I’ve always loved reading Slate, which some would argue further suggests I’ve got a strong liberal streak to me (I’m not here to support or refute that suggestion, not today anyway).
Today’s article about new Army uniforms is one example of why. Not only does it cover the slightly obscure but (I would argue) highly interesting subject well, but it gives us this glimpse into the new training requirements inspired by the use of velcro:
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Predictably, there has been grumbling about the new ACU among the ranks of chat-room soldiers—mostly about the use of Velcro on pocket closures and as backing for the name and insignia badges found on the chest. The concern is not only about the durability of Velcro (which the Army calls a “hook and pile fastener”), but also that a forward scout on a night patrol may reveal his position simply by opening his pocket. When I asked the officials from the Army’s Program Executive Office Soldier—an agency charged with outfitting the soldier—about this, a staff member responded by e-mail: “During the evaluation … it was determined that the issue of noise associated with the hook and pile fastener in a tactical environment could be overcome with familiarity and use during training (noise and light discipline) much like what Soldiers currently do when employing other weapons and individual equipment items in a tactical environment.” Velcro drills! The mind conjures a scientist, buried somewhere in a DARPA lab, working on super-silent stealth Velcro (a conceit, as it happens, that is played upon in the new movie Garden State).
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