US Army uniform moves forward, page-176

It would be nice to know how many pairs of trousers the $14-$15 million contract represents….if this is only to supply trousers for the purpose of uniform trials, the trials would have to be very large. For example, if Goodwill pocketed $40 for manufacturing each pair of trousers, the contract would represent 375,000 pairs of trousers. This seems a large number considering that, late last year, Natick issued a solicitation request to determine manufacturing capability of cut and sew apparel contractors for an estimated potential requirement of just 150,000 IHWC uniforms.

As a comparison, when the initial version of the IHWCU was tested by one infantry division in January-March this year, approximately 65,000 uniforms were said to be required, which was allowing for 4 uniforms per soldier.

Therefore, as the contract appears to be for such a large number of trousers, could it be for the finalized version of the IHWCU?  In my opinion, that seems unlikely if one considers what the Army has stated to date.

Firstly, Army uniform officials said last December that up to 5 additional fabric types with different uniform design elements were still to be evaluated in a Pacific Pathways wear test “next summer”. If the Army followed through on that statement, those multiple fabric type wear tests would be happening about now.

In addition, it was stated that, depending on soldier feedback from these trials, the 25^th Infantry Division might test another version of the IHWCU around January-March 2019.

As to Army estimates of when it might make a final decision on the IHWCU, a spokesman for Soldier Protection and Individual Equipment, the Army office that develops and fields attire for soldiers, said in January that the goal is to have a final version of the uniform worked out during the 2019 fiscal year –that is, sometime between October 2018 and September 2019.

Further information contained in a Soldier Systems Branch April 2018 presentation adds to the confusion. In the presentation, the IHWCU is listed as one of the Army’s environmental protection measures. “Near term (Now) capabilities” of the IHWCU are listed as “lighter, breathable and quicker drying material”, “no melt, no drip”, and “improved vector protection”. “Mid-term capabilities“ listed include “fabric design improvement” for the IHWCU, along with fire resistance in cold weather clothing.

Ah well, another piece in the 10,000 piece jigsaw...

Thanks for sharing, Hindmarsh.