This Marine tweaked his body armor to instantly treat a gunshot wound

Dec 9, 2020

1 minute read

SUMMARY

A Marine corporal may have come up with a brilliant way to treat a gunshot wound the moment a bullet pierces body armor.

Cpl. Matthew Long, a motor transport mechanic, designed a tear-proof package filled with a cocktail of blood clotting and pain-killing agents that sits behind body armor, which would be released instantly if pierced by a bullet. Though Marine body armor, called "flak" jackets, come with small arms protective insert (SAPI) plates to stop bullets, they can have trouble stopping multiple rounds.

Also read: The Army is preparing its medics for a war without medevac helos

Long's invention, if fielded, would render first aid immediately, without a Marine having to do anything. The seemingly-simple tweak could save lives when a medic is not immediately available.

U.S. Marine Corps Cpl. Matthew A. Long, right, a motor transport mechanic with Motor Transport Company, 3rd Marine Logistics Group, III Marine Expeditionary Force, was recognized by Lt. Gen. Lawrence D. Nicholson, the commanding general for III MEF. | U.S. Marine Corps photo by Sgt. William Hester

The corporal was selected as a winner for his invention in September during the Corps' Logistics Innovation Challenge.

"We thought we'd get one, maybe two ideas, but thanks to your support, we got hundreds," Lt. Gen. Mike Dana said in a video announcing the winners. "We're going to send all winners out to DoD labs to prototype their idea. These ideas might end up in the Marine Corps."

Long and the nearly two dozen other winning projects will be considered for further use by the Marine Corps. As part of this, challenge winners are being partnered with government-affiliated labs to prototype, experiment, and implement their idea.

Other winners include a team of enlisted Marines who came up with a way to make affordable 3d-printed drones, an officer with an idea for a wrist computer, and glasses made for medical tele-mentoring.