Washington: The army captain Kim Pierre-Zamora remembers the protective vest he released when he went to basic training a few years ago.
It was a media size that hung too far and made it difficult for him to bend to take something.
“Every time I try to move or try to carry my weapon or shoot on the popup range very quickly, I have to physically take a vest and move it to bear my weapon,” said Pierre-Zamora.
It’s a common complaint from women’s warriors and small stature men who have struggled with great armor.
But in recent weeks, the US Army for the first time has started sharing armor in three additional sizes: extra small short, small and small small.
Armor can be adjusted to various ways to be more suitable and allow the soldiers to move faster and more free.
Over the past few weeks, “scalable modular vests” have been distributed to more than 4,500 soldiers so far.
Women’s army will also be able to get a new version of combat shirts that are more adjusted to women’s shapes.
Pierre-Zamora said the new short and long version fits many soldiers.
For example, he said he and another female soldier seemed to have the same size.
But, he said he was wearing a small extra, while other soldiers used a short extra small.
“We both look like us with the same size, but his body is shorter than mine.” Initially, efforts to increase more sizes were responding to complaints from women’s soldiers.
When more women are deployed to the war zone, they often find that they are shorter and smaller than many required men and armor that allows a narrower shoulder, breasts and hips.
However, early, the army made the decision to make Unisex vest.
The decision, said the LT Col Stephen Miller, is based on the belief that smaller male soldiers who may need a short or small vest will refuse to take anything that is “labeled woman.” Recognizing that complaints about armored armor had been circulating for many years, Miller said it took time to find vendors who could change the size and shape of ballistic plates, while also making them lighter and effective in protecting the army from the explosion.