{"id":34023,"date":"2018-06-29T20:57:01","date_gmt":"2018-06-29T20:57:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/uncategorized\/2018\/06\/29\/this-new-law-could-allow-troops-to-keep-their-battle-damaged-protective-gear\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T01:54:25","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T01:54:25","slug":"this-new-law-could-allow-troops-to-keep-their-battle-damaged-protective-gear","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/news\/your-military\/2018\/06\/29\/this-new-law-could-allow-troops-to-keep-their-battle-damaged-protective-gear\/","title":{"rendered":"This new law could allow troops to keep their battle-damaged protective gear"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

If a soldier is shot or injured in an explosion downrange, they might want to keep their damaged helmets<\/a> or body armor plates as a memento.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The process of tracking them down can be a pain, though, and there is no one policy about assuring that service members can track down their old gear.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

A line in the most recent draft of the National Defense Authorization Act could change that, though. In the bill, signed June 19 by the Senate, U.S. law would expand to ensure that veterans can get their stuff back<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe award of equipment under this section shall be without cost to the member or veteran concerned,\u201d according to the bill.
<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Staff Sgt. Thalamus Lewis displays the Army Combat Helmet he was wearing when he was shot while searching for IEDs in Afghanistan. (U.S. Army photo by J.D. Leipold)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The provision applies to separating service members and veterans, according to the NDAA draft.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The language would be an addition to an existing statute that allows soldiers who have been deployed more than 30 days to keep the combat uniforms issued to them, with their service secretary\u2019s approval.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If signed, soldiers would also be able to keep their damaged personal protective equipment when they are discharged, and veterans would be able to request those mementos. <\/p>\n\n\n\t