CAFB: Female equipment resdesign

COLUMBUS AFB, Miss. – Air Force flight equipment is on its way through a major overhaul, with the largest change to equipment designed with measurements of female aviators. Maj. Saily Rodriguez, Systems Program Office (SPO) female fitment program manager, and Maj. Christianne Opresko, headquarters of Air Force operations’ chief aircrew support branch, were at Columbus Air Force Base on July 11-12 to address some aircrew flight equipment concerns. Base commander, Col. Samantha Weeks of the 14th Flying Training Wing, invited the duo to fly in the T-38 Talon and T-6 Texan II trainer aircraft to experience what women deal with while airborne. Weeks wanted to address it firsthand because she is a female pilot looking to obtain better solutions to the issues – primarily bladder relief options for women. What’s happening among some female aircrew is “purposely dehydrating themselves” to avoid bladder relief, said Hall, and that comes with a “whole lot of issues” such as in-flight safety hazards. The reason the duo came to CAFB was to see what the pilots experience during their first real exposure to aviation. Being in the trainer aircraft, Rodriguez could acquire a better understanding of what women go through at the very beginning when they first come in as a pilot. Rodriguez tried out a disposable urinary relief device called the Traveljohn while she was in the T-38. She wanted to try out this device to get female pilots’ meaning when they tell her about bladder relief issues. The bottom line, Rodriguez found, was that it wasn’t feasible to use the device while buckled in place. The issue with the bladder relief isn’t devices, but rather to increase options available to the aircrew members, Hall commented. The SPO is responsible for research and development, test and evaluation, and management of these issues. Rodriguez and Opresko plan to use the experience to vector their programs to satisfy pilot’s needs. “At the end of the day it is all about having form, fit and function to enable our aircrew to optimize their performance in the aircraft,” said Opresko. Any issue found is a barrier to the performance of pilots, he said. The SPO is looking for outside sources to pitch new bladder relief options as well as partnering with the Navy by putting money toward their projects. Rodriguez claimed the Navy is working on new devices that could be beneficial with existing products. The SPO is looking at what is available commercially, what the sister services are doing, and improving what they already have to get the issue resolved. (Source: CAFB 07/17/19) If flight equipment, from harness straps to flight suits, does not meet pilot needs, then AF aviators are not going to be as effective and ready for combat. For many female aviators, this marks a monumental push to ensure they are combat ready and their input and opinions are being heard.