Janay Kingsberry
When Sarah Hoyt arrived at Fort Jackson, S.C., for basic training in 2002, the Army confiscated all of her personal belongings. That included sports bras she had packed for the 10 weeks of strenuous physical activity that stretched ahead of her, she said.
If she wanted new ones, she had to visit a reception station, which sold just one brand and one style, said Hoyt, now 41 and an Army veteran living at Camp Humphreys in South Korea.
“If racerbacks were uncomfortable for you, too bad. If you needed more support, too bad. If the store was out of your size, too bad,” she said.
So for the first few days of the training program, Hoyt pushed through the discomfort of too-small bras as she cycled through sit-ups, push-ups and two-mile runs. “I was very uncomfortable, to put it mildly,” she said. “They did a good job of putting the girls down, but it was so tight.”
Now 20 years later, the Army is poised to offer its first official uniform bra in an effort to address challenges like the ones Hoyt faced, as well as equip female soldiers with better options for combat and training use.
“The overall goal is to produce garments that not only protect the user, but reduce the cognitive burden on the female Soldier caused by discomfort and ill fit,” clothing designer and project lead Ashley Cushon told Army AL&T magazine. “Achieving this will improve the Soldier’s overall readiness and performance levels, allowing them to focus on their mission.”
Four prototypes of the bra, known as the Army Tactical Brassiere (ATB), are in development at the U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command Soldier Center in Natick, Mass., and final concepts will be presented to the Army Uniform Board for approval in the fall. The designs all offer flame-retardant protection and vary in other features, which include pullover and front-closure styles, structured and contoured seams, adjustable straps, padded cups, mesh venting and an inner dog-tag pocket.
“If the ATB becomes an official Program of Record as a result of the upcoming Army Uniform Board, we would see that as a win for female Soldiers across the Army, who would then likely be issued the ATB upon initial entry to the Army,” David Accetta, a public affairs officer for Devcom Soldier Center, wrote in an email to The Washington Post.
The project joins a wave of recent efforts to recognize the diversity of service members and improve uniform standards for women, who made up 16.5 percent of the enlisted forces in 2018. Last year, the Army and the Air Force released new rules that allow more flexibility for service members who wear locs, twists, braids and ponytails. And last month, the Navy measured hundreds of sailors in Norfolk in its ongoing effort to create better-fitting uniforms for female personnel.
Madelynn Conner, a 24-year-old intelligence officer stationed in Vicenza, Italy, said she and colleagues appreciate the Army’s latest initiative. “We are very grateful that the Army is moving in this direction and being more accommodating towards its female soldiers, who bring so much to the fight,” she said. “I personally hope to see similar developments for items such as the frame for our rucks, allowing them to adjust more appropriately to our bodies.”
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