Body armor

I picked up my body armor today. My organization has sent about 90 people to Iraq, each of them with their own vest at a cost of $1,600 each--evidently it is supremely important that each one be custom-fit. Mine is level III armor, which combines Kevlar, ceramic and steel plates so that it is resistant to military rifle bullets, handguns and sub-machine guns like AK-47s. The only thing it won't stop is armor-piercing bullets, which require a special set of plates. Mine looks very similar to this, with a removable groin protector and lots of velcro-attached pockets on the front. It has plates in the sides to prevent injury from shrapnel, a ceramic collar for the same purpose and a spiffy little "Press" tag that can come off if necessary.

It's also unbelievably heavy.

My vest's creator estimated it's a 25-30 pound vest; for a relatively slight woman, that's a huge percentage of my body weight. It took a surprising amount of strength just to lift it over my head, and by the time I hooked the Velcro around my stomach all I wanted to do was sit down. And this was in an air-conditioned office, a far cry from the 130 degrees of Baghdad in August. I know it's better than the alternative, but wearing this thing is going to be a major challenge.