Army News, news from Iraq, - Army Times

Soldiers give cooling systems mixed reviews

One day, a soldier’s battle-rattle may include a wearable air conditioner for staying cool under fire.

It may sound like a joke, but Army scientists recently conducted an experiment at Fort Benning, Ga., that involved 18 soldiers running around wearing “micro-climate cooling systems,” according to an Army news release.

Benning’s Maneuver Battle Lab, working with engineers from the Army’s Natick Soldier Research, Development and Engineering Center, evaluated two individual soldier cooling systems in the Aug. 24-28 experiment.

On average, the Army documents 1,500 to 2,000 cases of heat-related incidents each year, Natick engineer Walter Teal said in the news release, citing data from the Army Office of the Surgeon General.

Here’s the skinny on personal AC units:

What was tested?

Soldiers evaluated two systems — the integrated micro-climate cooling system, which features two small modules connected by a short hose, and the personal micro-climate cooling system, which is encased in a single cylindrical unit, the release said.

How they work

Both systems use standard military batteries and generate 120 watts of cooling, Teal said. Both systems chill and pump water through special tubing attached to soldiers’ combat shirts for the experiment.

How much do these things weigh?

They’re not light. Right now they weigh about 4 pounds each.

What do soldiers think?

After a four-mile road march with backpacks weighing 40 to 50 pounds, soldiers conducted room-clearing operations and other tactical training.

“The tubing is a little bulky and it’s a little unreliable,” Spc. Isaiah Ramirez said in the release. “Half the soldiers said they were having issues with the equipment.”

Spc. John Twist said personal ACs would help troops in Iraq and Afghanistan if the kinks can be worked out. “It’s a great idea if they can make it more lightweight and you can count on it to work,” he said.

What is the future?

“These are not necessarily going to make you feel comfortable; you’re still going to be hot and sweaty,” Teal said. “But it’s enough cooling in most situations to prevent you from becoming a heat casualty.”

Fred Dupont, a Natick representative at Fort Benning’s Maneuver Center of Excellence, told Army Times that “it’s too early to say” whether soldiers will one day wear air conditioners into battle.

“We are looking at multiple ways of providing soldiers with heat mitigation or heat relief,” he said.

DISCUSS: This story