WASHINGTON, Nov. 18 (Xinhuanet) -- The US military said it is recalling over 18,000 body armor vests because they did not meet ballistic test standards, CNN reported Friday.

    Some of the vests may have been used by US soldiers in Iraq or Afghanistan, but both US Marine Corps spokesman Douglas Powell and Army spokesman Paul Boyce said no soldier was at risk due to these vests and the recalled items will be replaced by newer models of vests in the inventory.

    The recall was triggered by a September review of the ballistic strength of some vests brought back from the battlefields in Iraq.     

    The vests were made about five years ago by a body armor company named Point Blank in Florida.

    Boyce and Powell said the product specification of the vests ishigher than the potential threat level in the field, and therefore there were no incidents in which troops were injured or killed because of the vests.

    They said both the US Army and the Marines have a large number of newer vests, and the military is providing troops with better models.

    It was not the first time that the US military recalled body armor vests.

    In May, the US Marine Corps recalled 5,277 combat vests issued to troops in Iraq, Afghanistan and Djibouti, after a newspaper article raised concerns that they failed a test to determine whether they could stop a bullet.   Enditem