July 26, 2012 2:50 pm
Army Women To Get New (Non-Comic Book) Armor
U.S. Army National Guard Sgt. Jennifer Peters Photo: U.S. Army photo by Staff Sgt Russell Lee Klika
It’s been an important year for equal rights in the United States military. Women soldiers are on the verge of being given the official clearance to fight on the front lines, something they have been doing for years anyway. In the coming months, the Marine Corps’ Infantry Officer Course will be opened to female applicants seeking to lead. And now, to make this transition more comfortable, the Army has announced that they are designing body armor specifically tailored to women’s bodies.
The new armor will have narrower shoulders and waists, shorter chest plating, and more room in the shoulders. All told, the new armor should fit women’s generally shorter frames while increasing freedom of movement.
One hopes, though, that the redesign doesn’t go too far. Our society doesn’t have a very strong track record of imagining functional armor for women.
More from Smithsonian.com:
That Pixellated Uniform Pattern Was So Bad, The Army Trashed $5 Billion Worth
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