The exchange stores in the base of the Army and Airforce have run out of hot weather uniforms for women. This has happened due to a contract dispute with Golden Manufacturing Co. Inc which was awarded a $22.6 million contract by the Defense Department in April 2021 to produce women’s trousers for the services. According to the Defense Logistics Agency, production has stopped altogether.
The shortage of weather-appropriate clothes for the women soldiers came right during the peak of summer heat waves which have dried up many areas of the country. It is seen that the new and improved Hot Weather Combat Uniform is tailored to withstand high temperatures since most of the military bases are located in hot tropical regions.
Due to a protest against the award given, the company had to temporarily stop production. Since different military items had different contracts, not all of them were affected.
Michelle McCaskill, a spokesperson for the Defense Logistics Agency, wrote in a disclosure that “It is not quite clear as to what led the protest to arise or when the company will restart production”.
One woman soldier commented, “You will not be able to endure the heat, nor will you sweat, nor will you be able to cool down”. It has come to a point where women have started to buy men’s uniforms and then alter them accordingly to fit their postures.
Women have always struggled with issues such as receiving ill-fitted and hot weather equipment which has forced them to rely upon male clothing and has resulted in a whole new set of problems. Not only was it unethical but also quite unprofessional to resort to these standards. It was quite hard for women troops to work in these untailored sets of clothes.
Different companies produce and supply uniforms for the army and air force but the Golden Manufacturing Company is the only one that produces trousers for women thereby creating a sudden shortage.
A corporal serving the Army commented, “Despite continual demand, the supply of women’s uniforms is still limited on purpose. We have this anxiety about our uniforms looking right or new since we’re going to get picked on for our hair, even when it’s in regs.”
"The availability of our uniforms seems like an afterthought," she said.
The hot climate uniform was brought into effect in 2019 and is a much lighter version compared to the basic camouflage one. It dries more quickly because of its thin design which helps the soldiers to stay cooler and is definitely a step up. The thin fabric also makes it easier for the soldiers to carry it around in their rug-sack. This change is largely seen by rank and is a much-needed quality-of-life improvement.
“I think that’s one of my biggest frustrations is the one-size-fits-all mentality on uniforms that people have including other shortages in female-fitted body armor”, said a female combat-arms soldier of the Army.
“I would love for a uniform to be released as female-only just to see how the rest of the Army reacts,” she said. “Because we don’t take the time to address the specific needs of women when we’re looking at resourcing uniforms and gear.”
Also read, Royal Navy Sailors Get New Uniforms That are “Cooler and Fireproof.”
