Flogging Flak Jackets in War Zones

Brook Reinhold was riding in an armored truck last July with soldiers of the 82nd Airborne Division in Kandahar, Afghanistan, when the vehicle’s gunner stood to look out of the turret. As he moved into position, the gunner inadvertently stepped on an antenna cable, shorting out the vehicle’s radio. The soldiers were steamed. Reinhold wasn’t. He did what he always does in situations like this. He snapped a few photos on his BlackBerry and e-mailed them to a team of engineers in Rochester, N.Y. He asked them to come up with a metal shield to cover the wires—a bit of handiwork he hoped would impress the Pentagon.

Reinhold isn’t a soldier. He’s a salesman, one of about 40 employees with Harris who have spent months alongside troops looking for small product opportunities that can lead to big profits for the defense contractor. His observation in the truck led the company to improve its Falcon III AN/PRC-117G radio system. Another time, back at Ft. Bragg in North Carolina, he heard a soldier complain that the knobs on the radio turned too easily if they got bumped. He phoned in that fix, too.