WASHINGTON — The Army is ripping space-age Velcro from its uniforms and replacing it with the humble button, which turns out to be tailor-made for the rigors of Afghanistan.
Hook-and-pile tape — the generic term for Velcro— strains to keep jam-packed cargo pants pockets closed. And when the Taliban attacks, the last thing soldiers need to worry about is spilling their gear.
MILITARY: Fails on brain-test follow-ups
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Soldiers told superiors that Velcro didn't suit their needs, and the Army began testing alternatives last year, said Debi Dawson, an Army spokeswoman. In August, the Army will begin issuing new pants to soldiers heading to Afghanistan.
"When concerns surfaced in surveys that the hook-and-pile tape was not holding under the weight of full pocket loads, the Army evaluated several solutions," Dawson said. Velcro has been part of the latest Army combat uniform since it was introduced in 2004.
Dirt and rocks also clog the pile portion of the fastener. That requires soldiers to clean it regularly. An Army website offersthis helpful hint: a soldier's small weapons cleaning brush has been "working very well" in removing dirt and sand.
"This is the latest proof that dust and debris are the biggest enemy for the U.S. military," said Loren Thompson, a military analyst at the Lexington Institute and a consultant to defense contractors. "Taliban attacks come and go, but dust is constant in Afghanistan. Dust will impede the function of anything."
Sgt. Kenny Hatten cut to the heart of the matter in this posting on an Army website, urging the military to go back to the future:
"Get rid of the pocket flap Velcro and give us back our buttons," Hatten wrote. "Buttons are silent, easy to replace in the field, work just fine in the mud, do not clog up with dirt and do not fray and disintegrate with repeated laundering."
Somebody, apparently, was listening.
Snaps and buttons were identified as possible fixes for failing Velcro. The Army surveyed 2,700 soldiers who tested prototypes, and 60% said they preferred buttons and 29% liked snaps. Just 11% wanted to keep Velcro, according to the Army. In the end, the Army decided to substitute three buttons for Velcro on the cargo pockets of its pants.
It's cheaper, too. The Army will save 96 cents per uniform when it swaps buttons for Velcro, Dawson said.
The new-and-improved uniforms will still have plenty of Velcro, the sticky fabric popularized during spaceflights. (Astronauts used it to keep pens and other items from floating in the weightless environment.) Velcro remains on the cuffs of sleeves. It's also used for nameplates and patches.
Hatten's ideal uniform might save the Army a few more pennies.
"I don't mind the insignia Velcro on the sleeve pockets, but why would I need Velcro for my name tape and U.S. Army tapes?" he asked. "Am I going to change my name and join a different army? Why not let us sew these items on the uniform, along with the patrol cap? That's cheaper, more durable and reduces the possibility of having your uniform items stolen or tampered with."
The Army, Dawson said, hears soldiers like Hatten. It's aware of continuing complaints about Velcro and will take them into account when redesigning uniforms in the future.
USAToday
Tuesday, June 15, 2010
Monday, June 14, 2010
Military fails on brain-test follow-ups
WASHINGTON — The Pentagon has failed to comply with a congressional directive to give all troops tests before and after they serve in combat to measure their thinking abilities and uncover possible brain injuries, military records show.
More than 562,000 tests of troops taken before they deployed have not been readministered on their return by military health officials, the records show. That means the Pentagon could be missing thousands of cases of brain injury, says Rep. Bill Pascrell, D-N.J., who helped write the 2008 order.
"This is a total failure," says Pascrell, co-chairman of the bipartisan Congressional Brain Injury Task Force. "We're failing to find TBI (traumatic brain injury) and post-traumatic stress disorder in an era when the military is trying to find and assist folks who need it."
Lt. Gen. Eric Schoomaker, the Army surgeon general, and other Army officials say the test is flawed and no better than a "coin flip."
The test, called the Automated Neuropsychological Assessment Metrics (ANAM), produces too many false positive results, said Lt. Col. Michael Russell, head of the Army's ANAM program.
The test "was promised ... as a sort of 'pregnancy test' for (mild) TBI. It has failed to deliver," says Russell, adding that false results could be triggered by medication, such as Benadryl.
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This misrepresents the test, which is designed only to alert doctors that a soldier's thinking process has declined and further evaluation is necessary, says Tresa Roebuck-Spencer, a neuropsychologist with the University of Oklahoma, which develops and distributes the testing program for the Army. She says research shows that false positives drop significantly when the post-deployment test is compared with the original exam.
In that role, this kind of test would be a useful tool for screening all returning troops as Congress intended, say two military neurologists, Air Force Col. Michael Jaffee, director of the Defense and Veterans Brain Injury Center, and Cmdr. Jack Tsao, director of TBI programs for the Navy and Marines.
"Anything that would help us to better diagnose ... servicemembers who may need further care or follow-up is welcome," Tsao says.
ANAM is a roughly 20-minute computerized test that scores areas such as reaction time, learning speed, short-term memory and mathematical processing. It also gauges a servicemember's mood, fatigue and history of any head injury.
Congress passed the test order in January 2008. Ward Casscells, then the military's top medical officer, ordered in May 2008 that the ANAM test be given pre-deployment while military experts studied it and other tests for both pre- and post-deployment use. That study is not expected to be completed until 2013.
In November 2008, Schoomaker barred post-deployment screening with ANAM.
About 575,000 pre-deployment tests have been gathered at a cost of about $30 each. Only 12,000 to 13,000 tests have been used for follow-up comparisons, most for a study at Fort Campbell, Ky.
The military relies largely on self-reporting symptoms in diagnosing mild TBI suffered in combat. About 5% to 15% suffer persistent problems.
Reposted from USAToday
More than 562,000 tests of troops taken before they deployed have not been readministered on their return by military health officials, the records show. That means the Pentagon could be missing thousands of cases of brain injury, says Rep. Bill Pascrell, D-N.J., who helped write the 2008 order.
"This is a total failure," says Pascrell, co-chairman of the bipartisan Congressional Brain Injury Task Force. "We're failing to find TBI (traumatic brain injury) and post-traumatic stress disorder in an era when the military is trying to find and assist folks who need it."
Lt. Gen. Eric Schoomaker, the Army surgeon general, and other Army officials say the test is flawed and no better than a "coin flip."
The test, called the Automated Neuropsychological Assessment Metrics (ANAM), produces too many false positive results, said Lt. Col. Michael Russell, head of the Army's ANAM program.
The test "was promised ... as a sort of 'pregnancy test' for (mild) TBI. It has failed to deliver," says Russell, adding that false results could be triggered by medication, such as Benadryl.
BRAIN DAMAGE: Two wars produce unique and puzzling injuries
MILITARY: Mental health stays rising
FAITH: Ministries pave a spiritual path to help veterans with PTSD
This misrepresents the test, which is designed only to alert doctors that a soldier's thinking process has declined and further evaluation is necessary, says Tresa Roebuck-Spencer, a neuropsychologist with the University of Oklahoma, which develops and distributes the testing program for the Army. She says research shows that false positives drop significantly when the post-deployment test is compared with the original exam.
In that role, this kind of test would be a useful tool for screening all returning troops as Congress intended, say two military neurologists, Air Force Col. Michael Jaffee, director of the Defense and Veterans Brain Injury Center, and Cmdr. Jack Tsao, director of TBI programs for the Navy and Marines.
"Anything that would help us to better diagnose ... servicemembers who may need further care or follow-up is welcome," Tsao says.
ANAM is a roughly 20-minute computerized test that scores areas such as reaction time, learning speed, short-term memory and mathematical processing. It also gauges a servicemember's mood, fatigue and history of any head injury.
Congress passed the test order in January 2008. Ward Casscells, then the military's top medical officer, ordered in May 2008 that the ANAM test be given pre-deployment while military experts studied it and other tests for both pre- and post-deployment use. That study is not expected to be completed until 2013.
In November 2008, Schoomaker barred post-deployment screening with ANAM.
About 575,000 pre-deployment tests have been gathered at a cost of about $30 each. Only 12,000 to 13,000 tests have been used for follow-up comparisons, most for a study at Fort Campbell, Ky.
The military relies largely on self-reporting symptoms in diagnosing mild TBI suffered in combat. About 5% to 15% suffer persistent problems.
Reposted from USAToday
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