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Fancy pants headed to Afghanistan

Army tests new combat pants designed for the rugged mountains of Afghanistan.

Mark Rutherford
The military establishment's ever increasing reliance on technology and whiz-bang gadgetry impacts us as consumers, investors, taxpayers and ultimately as the defended. Our mission here is to bring some of these products and concepts to your attention based on carefully selected criteria such as importance to national security, originality, collateral damage to the treasury and adaptability to yard maintenance-but not necessarily in that order. E-mail him at markr@milapp.com. Disclosure.
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Mark Rutherford

Afghanistan is a rugged country. How rugged is it? It's so rugged the U.S. Army has commissioned special pants for soldiers fighting there.

The new Army Combat Pants are designed to take whatever Takur Ghar and other Afghan mountain ranges have to hand out, according to the Army.

The new pants feature built-in hard knee pads that adjust up or down and side to side. They are made from 7.3-ounce, fire-resistant twill, (compared with the 6.5-ounce stuff soldiers are wearing now) and sport a reinforced, stretchable seat, perfect for glissading after the jihadis. Larger cargo pockets on the calf of the leg and Velcro flaps to replace the buttons on the back pockets, complete the couture.

The current pants "were not designed for that kind of environment," Jeff Myhre, who is involved with the project told Army Times. "Really the only way to get down (steep slopes) is slide down on their rear end, and sometimes when they are climbing, it's foot-knee, foot-knee to get up to altitude."

The Army began developing the new pants last spring after soldiers complained their standard issues were wearing out too quickly from crawling up and down the country's jagged peaks. Three thousand prototype pairs will be sent over for testing with 75th Ranger Regiment and the West Virginia Army National Guard. The Army could field the new trousers as early as next year.

GI's complain about the free, green pants, et voila! A complete makeover? It truly is Today's Army.