

īut according to documents obtained through the Freedom of Information Act and interviews with officials at Natick, the Marine Corps and Point Blank, the service rejected that advice.
POINT BLANK VEST FULL
"Anything less than full compliance for a safety item such as the is unacceptable," DCMA wrote in a 2004 memorandum recommending that the Corps reject the vests. He works at the Army Soldier Systems Center in Natick, Mass., and has 18 years of experience with ballistics and armor systems.Ī second government agency, the Defense Contract Management Agency, backed Natick's conclusion and also recommended against the waivers. MacKiewicz is responsible for verifying that each production lot of Marine vests meets protective requirements and other quality standards. "Since these are lifesaving pieces of equipment and are being used in support of the Iraq war, I urge immediate action since this technical office has little confidence in the performance of the items to provide the contracted levels of protection as defined in the performance specification," wrote ballistics expert James MacKiewicz in a memorandum rejecting two lots of vests on July 19, 2004. that failed government tests due to "multiple complete penetrations" of 9mm pistol rounds, failing scores on other ballistic or quality-assurance tests, or a combination of the two. In all, the Marine Corps accepted about 19,000 Interceptor outer tactical vests from Point Blank Body Armor Inc. Yet, despite the shortage of historical Jewish sites, Madrid plays host to an assortment of national institutions that hold centuries-old Jewish texts not to be found anywhere else in the world.The Marine Corps issued to nearly 10,000 troops body armor that government experts urged the Corps to reject after tests revealed critical, life-threatening flaws in the vests. Except for the ancient Jewish quarters of the city, few noteworthy Jewish attractions remain in Madrid. Today the Jewish community of Spain has reestablished its presence and maintains several synagogues as well as a Jewish day school. Madrid is perhaps most notable in modern Jewish history as the site of the 1991 peace talks held between Israel, Jordan, Syria, and the Palestinians. Only during the mid-nineteenth century did Jews begin to return to Madrid and establish what is today, along with Barcelona, one of the two largest Jewish communities in Spain. Jewish life in Madrid came to an end in 1492 with the expulsion of Jews from all of Spain. Though once a thriving center of Jewish life, most of Madrid's Jewish population was brutally murdered during the riots of 1391, while many others fled or converted to escape persecution.

The history of Madrid Jewry is much like the history of Jews elsewhere in Spain, consisting of periods of great development layered between periods of severe persecution. Located in central Spain, Madrid is the capital and largest city of Spain and home to 3,500 Jews. Virtual Jewish World: Table of Contents| Europe| Spain
