FORT BELVOIR, Va. — A new physical training uniform is expected to be part of the U.S. Army wardrobe beginning in the 2016 fiscal year and is based on the rejected feedback of over 76,000 soldiers who took an online survey in February of 2012, Duffel Blog has learned.
"We started the new Army Physical Fitness Uniform Program to see what soldiers wanted us to buy with all the money we saved cutting their pay this year," said Col. Robert Mortlock, program manager of Soldier Protection and Individual Equipment in Fort Belvoir. "Then we summarily dismissed all their input."
Riding the wave of summer blockbuster movies based on comic book superheroes, soldiers wanted to cut a more heroic profile in public when bumming free meals at Applebees or Waffle House. Many submitted ideas for what they would like to wear, which were promptly rejected.
The first of the failed uniform concepts was based on Marvel's original "X-Men" comic book superheroes. Many proponents of this PT uniform considered the eye protection portion of Cyclops' uniform "sweet," but Sgt. Maj. of the Army Raymond Chandler immediately shot it down upon seeing the concept drawings.
