Sci-Fi War Uniforms?

Newsweek ^ | Feb. 24 issue | Martha Brant

[Nachum]

It was the ultimate laboratory experiment. Prof. Ned Thomas and eight scientists from MIT last month traded in their white coats for military outfits at Fort Polk, La.

THE TEAM WAS THERE to study soldiers in the field—and particularly their uniforms. Just what happens to a Battle Dress Uniform (BDU) “when an 18-year-old gets his hands on it?” asks Thomas, director of MIT’s new Army-funded Institute for Soldier Nanotechnologies (ISN). It was all well and good for the Ph.D.s to use computer models up at MIT, but live data from the rainy woods where troops train were invaluable.
The Army unit coming off a six-day exercise emerged in soaked, muddy uniforms. Thomas, along with the other engineers, wanted to know how many extra BDUs the troops had to carry along. Answer: none. Given a choice between dry clothes and extra weaponry, a soldier opts for ammo every time. Thomas then asked, “If you had a magic wand, what would you change?” Soldier after soldier replied he’d like a lighter load and “waterproofed everything.” Even a soldier prefers comfy clothes.

Back in their Cambridge, Mass., labs, Thomas’s group redoubled its efforts to build the military uniform of the future—not just light as silk and bulletproof, but able to rapidly change at the molecular level to adapt to biological and chemical threats. Is that anthrax just ahead? The material converts into an impermeable shield. Body gets injured? The pant leg morphs into a splint or even forms an artificial muscle. Nanosensors would also transmit a soldier’s vital signs back to a medical team, as well as monitor his breath for increased nitric oxide, which is a sign of stress. “Let’s change form!” is Thomas’s mantra. He wants his sci-fi uniform to be able to detect lasers—you know, those red aiming beams an enemy uses right before firing off a round. “Light is faster than a bullet,” says Thomas. “Maybe the human can’t react fast enough, but materials can. Is this fiction? Yeah. Twenty years away? Maybe.”

[dts32041]

Me I always wanted dry socks and plenty of foot poweder.

Underwear can be turned inside out after two weeks.

I could be wet, cold and miserable as long as my feet were dry I could go on.

Oh yeah a chance to brush my teeth every day.

[Havoc]

I always wanted a pilot's jacket from Battlestar Galactica - classy LOL. Since they're working on bringing it back, maybe I'll see one around soon.

[mhking]

[decimon]

The technique is to get molecules to “bend over” when they’re given an electrical tickle.

A fun lot at MIT, eh?

[stainlessbanner]

ping

[ABG(anybody but Gore)]

I always carried one extra set of BDU's, just in case. But extra socks and underwear were essential.

[CapandBall]

six days in the woods = one set of clothes (supplex, coolmax, fleece, and gortex), one cotton bandana... and six pair of socks.

don't forget the baby wipes.

[tet68]

Take care of your feet and they will take care of you.

keep those wrinkles out.

[tet68]

Sand Camo Huggies?

Any one see my ......nevermind?

[dts32041]

What in the same hill is supplex coolmaz I recognize goretex, use to carry dufold and light polypro.

Correct mustn't forget the baby wipes.

[Always A Marine]

Me I always wanted dry socks and plenty of foot powder. Underwear can be turned inside out after two weeks.

Agree on the socks and footpowder, but skivvies. Two weeks in the field, and civilization is no longer even a memory. It's freeball city.

[SAMWolf]

Dry socks and a good poncho.

[confused1]

Absolutely correct. "Swinging Free" was a requirement after the first pair of underwear. Gave you the freedom to do what was needed without a lot of extra effort.

And I understand the porn stars are all for no underwear, quicker access maybe?

[Audit_Jesse]

Hahahahahaha, that's GREAT!

[cavtrooper21]

Clean dry socks, and clean teeth - that was where it was at. Never wore skivvies in the field, got dirty and chafed (nothing worse that chafed skin and sweat) baby butt wipes were great also...
The Gortex parkas were great, but those good old jungle boots were the best thing, even in winter (1 size bigger boots and rag wool socks - feet may have gotten wet but never stayed wet for long, even in Grafenwhore.

[Rain-maker]

Saddam not to be undone, redesigns his forces with the latest equiptment

 

                 

[Valin]

The technique is to get molecules to “bend over” when they’re given an electrical tickle.

I could make a comment....but I've got way too much class.

[Joe 6-pack]

"Agree on the socks and footpowder, but skivvies. Two weeks in the field, and civilization is no longer even a memory. It's freeball city."

Perfectly stated. In Ranger School you learn that clean, dry socks and a clean dry T-shirt are paradise in a zip-lock bag. Protracted road marches teach you the utility of pooping down your pant leg, and shaking it out of your unbloused boot-leg. Not glamorous, but ultimately utilitarian...

JRTC and NTC rotations were the worst. I'd get back from those and feel the urge to pee outdoors, be it upon leaving a restaurant or the mall. Force of habit, ya' know.

[strela]

Throw your medicated foot powder away and use Gold Bond brand instead. I keep mine in a film canister with a little aftermarket shaker top. I swear, the stuff lets me put in 5 extra miles on hikes.

Gotta have a toothbrush, gotta have Gold Bond, gotta have naproxen sodium. Everything else is negotiable.