DRESS RIGHT AND COVER DOWN


Like every other organization with the coronavirus in its midst, the Army had to regroup to consider how to combat it. Among other actions, in early April, the Army put a two-week hold on sending recruits to basic training. But training new recruits couldn’t stop forever.


“During this crisis, it is crucial for the security of the nation to keep our Soldiers protected, healthy and ready to support COVID-19 response efforts and national defense,” said Douglas Tamilio, director of the Soldier Center. “We responded very quickly to make an Army-acceptable solu- tion to the requirement for face coverings.


MASKED AND READY


A parachute rigger with 1st Special Forces Group (Airborne), Group Support Battalion, sews surgical masks for medical patients March 31 at Joint Base Lewis–McChord. The battalion jumped to use available resources to produce masks in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. (Photo by Sgt. Joe Parrish, 1st SFG (A))


“Our job is the research, development and early engineering of the solution and building a technical data package,” Tamilio explained, whereas production is in the hands of PEO Soldier and the Defense Logistics Agency. “We leveraged all our resources here, and a talented group of our employees worked hard to rapidly make the initial 10,000 face coverings to support training at the Maneuver Center of Excellence at Fort Benning,” he said.


department, the material is hospital-


provided sterilization wrap with a bacterial filtration efficiency of 98.9 to 99.9 percent.


“We will continue to make masks as long as there continues to be a need,” and will continuously refine the prod- uct designs and production process with feedback from medical employees, said Cathey. “If production numbers meet the demand identified by hospital lead- ership, it is feasible that masks might be redirected to other priority locations and staff,” Jones said, “consistent with the


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updated recommendations to wear cloth face coverings when physical distancing is not feasible.”


BASIC NEEDS When Esper authorized DOD personnel to wear cloth face covers, the U.S. Combat Capabilities Development Command Soldier Center was the obvious candi- date to develop an Armywide solution. Te center represents one of eight major areas of competency for CCDC, a subor- dinate command of U.S. Army Futures Command.


QUICK TIME, MASK “Resources” covers a rich landscape of expertise and experience at CCDC Soldier Center: clothing designers, material scientists, fabric workers and equipment specialists, among other specialties. Tey are “experts at the design and fabrication of prototype clothing, individual protec- tion items and equipment, personnel airdrop systems, cargo airdrop, and soft- wall shelter systems, along with other military-unique textile-based items,” said Annette LaFleur, who leads the Design, Pattern and Prototype Team.


In response to the enormous need for face covers, “designers quickly brainstormed, sketched, patterned and fabricated proto- types in one weekend, while material


Army AL&T Magazine Summer 2020


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