TM 10-8400-203-23 Section   Il.   REPAIR   PROCEDURES 3-4.   GENERAL Materials used in the repair of vests will be serviceable materials recovered from similar salvaged items, when authorized,  or  preferably,  will  be  new  materials  as  specified  in  section  Ill.  New  materials  will  be  requisitioned from   stock   under   the   national   stock   numbers   and/or   item   descriptions   as   listed   and   will   conform   to   the appropriate specifications. When not available from stock, materials may be purchased locally that conform as closely as possible to the standard material for emergency repair. Extreme care should be exercised in respect to emergency materials as replacement for the vinyl casing, The vinyl casing is critical in maintaining the ballistic integrity of the nylon ballistic insert material as the ballistic protection of the armor is significantly decreased if the  ballistic  insert  becomes  wet. 3-4. REPAIR  AND  MAINTENANCE  OF  BODY  ARMOR a.   Inspection. (1) (2) (3) (4) Inspect the overall condition of the outer shell. It should be carefully examined to determine whether it is worthy of cleaning and repair of whether it should be replaced with a new outer shell. Inspect vest for a complete set of internal stiffeners. Any vest without a set of internal stiffeners will bear  a  stock  number  such  as  8470-00-823-7370,  8470-00-823-7371,  8470-00-823-7372,  or 8470-00-823-7373,  and  shall  be  automatically  classified  as  a  condition  code  H.  A  vest  without stiffeners will be disposed of in accordance with AR 755-20. Each vest will be inspected to determine the proper classification and identification (item description, size, and stock number). Prior  to  the  removal  of  the  outer  cover  for  cleaning,  inspect  the  cover  to  make  sure  that  the identification labels (size and stock number is secure and/or the markings are legible). If the vest can not   be   properly   identified   as   to   size,   refer   to   table   3-1   to   determine   vest   size   in   relation   to measurements  listed. 3-3