Characterizing the Size of the Encumbered Soldier
Abstract
This report documents work done in 2012-13 to provide a database of Soldier body measurements that would characterize the space for a fully encumbered dismounted Soldier and a driver. The Tank and Automotive Research, Development and Engineering Command (TARDEC), as part of the Occupant Centric Platform (OCP) Technology Enabled Concept Demonstration (TECD), tasked the Natick Soldier Research, Development and Engineering Center (NSRDEC) to collect and analyze the data in response to increased interest in the body size and volume of Soldiers when outfitted in their clothing and individual equipment (CIE). This interest stems from observation of fully outfitted Soldiers who were unable to fit safely and/or comfortably into the vehicle compartments or workspaces used during their daily missions. A detailed list of 42 critical anthropometric body dimensions were measured on 30 Soldiers in four of the specific duty position configurations (Driver, Rifleman/ Radioman, Squad Automatic Weapon Gunner, and Combat Medic) represented in the current nine-man dismounted squad, as well as a Semi-Nude and a Baseline configuration. The data provide, for the first time, a clear window into the increased size of a Soldier when wearing current CIE by providing specific delta values that can be added to semi-nude anthropometric databases. In general, the results strongly indicate that Soldiers wearing various combat loads are significantly taller, broader front to back, wider, and heavier than when wearing only the duty uniform. It was concluded that 1) military vehicle platforms/workstations should be re-designed to sufficiently increase Soldier space and thereby improve Soldier performance, survivability and comfort while reducing overall risk and/or 2) Soldier CIE should be sufficiently reduced so current military platforms/workstations perform as they were originally designed.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Aug 01, 2014
- Accession Number
- ADA609368
Entities
People
- Hyeg J. Choi
- Todd Garlie
Organizations
- United States Army Soldier Systems Center