
The brutality & de-personalization that can happen in the military is evident in the most mundane and simple things. One chant I remember in particular spoke of blood making the grass grow, and the troop making the blood flow.
Is that a bird or a plane? No, it is a soldier in a wing suit.
Having served in the military, side by side with people, some of whom happened to be homosexual, and can say quite plainly: it in no way affected unit cohesion.
The army is riddled with people doing things that they aren’t supposed to be doing, as per the code of military conduct.
In a time when they are actually lowering PT standards because they can’t recruit enough physically fit individuals to join; where we’ve got resources spread thin across the globe; where we have stop measures in place to keep people from leaving after their prescribed time… you’d think the last thing the military would be worried about is who people are sleeping with.
The U.S. Army has implemented a wide-ranging program to assess the relative sizing of Soldiers on active duty, in the Guard and Reserve. Today, lots of Soldier kit is developed based on relative sizing data from the mid-1980s. Turns out when the balloon went up in Afghanistan in 2001, there was a lot of gear that didn’t fit today’s Soldiers who, as a result of better nutrition and fitness, are bigger on average than their 1970s and ’80s counterparts.
The survey includes 94 measurements of the body as well as three 3-D scans. The scans are of the whole body, the head and face and a foot. While the measurements are point to point, the 3-D scans are able to map the contours of the human body, creating a more accurate picture of body composition that will aid in the design of systems for Soldiers in the future.
“It is an engineering database. Its purpose is to help design digital human models for computer-aided design and other simulators as well as the development of models for individual equipment and clothing; everything from socks to body armor to headgear. There are broad applications for this data across all the engineering and design disciplines for the Army and Army gear.”
The data gathered will also find application in the design of vehicle interior spaces. This extends from aircraft to ground vehicles to ensure the people operating the systems will be able to do so, and that entrance and egress points will be large enough to accommodate Soldiers while wearing their equipment.
The data will also be used in the development of future technologies such as improved body armor that will be created with the contours of the human form in mind.
This is incredibly important when it comes to developing vehicle and aircraft spaces for troops. Remember the V-22 Osprey was supposed to carry 24 “fully loaded troops,” but I think you’d be hard pressed to fit 20 at all. That has something to do with gear, but also head and shoulder space factored into the design. Think about the Stryker vehicle, Expeditionary Fighting Vehicle and any Ground Combat Vehicle ideas that come cropping up. This kind of study can help inform specs so troopers’ knees and necks aren’t crunched when the hatch closes.
Read more: http://kitup.military.com/2011/03/army-launches-body-scan-project-for-better-soldier-fit.html#ixzz1IDcFei00
I was in San Francisco this weekend & in amongst death news everywhere, just couldn’t believe the amazing news that President Obama came through on repealing Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.
What a pleasure to be able to shed actual tears of happiness over something this weekend. I am a veteran and had gay & bi friends in the service who were on active duty with me. This has been going on for as long as there has been a military.
The idea that there are only straight people there is ludicrous. The idea that having a military force that is made up of more than heterosexuals being a problem isn’t even a feasible question- we don’t know what that looks like (all hetero), as it’s never been that way.
Thank you, Mr. President. I feel like things might actually be changing now. I’m crossing my fingers that this is momentum and we are knocking at the door of legal equality.

There is still a long road ahead, and the question of benefits is still looming. I know this, but I am going to take a few days to be simply happy about this.
LOL