprofit that provides free helmet upgrades to troops, after learning that his grandson's unit had deficient helmets in 2004.
Share Del.icio.usDiggTwitterYahoo! BuzzFacebookStumbleUponEmail Close [X]Resources HOW TO HELP
Operation Helmet: www.operation-helmet.org
Houston Marine Moms: www.houstonmarinemoms.org
When Bob Meaders found out in 2004 that his grandson's Marine rifle team had been issued helmets without shock-absorbent pads, the retired Navy doctor was appalled.
"I was in Vietnam in '68 and saw enough brain injuries there to last me a lifetime, and to see them starting up again, especially when something can be done about it, is something I just can't live with," said "Doc" Meaders, 76, of Montgomery.
Meaders and his wife, LaVera, started Operation Helmet, a nonprofit that has donated more than 53,000 helmet upgrade kits free of charge to troops serving in Iraq and Afghanistan.
"It's a labor of love I wish I didn't have to do," Meaders said.
Although padding now is standard issue in all helmets, Meaders said the military's choice to switch to cheaper but harder pads several years ago had unintended consequences for troops, many of whom tell him they loosen the straps or even remove their helmets whenever possible because of headaches, sores and discomfort.
"They're saving maybe 10 or 15 bucks per helmet, but the cost of one brain-injured service member is $2.7 million, plus the loss to family and friends and the rest of us," Meaders said. "It's a terrible cost to the society in general and the individual just because of a silly move just to save a couple of bucks. And we feel our troops ought to have the best America can provide, not the cheapest."
Operation Helmet, partnering with Houston Marine Moms and other Texans, recently sent 245 helmet upgrade kits to the 1st Battalion, 23rd Marine Regiment, a Houston-based reserve unit training at Camp Pendleton in California for deployment to Afghanistan next year. Meaders would like to raise enough funds to outfit the entire battalion of more than 800 Marines.
'A huge success'
Sgt. Dan Smith, 25, of Austin contacted Meaders in June to request the kits for fellow Marines in the 1/23, also known as the Lone Star Battalion.
"For my last deployment (to Iraq in 2007-08), I requested 50 kits from Operation Helmet, and it was a huge success," Smith said in an e-mail to the Houston Chronicle from Pendleton. "All the Marines said their helmets were much more comfortable. The standard- issue pads are much thicker and stiff, meaning the helmet is not as comfortable and you either had to upgrade to a larger size helmet or have the helmet sit higher on your head for less protection."
Smith said he can't speak to the level of safety provided by the standard-issue pads, "but anything to make it more comfortable and still have the same level of protection is definitely welcomed."
Operation Helmet buys helmet upgrade kits for $34 each from Oregon Aero, a company Meaders selected after researching top-of-the-line protective head gear recommended by demining experts.
Meaders said the Oregon Aero pads mold to your head "like a Tempur-pedic mattress" for a better, safer fit.
"Some blasts you can't survive, just like some car crashes you can't survive," Meaders said, adding that wearing a helmet without pads is like riding in a car without seat belts. A helmet fitted with standard-issue pads is like a car with lap belts but no shoulder harnesses, he said. "This one," Meaders said, holding up an Oregon Aero pad, "is lap belt, shoulder harness and air bags."
An Army spokeswoman said military officials are confident the standard-issue pad provides the best overall protection, based on extensive testing in Army and Department of Defense laboratories.
The Office of the Director of Operational Test and Evaluation reported to Congress in 2009 that soldiers and Marines have indicated no clear preference for any specific pad supplier or design, Army Lt. Col. Alayne P. Conway said in a written statement.
The standard-issue pads are provided by National Industries for the Blind (NIB) through a partnership agreement with an Ohio company called Team Wendy, Conway said.
She pointed out that the NIB's agreement with Team Wendy expires in fiscal year 2011-12. Any pad suspension manufacturer, including Oregon Aero, that meets Army requirements and other NIB selection criteria will be considered for the next partnering agreement, she said.
Time of the essence
Meaders said service members can't afford to wait.
"I'm butting my head against the wall in terms of getting the military to change," said Meaders, who made his case in testimony before Congress. "Obviously, I think it's important for us to continue to give the troops what they need and what they deserve."
Meaders' grandson, Justin, took an honorable discharge last week from the Marine Corps after two tours in Iraq, but Meaders says Operation Helmet's mission will continue as long as necessary.
"It's not done today, and I can't quit till it is," he said.
The "Doc" said he receives a near-constant stream of e-mails from service members requesting kits.
One arrived in his inbox at 10:42 p.m. Wednesday from the leader of a 20-man scout sniper team in Afghanistan.
"My guys will go for 40+ hours sometimes, with their helmets on, and it's bad enough that we've sustained a couple TBIs (traumatic brain injuries), worse when the helmet compounds their headaches even more," the lieutenant wrote.
"Can you imagine having a migraine headache for 40- plus hours and trying to do your job as a scout sniper?" Meaders fumed. "It just makes you crazy."
Operation Helmet has a waiting list for an additional 400 kits requested by soldiers and Marines in Iraq and Afghanistan on top of the ones needed for the 1/23.
"Every day we get more requests," Meaders said. "Feel like hell having to say, 'Sorry, you're wait-listed.
Retired Navy doctor's nonprofit helps troops upgrade helmets for better comfort, safety
By LINDSAY WISE
HOUSTON CHRONICLE
Dec. 4, 2010, 7:33AM
1 2 .
Julio Cortez Chronicle
Bob Meaders started Operation Helmet, a nonprofit that provides free helmet upgrades to troops, after learning that his grandson's unit had deficient helmets in 2004.
Share Del.icio.usDiggTwitterYahoo! BuzzFacebookStumbleUponEmail Close [X]Resources HOW TO HELP
Operation Helmet: www.operation-helmet.org
Houston Marine Moms: www.houstonmarinemoms.org
When Bob Meaders found out in 2004 that his grandson's Marine rifle team had been issued helmets without shock-absorbent pads, the retired Navy doctor was appalled.
"I was in Vietnam in '68 and saw enough brain injuries there to last me a lifetime, and to see them starting up again, especially when something can be done about it, is something I just can't live with," said "Doc" Meaders, 76, of Montgomery.
Meaders and his wife, LaVera, started Operation Helmet, a nonprofit that has donated more than 53,000 helmet upgrade kits free of charge to troops serving in Iraq and Afghanistan.
"It's a labor of love I wish I didn't have to do," Meaders said.
Although padding now is standard issue in all helmets, Meaders said the military's choice to switch to cheaper but harder pads several years ago had unintended consequences for troops, many of whom tell him they loosen the straps or even remove their helmets whenever possible because of headaches, sores and discomfort.
"They're saving maybe 10 or 15 bucks per helmet, but the cost of one brain-injured service member is $2.7 million, plus the loss to family and friends and the rest of us," Meaders said. "It's a terrible cost to the society in general and the individual just because of a silly move just to save a couple of bucks. And we feel our troops ought to have the best America can provide, not the cheapest."
Operation Helmet, partnering with Houston Marine Moms and other Texans, recently sent 245 helmet upgrade kits to the 1st Battalion, 23rd Marine Regiment, a Houston-based reserve unit training at Camp Pendleton in California for deployment to Afghanistan next year. Meaders would like to raise enough funds to outfit the entire battalion of more than 800 Marines.
'A huge success'
Sgt. Dan Smith, 25, of Austin contacted Meaders in June to request the kits for fellow Marines in the 1/23, also known as the Lone Star Battalion.
"For my last deployment (to Iraq in 2007-08), I requested 50 kits from Operation Helmet, and it was a huge success," Smith said in an e-mail to the Houston Chronicle from Pendleton. "All the Marines said their helmets were much more comfortable. The standard- issue pads are much thicker and stiff, meaning the helmet is not as comfortable and you either had to upgrade to a larger size helmet or have the helmet sit higher on your head for less protection."
Smith said he can't speak to the level of safety provided by the standard-issue pads, "but anything to make it more comfortable and still have the same level of protection is definitely welcomed."
Operation Helmet buys helmet upgrade kits for $34 each from Oregon Aero, a company Meaders selected after researching top-of-the-line protective head gear recommended by demining experts.
Meaders said the Oregon Aero pads mold to your head "like a Tempur-pedic mattress" for a better, safer fit.
"Some blasts you can't survive, just like some car crashes you can't survive," Meaders said, adding that wearing a helmet without pads is like riding in a car without seat belts. A helmet fitted with standard-issue pads is like a car with lap belts but no shoulder harnesses, he said. "This one," Meaders said, holding up an Oregon Aero pad, "is lap belt, shoulder harness and air bags."
An Army spokeswoman said military officials are confident the standard-issue pad provides the best overall protection, based on extensive testing in Army and Department of Defense laboratories.
The Office of the Director of Operational Test and Evaluation reported to Congress in 2009 that soldiers and Marines have indicated no clear preference for any specific pad supplier or design, Army Lt. Col. Alayne P. Conway said in a written statement.
The standard-issue pads are provided by National Industries for the Blind (NIB) through a partnership agreement with an Ohio company called Team Wendy, Conway said.
She pointed out that the NIB's agreement with Team Wendy expires in fiscal year 2011-12. Any pad suspension manufacturer, including Oregon Aero, that meets Army requirements and other NIB selection criteria will be considered for the next partnering agreement, she said.
Time of the essence
Meaders said service members can't afford to wait.
"I'm butting my head against the wall in terms of getting the military to change," said Meaders, who made his case in testimony before Congress. "Obviously, I think it's important for us to continue to give the troops what they need and what they deserve."
Meaders' grandson, Justin, took an honorable discharge last week from the Marine Corps after two tours in Iraq, but Meaders says Operation Helmet's mission will continue as long as necessary.
"It's not done today, and I can't quit till it is," he said.
The "Doc" said he receives a near-constant stream of e-mails from service members requesting kits.
One arrived in his inbox at 10:42 p.m. Wednesday from the leader of a 20-man scout sniper team in Afghanistan.
"My guys will go for 40+ hours sometimes, with their helmets on, and it's bad enough that we've sustained a couple TBIs (traumatic brain injuries), worse when the helmet compounds their headaches even more," the lieutenant wrote.
"Can you imagine having a migraine headache for 40- plus hours and trying to do your job as a scout sniper?" Meaders fumed. "It just makes you crazy."
Operation Helmet has a waiting list for an additional 400 kits requested by soldiers and Marines in Iraq and Afghanistan on top of the ones needed for the 1/23.
"Every day we get more requests," Meaders said. "Feel like hell having to say, 'Sorry, you're wait-listed.
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