Monthly Archives August 2021

The Air Force is working on redesigning the equipment used by female pilots across the force after facing challenges with current flight equipment.

“We have women who go on every combat mission, and we owe it to them to have gear that fits, that suits a woman’s figure and (a) can be in it for hours,” said the Air Force Chief of Staff, General David. L. Goldfein at a Defense Writers Group Breakfast, March 2018 in Washington, DC

Much of the equipment currently worn by pilots was constructed from anthropometric data from the 1960s, a time when only men played the roles of aviator.

The lack of variety and representation in current designs has caused multiple problems for women, said Col. Samantha Weeks, commander of the 14th Flight Training Wing, assigned to Columbus Air Force Base in Mississippi.

There are many uniform issues circulating around G suits, flight suits, urinary tracts, and life vests.

“The challenges that other female aviators and I face are the fit and availability of our flight equipment,” said Captain Lauren Ellis, general manager of the 57th Adversary Tactics Group.

The limited sizes and accessibility often force flight attendants to order the wrong size and change it drastically to fit properly, which takes time and money for the mission, Ellis said.

A female flight equipment workshop participant describes the issues women face with current urinary tracts at AFWERX Vegas, Las Vegas, Jan. 30, 2019.

(U.S. Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class Bailee A. Darbasie)

“All of the bladders in my G suit need to be changed,” Ellis said. “It’s a lot of work for Aircrew Flight Equipment, or AFE, Airmen. Even after being changed, the proportions do not match.

G suits are essential anti-gravity gear for aviators. The suit bladders fill with air and apply pressure to the rider’s body to prevent loss of consciousness during strong acceleration. Not having a properly fitted G-suit can lead to hypoxia followed by loss of consciousness.

Ellis said ill-fitting flight suits are a common problem for both men and women. Crews whose size is significantly larger or smaller than the average find it difficult to find combinations suited to their morphology.

Even if a woman finds a flight suit close to her waist, the flight suit zipper is designed for men, not women. Female flight attendants find it difficult to relieve themselves during flights because the zipper on the flight suit is not low enough for them to properly use their urinary tract.

“There are flight suits designed with longer zippers for women, but they are hardly ever available,” Ellis said. “It is common for women to have to wait months to receive the flight suit they ordered, forcing them to wear the male suit.”

Participants of the Women’s Flight Equipment Workshop examine various flight suit designs at AFWERX Vegas, Las Vegas, Jan. 30, 2019.

(U.S. Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class Bailee A. Darbasie)

In addition to the risk of injury and discomfort associated with G suits and flight suits, women find it difficult to adapt their rescue equipment accordingly. The ejection process is so powerful that even pilots with properly fitted gear are at serious risk of injury. It is important that the Airmen have their voices heard and the modernization of equipment for everyone continues, Ellis said.

“In some situations, having poorly fitted gear, like harnesses and life vests, can result in loss of life,” Ellis said. “If a crew member ejects from the plane with the wrong equipment, they can be seriously injured or die.

The Air Force and Air Combat Command are working to find a workable solution for the crew members.

Part of the strategy to correct the uniform issue was to participate in several collaborative women’s flight equipment workshops at AFWERX Vegas. Female aviators stationed around the world traveled to the innovation center and attended workshops to explore areas of opportunity and come up with solutions.

“The purpose of the workshops is to bring together female aviators, flight crew, human systems program office staff and subject matter experts to understand current products, the procurement process and real needs in the field.” , Weeks said.

Throughout the workshops, Airmen participated in briefings, as well as discussions and exercises with the agencies involved in the design and distribution of their equipment.

“The Human Systems Program Office acquires and maintains all equipment for male and female Airmen,” said Lt. Col. Elaine Bryant, deputy chief of the Human Systems Program Office, assigned to Wright Air Force Base. Patterson, Ohio. “We are committed to hearing the voices of our consumers and we will make the necessary changes to our current process to meet their needs. “

Participants of the Women’s Flight Equipment Workshop discuss the pros and cons of multi-piece body armor at AFWERX Vegas, Las Vegas, Jan. 30, 2019.

(U.S. Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class Bailee A. Darbasie)

The workshops established the necessary communication between the consumer, designers and suppliers to achieve a common goal of understanding and development.

“We now have pretty clear actions coming from the women’s flight equipment shops,” said Bryant. “We have heard the comments and we want to make sure we have real things that we are doing within specific timeframes for our consumers. “

The Human Systems Program Office will strive to make incremental changes within their operations and improve their procurement process, Bryant explained.

“We will be taking the ground on their offers to go out into the units and meet with the aircrew that we provide for,” said Bryant. “We will ensure that we maintain the lines of communication necessary to improve our program. “

Another major improvement for female aviators is the adoption of the Battlefield Airmen Rapid Resource Replenishment System, a centrally managed equipment installation. BARS is able to ship the necessary resources directly to female flight attendants. Using this system will allow women to acquire the appropriate equipment they need within an acceptable timeframe.

“BARS is a step in the right direction,” said Ellis. “Everyone deserves to have the right equipment. There are some things we have to adapt to, but as long as we try to improve and modernize our equipment, we can be a more ready and deadly force.

“The Air Force has evolved over the years and continues to evolve,” echoed Weeks. “The female aviators entering the Air Force now will not have the same problems I have had for the past 21 years.”

Information from an ACC news article was used in this story.

This article originally appeared on United States Air Force. Follow @USAF on Twitter.

Governor Jared Polis this morning hosted an executive order signing ceremony on the steps of the Colorado State Capitol, which attempts to correct Colorado’s history regarding the state’s treatment of its Native American population .

The ordinance “rescinds the proclamations of Territorial Governor John Evans [the state’s second territorial governor] which was shamefully aimed and endangered the lives of American Indians, ”the governor’s office told reporters on Monday evening.

Colorado Governor Jared Polis enters the chamber of the House of Representatives to deliver his first state-of-state address during a joint session of the Colorado Legislature on Thursday, January 10, 2019 in Denver. (AP Photo / David Zalubowski)

Polis was joined on the Capitol steps by Lieutenant Governor Dianne Primavera and members of the Southern Ute, Ute Mountain, Cheyenne and Arapaho tribes, as well as other members of the American Indian and Alaska Indian communities of Colorado.

Evans served as Colorado’s second territorial governor for three years of the Civil War, 1862-1865. Although Mount Evans and the town of Evans both bear his name, his record to Colorado’s early occupiers was shameful.

Not only did he not alleviate the mostly irrational fears of settlers that their new settlements, including Denver, would be overrun by Indians, but he resigned after being held responsible for the Sand Creek massacre.

At dawn on November 29, 1864, approximately 675 American volunteer soldiers commanded by Colonel John M. Chivington attacked a village of about 750 Cheyenne and Arapaho Indians encamped along Sand Creek in the southeastern Colorado Territory. They were there by order of the government, very close to a cavalry fort. Under Evan’s order, the cavalry ordered to go there slaughtered an entire tribe of peaceful Indians, mostly women, children and the elderly. Some members of the cavalry stationed at the fort, who had had contact with the peaceful tribes, refused to participate in the massacre.

Given its less-than-stellar performance linked to the original occupants of the state, a movement is underway to rename Mount Evans; among the most recognizable peaks visible from the Denver subway.

August 14 — Three Alaska Native leaders have proposed an electoral measure that would require the state of Alaska to formally recognize Native tribes within its borders.

The measure is currently under legal analysis by the Alaska Elections Division and Lt. Gov. Kevin Meyer. If the measure is certified by the state, donors will have until the start of the 2022 legislature to collect 36,140 signatures, the amount needed to place it on the ballot next fall.

The measure is identical to House Bill 123, a law from Representative Tiffany Zulkosky, D-Bethel, which was passed by State House earlier this year. According to a legal analysis, it “will have no legal impact on the relations between the state and the tribes”.

‘Wáahlaal Gidáak Barbara Blake of Juneau, one of the measure’s sponsors, said supporters believed the measure was worth it, even though it is mostly ceremonial.

“In my opinion, this is an opportunity for two … sovereign governments working simultaneously in our state of Alaska to have a better working relationship with each other, instead of constantly being in disagreement over whether or not the state of Alaska will recognize the existence of tribes, ”she said.

She said the tribes have consistently demanded recognition and that “it’s high on the agenda of many, many people in terms of what needs to happen next.”

The other two sponsors, also from Southeast Alaska, are La quen náay Liz Medicine Crow and Chaa yaa eesh Richard Peterson.

Peterson is President of the Central Council of the Tlingit and Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska, and Medicine Crow is President and CEO of the First Alaskans Institute. All three said they were sponsoring the measure themselves and not on behalf of their groups.

Blake said that as the legislature deals with budgetary matters, “their ability to focus on things that are necessary, like tribal recognition, tribal recognition, is just not placed center and foreground.” .

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This makes a voting measure necessary, she said.

The US Supreme Court and the Alaska Supreme Court have repeatedly ruled that the federally recognized tribes – Alaska has 229 of them – are sovereign governments.

Medicine Crow said the measure would focus on “respecting and nurturing a relationship” between the state and the tribes that live within its borders.

The three sponsors have said they intend to speak with indigenous communities statewide and could withdraw the measure if it is poorly received. But given the time constraints to present it to voters in 2022, they felt they needed to act now.