With the adoption of questionable policies to allow women into combat roles, the military is struggling to design body armor that fits around women’s breasts, hips and shoulders and allows more maneuverability on the battlefield.
Lt. Colonel Frank Lozano, describes the problem in a recent Christian Science Monitor article this way:
“It rubbed on the hips, and the vests were too long in the front, so that when you had female soldiers climbing stairs or climbing up a hill or a tree, or sitting for a long time in a vehicle, that would create pressure points that in some instances could impact blood flow and cause some discomfort”
See article: Army uses ‘Xena: Warrior Princess’ as inspiration for new body armor for womenhttp://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Military/2012/0709/Army-uses-Xena-Warrior-Princess-as-inspiration-for-new-body-armor-for-women ).
Being uncomfortable is only part of the problem it seems.
It is also causing all sorts of performance related issues, including making it more difficult for women to stand up, run, jump, take cover, engage the enemy under fire and otherwise maneuver on the battlefield…which could get them killed!
Even such mundane tasks as entering and exiting vehicles and aiming their weapons at the enemy can pose problems when a woman is weighed down with 50-60 pounds of ill fitted body armor.
To fix the problem the Army has apparently already contracted with engineers to address this problem.
According to reports the military is even turning to Hollywood for inspiration in this regard.
Specifically looking at TV shows like “Xena – Warrior Princess” for ideas?
Which is, of course, totally bizarre idea.
Women today don’t carry swords in combat (see video clip: Xena Warrior Princess in Actionhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6HWzLFENYX4 ).
Another problem is cost.
To redesign body armor in the way they want to for women right now will cost the military big bucks.
Money the military claims they don’t have?
“Forget Xena – Warrior Princess”, said one infantry soldier at Ft. Bragg, N.C. who declined to be named in this report. “Look more towards Star Wars for design concept that really works. The future trend of body armor is moving more towards a design that is altogether different than what we see today”, he said.
Granted what the soldier said makes sense.
Some concepts I have seen for the “future soldier program” do remind me of Star Wars storm troops because they incorporate a “total body suit or exo- skeleton design”.
Some of which are design to enhance a soldier’s performance and senses on the battlefield (see video: Future Soldier Technology http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_4mqHau4hNM&feature=related ).
One thing for sure is big changes are coming in the future, not only in body armor but uniform designs.
The military will also have to keep women’s needs in mind when they finalize such designs, especially now that they are assuming more and more combat roles and responsibilities on the battlefield.