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Contents • • • History Helmet types Why upgrade Testimonials What the upgrade looks

History • Doc Bob’s grandson, Justin, a Marine combat engineer, was in a convoy-escort

Helmet types • PASGT – Personal Armor System – PASGT Ground Troops (K-Pot, Kevlar,

Helmet Types Copyright © 2012 Operation Helmet. All Rights Reserved.

Why upgrade? • Stability • Protection • Comfort – Buoyancy • Durability The Life

Why Upgrade? • A brain damaged troop – Wants to be a productive member

Why Upgrade? • Bottom line: – The pads that are issued today are •

Why Upgrade? Survival Unlikely Critical Severe Serious Moderate Minor * No Injury Studies indicate

Helmet Test Dummy The Life You Save May Save Another! Copyright © 2012 Operation

Field Installed The Life You Save May Save Another! Copyright © 2012 Operation Helmet.

Upgrades Kits Sent and Requests Received? • Over 63, 000 upgrade kits have been

Average Donations Average $268. 54 Average of all < $10 K $166. 62 Average

Volunteers The Life You Save May Save Another! Copyright © 2012 Operation Helmet. All

Testimonials • I’m a squad leader and paratrooper. I recently had the opportunity to

Testimonials • …my vehicle was blown up by an I. E. D. When it

Testimonials • Dec 23, 2007: The marine corps had issued me back in 2006

Testimonials • Dec 21, 2007: Our pads here suck. I will appreciate anything that

Testimonials • Dec 2, 2007: This will be my 15 th time in BAD

Testimonials • Nov 17, 2007: i heard about this website through a battle buddy

Testimonials • Nov 14, 2007: "I have recently received a shipment of helmet pads

What the upgrade looks like For the older PASGT Helmet. For the newer LWH,

What can you do? • Send a donation • Organize a fund raiser through

Perspective • Throughout American history, citizens have pitched in to help our troops •

Slides: 25

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History • Doc Bob’s grandson, Justin, a Marine combat engineer, was in a convoy-escort training in California. He learned from a Marine gunny just back from Iraq about the protective upgrade kit. • Researched with US Navy and French Explosive Research docs, de-mining pros in the US and Europe. • Started only to outfit Justin's Company. Word spread through the grapevine from Marine to Marine, then to soldiers, sailors, and airmen. • From a start of 100, we have shipped over 44, 000. The Life You Save May Save Another! Copyright © 2012 Operation Helmet. All Rights Reserved.

Helmet types • PASGT – Personal Armor System – PASGT Ground Troops (K-Pot, Kevlar, Fritz) • MICH – Modular Integrated MICH Communications Helmet (SOF) • ACH – Advanced Combat Helmet (Army) ACH • LWH – Lightweight Helmet (USMC) LWH The Life You Save May Save Another! Copyright © 2012 Operation Helmet. All Rights Reserved.

Why Upgrade? • A brain damaged troop – Wants to be a productive member of society – Wants to live an independent life – Costs society an average of $2, 500, 000 in medical and related care over the course of their life • A helmet upgrade kit costs $100 $60 $34 • Do the math! The Life You Save May Save Another! Copyright © 2012 Operation Helmet. All Rights Reserved.

Why Upgrade? • Bottom line: – The pads that are issued today are • “Hot, Hard, and Uncomfortable” – The pads from Op Helmet are cooler and more comfortable. – When a troop is not thinking about a painful helmet, they are focused on the mission – which includes getting themselves and their buddies home safely Copyright © 2012 Operation Helmet. All Rights Reserved.

Why Upgrade? Survival Unlikely Critical Severe Serious Moderate Minor * No Injury Studies indicate that the no injury line moves based on the amount of G’s and the duration of the impact. Two common scales show the “no injury line” at 50 and 90 Gs. Impact tests conducted IAW ANSI Z 90. 1 -92 @ 10 fps Intertek Testing Service, Cortland, NY The Life You Save May Save Another! Copyright © 2012 Operation Helmet. All Rights Reserved.

Upgrades Kits Sent and Requests Received? • Over 63, 000 upgrade kits have been sent to troops from all services • Consistently the backlog runs over 100 kits requested that we can’t provide The Life You Save May Save Another! Copyright © 2012 Operation Helmet. All Rights Reserved.

Average Donations Average $268. 54 Average of all < $10 K $166. 62 Average of all < $5 K $153. 73 Average all < $1 K $119. 40 The Life You Save May Save Another! Copyright © 2012 Operation Helmet. All Rights Reserved.

Testimonials • I’m a squad leader and paratrooper. I recently had the opportunity to test the BLSS Kit cushioning system in a most unpleasant way. I was involved in a mid-air collision about 50 feet above the ground. When that happened, our parachutes turned in on each other, collapsed at about 30 feet above ground and caused us to fall straight down. I did a rear left parachute landing fall and the force of impact caused my head to slap against the ground on the left. I was lightheaded for about 30 minutes and was able to jump again the next day. I have no doubt that your system prevented a more serious injury. " TSgt R. P. , USAF The Life You Save May Save Another! Copyright © 2012 Operation Helmet. All Rights Reserved.

Testimonials • …my vehicle was blown up by an I. E. D. When it hit the truck I was thrown from the vehicle at 45 to 50 mph. I rolled a good 100 feet. Your helmets upgrade kit saved my life and the other marines that I was able to help pull out of the burning truck. I walked away with three minor shrapnel wounds to my forehead and back of my neck, and just really sore. The kit suffered a burn in the front pad. How can I get a new pad? Sgt, Marines • "I got the pads for my helmet a couple of days ago and, man, what a difference. My helmet is actually enjoyable to wear. I bet it will really help if we get hit with another IED". HM 1 J. USN Medic The Life You Save May Save Another! Copyright © 2012 Operation Helmet. All Rights Reserved.

Testimonials • Dec 23, 2007: The marine corps had issued me back in 2006 a pad system. The one they issue however is very stiff and (seems) about 1. 5 inches thick. When installed it makes the kevlar stand several inches off your head and is ungainly and not very comfortable. Most marines in my company trashed them and stuck with the webbing, but I did a little surgery on mine and cut the pads in half. It was more comfortable and didn't sit so high but it didn't provide a tight seat with my head. Going on this second deployment, I was again issued a new LWH with the suspension system in it and a bag of those same junk pads. If I have to I would just wear the old suspension rather than install the pads they issue us. One of my friends last deployment had written you guys and I believe he received a set of Oregon aero pads. I remember trying his on and it was perfect. I have 25 Marines in my section at [deleted] and we are deploying to xxxxxx in March. If you guys could lock us on some quality pads we would be in your debt. Even if you can't, I want you to know that you and your organization are doing us a great service. USMC. The Life You Save May Save Another! Copyright © 2012 Operation Helmet. All Rights Reserved.

Testimonials • Dec 21, 2007: Our pads here suck. I will appreciate anything that is donated (40 troops) for everyone in my platoon. IED's are one of the more popular attacks that we go through here and good pads are hard to come by. Army NG • Dec 21, 2007: thank u for your support, once one person heard about these comfortable helmet pads everyone wanted some, so i got with a person from each squad and we signed up so that hopefully everyone in the company that goes out on missions will be able to have helmet pads. thank you again for your support. Army The Life You Save May Save Another! Copyright © 2012 Operation Helmet. All Rights Reserved.

Testimonials • Dec 2, 2007: This will be my 15 th time in BAD GUY COUNTRY and we have never received any upgrades what so ever to any part of our uniform. I know that the Air Force is low on the pecking order, but in my 20 years of service I have always had to go outside my means to make myself or my fellow airman feel safe. I can pretty much guarantee you that we will never see the PASGT upgrade. Now with that said we just hade a group leave in early Aug. and they have never seen any upgrade. Now its our turn and I can tell you we will never see the upgrade. To tell you the truth we have 200+ leaving in the near feature and not one of us will see the upgrade. USAF NCO. The Life You Save May Save Another! Copyright © 2012 Operation Helmet. All Rights Reserved.

Testimonials • Nov 17, 2007: i heard about this website through a battle buddy that recently received a bunch of helmet pads for his squad (from operation helmet). it was really amazing to me to see people that actually care about comfort and safety of all of us. its people like you that make my job worth doing. thank you for the continuous support and anything that is sent will be used, shared and most importantly appreciated. • Nov 17, 2007: Concussions have been one of the biggest threats to my fellow brothers and sisters in arms. We appreciate all the efforts made to help bring comfort and safety in every form possible. When watching the news can become unbearable for our families, we appreciate all the generosity made on our behalf. THANK YOU. Copyright © 2012 Operation Helmet. All Rights Reserved.

Testimonials • Nov 14, 2007: "I have recently received a shipment of helmet pads (from Operation Helmet) for my squad and everyone is loving them. the comfort and support that it provides is far better than any other gear that i have purchased. now that i have received the pads for my whole squad, i was told to ask if i could receive some for the whole platoon and/or company. there are 160 soldiers in the company and about 50 in the platoon. about 100 people actually go out on convoys in our company. anything that is given to us is very much appreciated and wont be taken for granted. we will use them and give back as much feedback to help you further do this wonderful job that you have chosen for us. we do a lot of convoy security and concussions are a very popular injury. the comfort level in the pads that have been sent are exceptional. thank you for all of your support and love from home. we appreciate anything that is done for us. thank you guys from the bottom of our hearts. " The Life You Save May Save Another! Copyright © 2012 Operation Helmet. All Rights Reserved.

What can you do? • Send a donation • Organize a fund raiser through your work, church, synagogue, school, lodge, meeting house, professional organization, or other group. – Download, print and handout brochures – We have found it useful to have sample helmets on-hand for people to try. An Ebay PASGT can be purchased for about $50; don't buy a replica; they are NOT the same • Write your elected officials - it may not have an immediate impact, but eventually they will listen. A sample letter is available on-line The Life You Save May Save Another! Copyright © 2012 Operation Helmet. All Rights Reserved.

Perspective • Throughout American history, citizens have pitched in to help our troops • • – In the revolutionary war, socks and shoes were provided to the soldiers at Valley Forge – In WWII, citizens collected iron, steel, silk and other materials, and lived with rationing to support our troops Copyright © 2012 Operation Helmet. All Rights Reserved.