Pentagon: Prison Inmates Produced Thousands of Defective Helmets

Contractors sold the U.S. Army and Marine Corps thousands of ballistic helmets made by prison inmates containing numerous defects including "serious ballistic failures," according to a new Defense Department Office of Inspector General report.

The IG launched two joint investigations with the Defense Criminal Investigative Service, supported by elements of the U.S. Army, regarding allegations that Federal Prison Industries and ArmorSource LLC manufactured and sold Advanced Combat Helmets, or ACH, and Lightweight Marine Corps Helmets, or LMCH, to the military that failed to meet contract specifications and were ultimately defective, according to the report released Wednesday.

From 2006 to 2009, ArmorSource and FPI, as its subcontractor, produced 126,052 helmets, for which ArmorSource received $30,336,461.

In May 2008, FPI was awarded contract to manufacture LMCH helmets for an initial cost of $23,019,629. The FPI produced approximately 23,000 helmets at its facility in Beaumont, Texas, of which 3,000 were sold and delivered to the DOD.