I know that “flak” is a German acronym for anti-aircraft cannon fire, and flak jackets were originally worn by air crews. In the Korea and Viet Nam eras, the term was used for body armor.
Does American today’s military still use that term? If not, what term is used?
We called the heavy bullet-proof vests we wore at the .50 cal posts on the ship “flak jackets”.
(and i know they still use those vests, so yes!)
Retired Army here and I never called them flak jackets, always body armor, armor, or I just referred to it as a vest, “make sure you’re wearing your vest” etc.
I always thought of flak jackets as a light form of body armor not intended to stop direct small arms fire.
While body armor you’re issued in the army is heavy kevlar with ceramic plate inserts and is capable of stopping rifle fire. You actually feel pretty safe in the body armor, although a good rifle will still blow a hole right through it.
when did you serve on the ship?
Check my profile =) Third millenium.
I think the ones worn by sailors serving on exposed gun crews were different from the ones the infantry wore – they just looked a lot heavier and bulkier (I am a 70’s era former Marine, and was aboard an aircraft carrier for a bit)
I would add that the flak jackets, prior to the new ones, were never “bullet proof”, as far as I know.
I never heard them called anything but flack jackets in Vietnam. Don’t remember ever hearing the term ‘body armor’ until the past few years.
military.com 24 December:
*The 21-year old Tennessean, girded in 65 pounds of armored flak jacket, night-vision equipped helmet, grenades and several hundred rounds of ammunition reflected on that for a moment and replied, “so do I.” *
UN worker ‘refused flak jacket’ BBC news 13 December.
Well, we put one on the end of the flight deck for training at some point and it took a rifle at close range to pierce it. That’s bullet-proof enough for me.
In retrospect, it was one of the lightweight vests that we put up on the flight deck (worn on mobile watches etc…). It stopped a 9mm but not an M16. I doubt an M16 could pierce the ceramic ones worn on the .50 cal mounts.
The standard body armor worn by Army soldiers is the Inteceptor by Point Blank. This vest is usually referred to as IBA (Inteceptor Body Armor). Rangers like to call it RBA for Ranger Body Army. So, if I was going to tell all my soldiers that they need to bring their vests with them, I would say something like, “Be sure you bring your IBA”. Other common terms include vest, armor, flak vest (but never flak jacket), body armor. . .
Also, the soft armor in the vest will not stop a rifle round. It will stop small arms from pistols and small fragmentation from grenades and such. The plates, though, will stop up to a 7.62.
I dont think reporters are necessarily the best source for popular terms used by soldiers, which I think was the intent of the OP. Though I would know what someone meant if he said “flak jacket”, I’ve never heard a person use that term. Sometimes I’ve heard - and even used - flak vest, though. YMMV
It’s anything but scientific, however a google on .mil sites for flak vest' returns 390, and flak jacket’ returns 423. On all sites flak jacket' returns 213,000 and flak vest’ returns 36,700.
Thanks, that was exactly my point, which you correctly inferred. I see non-military personnel use the term “flak jacket”, but as I follow actually military, they seem to use the terms mentioned here “body armor” “vests”; I’ve actually heard guys say “business suits” which I think is a great phrase. (we used to use the phrase “John Wayne gear” to describe our combat kit).
I mostly familiar with Marine jargon, as I was Marine and my son just got out, and he never used the term “flak” anything. But neither he nor I are familiar with what terms are used today in other branches.
I am inferring here that the Army does not use the term “flak jacket” (but may use the term “flak vest”) but that the Navy does use the term “flak jacket” for even the newer body armor – the IBA.
Interesting. . . Fucking POGs!