Posted on Aug 22, 2023
Women in Army SOF resorted to buying their own armor, study finds
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Posted in these groups: 
Women in the Military
Special Forces
Women in the Military Special Forces
Posted >1 y ago
Responses: 4
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Unacceptable! This money should be refunded to our soldiers immediately and no others should have to layout funds for this.
When they were trying to get pregnancy uniforms done and approved, in the interim, they gave women an allowance for pregnancy clothing...do the same here if you can't source it.
When they were trying to get pregnancy uniforms done and approved, in the interim, they gave women an allowance for pregnancy clothing...do the same here if you can't source it.
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"These issues ranged from body armor designed for men that didn’t fit against a woman’s body, leaving coverage gaps;"
100% valid. Should have been a consideration from the start and should have been fixed almost immediately once mentioned.
"MOLLE packs that rubbed shorter women raw;"
This one is 100% valid, although I cut some slack here. Gear is designed for a "standard range" of sizes. People outside that range have always had to adapt and adjust. I would ask the question of what the standard range is for the MOLLE. I stand 5'8" which is not exceptionally tall - but not all that short, either. I feel like I had at lead 4" of leeway on my MOLLE. Which would bring it down to around 5'0", figuring that height loss would be evenly distributed between torso and legs." That's relatively short, even for a female. If I were a designer, I would be designing for 5'0" to 6'4". Even then, that is a VERY large range of heights to "standardize."
"Helmets that couldn’t be adjusted over hair buns and left soldiers unable to see in front of them;"
Pure bull shit. If your helmet can't fit over your hair, your hair is out of regulation. Period. Cut you hair or style it different. I have zero pity for a Soldier violating regulation and then complaining about how the gear failed to meet their violations.
"and a lack of bladder relief systems that forced soldiers to hold their urine until they developed urinary tract infections or to resort to the dangerous practice of 'tactical dehydration.'
Only 20%valid. Guys have the same problem. I have resorted to tactical dehydration many times. I have also pissed myself, and not by choice. I WILL grant that, if the tactical situation permits, a guy can pee just about anywhere, and with no preparation or special equipment. But the "tactical situation oermits" is a major caveat, and one which, at least in my career, I rarely encountered. And in almost all of *those* situations, the tactical situation also would have (and many times did) permit female urination
100% valid. Should have been a consideration from the start and should have been fixed almost immediately once mentioned.
"MOLLE packs that rubbed shorter women raw;"
This one is 100% valid, although I cut some slack here. Gear is designed for a "standard range" of sizes. People outside that range have always had to adapt and adjust. I would ask the question of what the standard range is for the MOLLE. I stand 5'8" which is not exceptionally tall - but not all that short, either. I feel like I had at lead 4" of leeway on my MOLLE. Which would bring it down to around 5'0", figuring that height loss would be evenly distributed between torso and legs." That's relatively short, even for a female. If I were a designer, I would be designing for 5'0" to 6'4". Even then, that is a VERY large range of heights to "standardize."
"Helmets that couldn’t be adjusted over hair buns and left soldiers unable to see in front of them;"
Pure bull shit. If your helmet can't fit over your hair, your hair is out of regulation. Period. Cut you hair or style it different. I have zero pity for a Soldier violating regulation and then complaining about how the gear failed to meet their violations.
"and a lack of bladder relief systems that forced soldiers to hold their urine until they developed urinary tract infections or to resort to the dangerous practice of 'tactical dehydration.'
Only 20%valid. Guys have the same problem. I have resorted to tactical dehydration many times. I have also pissed myself, and not by choice. I WILL grant that, if the tactical situation permits, a guy can pee just about anywhere, and with no preparation or special equipment. But the "tactical situation oermits" is a major caveat, and one which, at least in my career, I rarely encountered. And in almost all of *those* situations, the tactical situation also would have (and many times did) permit female urination
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LTC David Brown
I agree, if you are in the field your safety and comrades safety comes before hair styling concerns. While my experience in the field under combat conditions is none existing I know several people with multiple combat tours in both Afghanistan and Iraq. Their evaluation was that personal privacy simply didn’t exist. Much of this was predictable.
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