16:02 GMT, October 14, 2009 SPINDALE, N.C. | First Choice Armor is pleased to announce the approval of the first female body armor that meets and exceeds the National Institute of Justice's (NIJ) Voluntary Body Armor Compliance Testing Program NIJ Standard-0101.06 (NIJ-06).

First Choice Armor has always offered female engineered ballistic packages for all standards including the new and more stringent NIJ 0101.06. Female Officers do not have to settle for gender neutral or unisex designs. Female armor choices are available in popular Thin Blue Line and NForce series.

"All other body armor models available today from other body armor companies for the NIJ-06 protocol are neutral (unisex) certified which means that the vest is designed to fit a man or a woman. At First Choice Armor we think that there are significantly different fit issues for men and women and that vests should be designed with those different concerns," states Dale Taylor, SVP of Products Group.

The NIJ introduced the Ballistic Resistance of Body Armor NIJ Standard-0101.06 to create minimum performance requirements and test methods for the ballistic resistance of personal body armor intended to protect officers against threats likely to occur in their line of duty. Vests that are in compliance with NIJ-06 must protect against amplified velocities of ammunition, and extreme conditions. NIJ-06 supersedes NIJ 2005 Interim Requirements, Ballistic Resistance of Body Armor (August 2005) and supersedes NIJ Standard-0101.04 Rev. A, Ballistic Resistance of Personal Body Armor (June 2001).

For more information or to place an order, contact First Choice Armor for the dealer nearest you. Call 800-882-7667 or email sales@firstchoicearmor.com.

First Choice Armor has additional vest models pending for certification through NIJ.