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Underwear for all weather in development

If a project sponsored by Air Force Special Operations Command succeeds, airmen soon may be able to wear the same T-shirt or socks for days without stinking up their tent, or own bulk-free cold-weather gear that’s light enough to cram into a small stuff sack.

At Hurlburt Field, Fla., home to AFSOC headquarters, Dan Beal coordinates a project he refers to as “austere environment undergarments.”

“I wore one of the T-shirts for three, four days,” said Beal, a civilian. “It wasn’t like wearing a fresh shirt, but it wasn’t bad.”

But a T-shirt that doesn’t need frequent washings doesn’t come cheap, at least when it is still in the developmental stages. Since 2005, Congress has set aside $2.2 million for testing and research on the specialized underwear. For 2008, the House of Representatives has requested $2.7 million.

However, that request must survive a series of committee votes and be approved by the Senate, so no money is guaranteed just yet.

If the underwear does reach mass production, which wouldn’t happen for a few more years, plans call for a complete set of winter- and summer-weight underwear selling for about $20, Beal said. Other services and Air Force commands would be allowed to adapt the clothes.

Senior Master Sgt. Bob Pike, who’s based at Hurlburt, tried out the winter garments while deployed for 10 days last year to North Dakota, where the CV-22 Osprey was undergoing an evaluation of its own.

The experimental winter-weight underwear, about as thick as a dress sock, fit easily under his battle dress uniform, Pike said. The combination of full-length underwear, his BDUs, thin gloves, balaclava and winter jacket kept him warm, he said, even when the temperature dropped below zero.

The less-bulky gear made it easier to fit his body and arms into the Osprey’s tight spaces, Pike said. Moreover, the specialty underwear did a good job repelling oil.

The summer underpants “are more like a compression short,” Beal said. Officials are trying to decide how tight they want to make the short-sleeve and long-sleeve T-shirts.

Want to read more?

Pick up the June 18 Air Force Times, on newsstands Monday