Army designs program for better uniform fit - Army News | News from Afghanistan & Iraq - Army Times

Army designs program for better uniform fit

Army scientists are working a plan to take the guess work out of sizing soldier uniforms.

The new Uniform System for Improved Tariffs program at the Army’s Soldier Systems Center in Natick, Mass., is being designed to eliminate the outdated sizing system of trying to fit all soldiers into small, medium, large or extra-large uniforms, according to an Army press release.

The USFIT program uses 3-D, “whole-body” scanners to record the shape of soldiers' bodies.

“Previously, there was a large opportunity for a sizing error,” Joseph Cooper, a USFIT project officer, said in the release. “Using the scanner will give us data to provide the best fit.”

The sizing data is archived in the Integrated Database for Engineering Anthropometry of Soldiers to provide a better overall description of the user population, the release states.

“The IDEAS database will also assist developers in the design of current and next-generation clothing and equipment,” Cooper said.

The information may eventually be loaded onto common access cards so soldiers and supply sergeants can simply scan the card when ordering uniforms and equipment from around the world.

Program officials have tested special size-prediction algorithms for selected uniforms and equipment at Fort Bliss, Texas, where more than 3,000 deploying soldiers were scanned and fit-tested, the release states.

The Army plans to eventually distribute scanners to 24 Army installations and mobilization centers once funding for the program has been approved, the release states.