Body armor for women: Pentagon is pushed to find something that fits
| Washington
When Natasha Young deployed to Iraq in 2007, she was the gunnery sergeant for a Marine Corps Explosive Ordinance Device company, responsible for delivering much-needed supplies to units throughout violent Anbar Province in western Iraq.
Body armor had been in tight supply during her first deployment to Iraq in 2005. But by 2007, the issue was quality, says Ms. Young, who finished her Marine Corps career in 2011 as a staff sergeant with 12 years of service.
鈥淭he stuff that you could buy online, on the commercial market, had a better safety rating, more coverage, a better fit,鈥� she says.
This was doubly true for female troops using military-issued body armor.
鈥淚t鈥檚 not designed for a woman, so it鈥檚 uncomfortable and it fits improperly,鈥� adds Young.
Before she deployed to war, she searched websites to find better bullet-proof vests for women, but to no avail. Her male counterparts frequently found lighter, more protective armor to purchase before they went to war, but there was none to be found for women.
鈥淚 really don鈥檛 think there was a market for it at the time,鈥� she says.聽
Today, however, in a nod to the growing role that women are playing in America鈥檚 wars, lawmakers are pushing the Pentagon to develop body armor that better fits the female form.
Indeed, although the US military bars women from taking part in direct combat, the Pentagon earlier this month opened up some 14,000 new jobs for women, which will have the effect of putting more of them ever-closer to the front lines of combat.
While women currently make up 14 percent of the military鈥檚 1.4 million active duty troops, that figure is expected to grow to one quarter of the force by 2025.聽
Many women are routinely put at risk by combat already.
鈥淲omen are obviously in harm鈥檚 way 鈥� whether it鈥檚 the case formally or informally, they very much are in harm鈥檚 way,鈥� notes Rep. Niki Tsongas (D) of Massachusetts. 鈥淲e鈥檝e had to prod the Pentagon on the issue of body armor in general.鈥�
And despite the presence of women in America鈥檚 wars of the past decade, there was 鈥渓ittle being done鈥� to develop female-specific body armor, which could prove unnecessarily dangerous for women, Tsongas adds.
鈥淭he biggest issue is the curvature of it 鈥� it certainly isn鈥檛 well-suited to women. It hits them improperly in the back and too high in the neck. It also makes it hard for them to maneuver.鈥�
Young recalls grappling with these same body armor fit problems while she was in Iraq 鈥� and worrying that the ill-fitting vests left her more vulnerable to roadside bombs and snipers than her fellow male troops. 鈥淭here were larger gaps on the side because we had breasts,鈥� she says. 鈥淪o we had to loosen it up on the sides, which created more exposure.鈥澛�
The 2013 National Defense Authorization Act passed by the House Armed Services Committee directs the Pentagon for the first time to develop body armor specifically for female soldiers.
鈥淥ur female soldiers should be provided the same level of protection as their male counterparts,鈥� notes Tsongas, who authorized the NDAA provision
In the meantime, commercial manufacturers may step in, too, Young notes. If there wasn鈥檛 a market before, she says, 鈥淭here is definitely one now.鈥澛�
