Bulletproof Technology

We may never win the war, but we can defend our lives with tech gadgets. While most US soldiers will probably still prefer reaching for their gun rather than holding up their iPod or laptop during battle, two US soldiers choose gadget over gun. For years now, the tech industry has been rolling out an entire line of rough and tough laptops. Computers marketed toward our military forces. These industrial strong laptops that are cable of withstanding rain, dirt, dropping and even bullets!

In April 2003, a US soldier was carrying a Panasonic CF-M34 Toughbook on his hip in an unarmored Humvee. When the fighting broke out, the soldier held up the laptop to shield himself as a 7.62mm round ripped through the vehicle's door. Thanks to the Toughbook's magnesium casing, the bullet pierced the outer case, cracked through the LCD's glass screen and cratered the left side of the keyboard. The bullet then buried itself in the computer, lodging into the hard drive. Because the bullet didn't make it all the way through, it didn't enter the soldier, thus saving his life!

Just this past week, an Apple iPod took a bullet for another US soldier. This story is a bit more shocking, due to the simple fact that iPods aren’t built “army tough”. Kevin Garrad, of the 3rd Infantry Division, was on street patrol in Iraq. As he rounded the corner of a building, an armed AK-47 insurgent came from the other side. The two men were within just a few feet of each other when they opened fire. The insurgent was killed and Kevin was hit in the chest, on the left, the same spot where his iPod was resting in his chest pocket. The iPod slowed the bullet down enough as to not completely penetrate Kevin’s body armor. Miraculously, he didn’t suffer any wounds.

I wish I could say that no tech gadget was harmed in writing this post, but unfortunately, a laptop and an iPod had to die because of it. RIP.