President Obama Wears Bullet-Resistant Suit at Inaugural

Re:President Obama Wears Bullet-Resistant Suit at Inaugural by hotpockets on Wednesday January 21, 2009 @10:14PM (#444278)

Why protect the body when his head is right out in the open? Even the glass shield they used at the inauguration appeared to leave his head hittable.

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Re:President Obama Wears Bullet-Resistant Suit at Inaugural by ATB on Wednesday January 21, 2009 @10:36PM (#444303)

No professional sniper would ever aim at the head (Oswald notwithstanding). Given the very long range that a sniper would have to cover, and the resultant drop and wind issues to consider, aiming for a small, often rapidly-moving target such as the head would be a mistake.

The chest area overall not only moves more slowly, but also presents the "center shot" target for a sniper that he'd try to hit.

As for the head being left 'exposed' by the glass enclosure, consider that for a sniper to hit a target in the head, he would have to be on higher ground (e.g. a building) and have a clear line of sight. Sniper rifle ranges being what they are (the longest confirmed kill was at 1.42 miles for 35 years until 2002, and is now only about 450 feet more), you can be pretty sure that all relevant buildings within that range have probably been checked. If you consider the shooting angle involved, his chest area is at a much greater risk from somebody standing a reasonable distance away, maybe with slight elevation.

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Re:President Obama Wears Bullet-Resistant Suit at Inaugural by euccastro on Thursday January 22, 2009 @08:30AM (#444717)

for a sniper to hit a target in the head, he would have to be on higher ground

Why so?

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Re:President Obama Wears Bullet-Resistant Suit at Inaugural by ObieJazz on Thursday January 22, 2009 @08:41AM (#444722)

Presumably because of the glass enclosure.

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Re:President Obama Wears Bullet-Resistant Suit at Inaugural by hotpockets on Thursday January 22, 2009 @12:45AM (#444417)

Good points, I hadn't considered that it is much more difficult to hit a head, increasing the chance of failure.

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Re:President Obama Wears Bullet-Resistant Suit at Inaugural by coglethorpe on Thursday January 22, 2009 @11:11AM (#444933)

Voted up for knowing way too much about sniper stuff.

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Re:President Obama Wears Bullet-Resistant Suit at Inaugural by likpok on Wednesday January 21, 2009 @10:27PM (#444294)

For all of Hollywood and video games' obsession with head shots, the head is very hard to hit. From what I know, most training is to shoot at the chest, the biggest, most dependable target.

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Re:President Obama Wears Bullet-Resistant Suit at Inaugural by frisco on Wednesday January 21, 2009 @10:36PM (#444305)

2 of the 4 presidential assassinations have been head shots, including one from range on a moving target.

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Re:President Obama Wears Bullet-Resistant Suit at Inaugural by martey on Thursday January 22, 2009 @12:40AM (#444412)

With the exception of JFK (the "one from range on a moving target"), all of the other successful assassins used pistols at close range. This made it far easier for them to actually hit the head of their target.

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Re:President Obama Wears Bullet-Resistant Suit at Inaugural by yummyfajitas on Wednesday January 21, 2009 @11:22PM (#444349)

Why lock your door when your windows are made of easily breakable glass?

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Re:President Obama Wears Bullet-Resistant Suit at Inaugural by euccastro on Thursday January 22, 2009 @08:32AM (#444720)

Unrelated, but I do it so if someone breaks in, it's apparent they're breaking in.

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