My Helmet Pads Suck

12 Mar 2008 - I got the Operation Helmet pads the other day.  The second I put the kelvar on my head it felt as if they kelvar's weight was cut down by 2/3rds!  Along with that I no longer feel my head's deformity.  I spoke with my Supply Chief and he said CARDF has not received a shipment of new kevlar liners and does not know anything about them being sent.  If possible, I would like to request an additional 65 pads for the truck detachment I am mobilizing with on May 17th.  Thank you for your support!  Semper Fi, USMC

My buddy was here before and requested this and it saved his life (US Army). Please send 15 for my troops and me.

Doc Bob, Thank you for your swift reply. I and my team are a Police Transition Team training and mentoring civilian police to take back their cities. The Iraqi Police are very dedicated and want to be "cops" and not para-military. They LOVE American cops. We are training them to put down their AK47s and operate with their Glocks like cops do in America.

My team operates in the Al Anbar Province in and around the city of XXXX. Watch on the news, because we are making great progress. We will be participating in a ceremony Thursday where we will turn over to the Iraqis the major portion of their city. It will transition from Coalition control back to Iraqi Provincial Government control. Soon, most of the Al Anbar Province will be turned back over to the Iraqis. We feel for every Iraqi Policeman we train and certify, one Marine or Soldier can come home.

My team lives in an old school building called a Combat Outpost (COP). We live, train, eat, sleep, laugh, cry and unfortunately sometimes bleed right alongside our Iraqi counterparts. Although Im an old man, the average age of the Marines here is 24. These are magnificent young men and they make me proud every day. They are fearless and soooo dedicated to each other, their Corps and their Country. Don't let ANYONE tell you we aren't making a difference here. WE ARE.

Thank you from the bottom of my heart for supporting these young men and women here. Sometimes the log train doesn't reach this far. Most times the Marines improvise, adapt and overcome. But its SO GREAT to have patriotic Americans like those in your group to ask for a little backup when we need it. Please thank all those who volunteer their time and efforts and tell them we love them and would be glad to shake their hands upon our return.

12 Feb '08: My unit is deploying to Afghanistan in a couple of weeks.  The pads that the Marine Corps has issued us really hurt our heads when we wear our helmets for long periods of time.  We would really like some of the pads you send out.  I have used them in past and really liked them alot better.  Many of my boys dont even have a pad system yet and I would like to fix that before we leave.  Please help if you can. 

Doc Bob, Sorry that you are having a tough time funding the helmet pads. As I said before the difference in the Oregon pads is a million times better than the ones the Marine Corps issues to use.  The first time I used the pad system from Oregon I could totally tell the difference from the issued ones. All the issued ones do is give you a head ache and make you want to take the helmet off.  I know you said that you put me on the short list but would love to have the sets so that I can pass them out to the Marines that will be deploying to Iraq some time in March.  Thank you again for all your support and everything that you are doing

I can't thank you (Op Helmet) enough for everything that you and your staff have done for the troops over the years. First, thank you for your service. As you probably already know, the helmet liners that have recently been issued are a step in the right direction. However, they are too thick and made of a much stiffer material making it difficult to even put the helmet on. The Marines would have to go a size bigger in order for them to fit and we just don't have enough helmets to do that so they are stuck using the webbing. Again, we are very grateful to have folks such as yourself. It goes a long ways, not only because of the valuable product you provide, but the support and hard work you provide. Thank you! Semper Fi! Capt xxxxxx, Executive Officer, USMC

Dec 21, 07: Our pads here suck. I will appreciate anything that is donated (40 troops) for everyone in my platoon. IED's are one of the more popular attacks that we go through here and good pads are hard to come by.

Dec 21, 07: thank u for your support, once one person heard about these comfortable helmet pads everyone wanted some, so i got with a person from each squad and we signed up so that hopefully everyone in the company that goes out on missions will be able to have helmet pads. thank you again for your support

YOU KNOW WHAT, This will be my 15th time in BAD GUY COUNTRY and we have never received any upgrades what so ever to any part of our uniform. I know that the Air Force is low on the the pecking order, but in my 20 years of service I have always had to go outside my means to make myself or my fellow airman fill safe. I can pretty much guarantee you that we will never see the PASGT upgrade. Now with that said we just hade a group leave in early Aug. and they have never seen any upgrade. Now its our turn and I can tell you we will never see the upgrade. To tell you the truth we have 200+ leaving in the near feature and not one of us will see the upgrade.  MSgt, USAF

Nov 17, 07: i heard about this website through a battle buddy that recently received a bunch of helmet pads for his squad (from operationhelmet). it was really amazing to me to see people that actually care about out comfort and safety of all of us. its people like you that make my job worth doing. thank you for the continuous support and anything that is sent will be used, shared and most importantly appreciated.

Nov 17, 07: Concussions have been one of the biggest threats to my fellow brothers and sisters in arms.  We appreciate all the efforts made to help bring comfort and safety in every form possible.  When watching the news can become unbearable for our families, we appreciate all the generosity made on our behalf.  THANK YOU.

I have recently received a shipment of helmet pads (from Operation Helmet) for my squad and everyone is loving them. the comfort and support that it provides is far better than any other gear that i have purchased. now that i have received the pads for my whole squad, i was told to ask if i could receive some for the whole platoon and/or company. there are 160 soldiers in the company and about 50 in the platoon. about 100 people actually go out on convoys in our company. anything thing that is given to us is very much appreciated and wont be taken for granted. we will use them and give back as much feedback to help you further do this wonderful job that you have chosen for us. we do a lot of convoy security and concussions are a very popular injury. the comfort level in the pads that have been sent are exceptional. thank you for all of your support and love from home. we appreciate anything that is done for us. thank you guys from the bottom of our hearts