Posted on 04/12/2006 12:35:10 PM PDT by Abathar
BALTIMORE -- A military news Web site reported that synthetic athletic clothing containing polyester and nylon has been prohibited for Marines conducting missions away from forward operating bases and camps in Iraq.
Under direction of Marine Corps commanders in Iraq, the ban on popular clothing from companies such as Under Armour, CoolMax and Nike comes in the wake of concerns that a substantial burn risk is associated with wearing clothing made with these synthetic materials.
TheWBALChannel.com in Baltimore reported that the site -- Military.com -- says that when the clothing is exposed to extreme heat and flames, some synthetic materials such as polyester will melt and can fuse to the skin.
A military surgeon said this essentially creates a second skin and can lead to horrific, disfiguring burns.
“Burns can kill you and they’re horribly disfiguring. If you’re throwing (a melted synthetic material) on top of a burn, basically you have a bad burn with a bunch of plastic melting into your skin and that’s not how you want to go home to your family,” said Navy Capt. Lynn E. Welling, the 1st Marine Logistics Group head surgeon.
According to Tension Technology International, a company that specializes in synthetic fibers, most man-made fabrics, such as nylon, acrylic or polyester will melt when ignited and produce a hot, sticky, melted substance causing extremely severe burns.
Military.com reported Marines have been limited to wearing clothing made with these materials only while on the relatively safe forward operating bases and camps where encounters with fires and explosions are relatively low.
Baltimore-based Under Armour advertises that the fabric used to make their garments will draw perspiration from the skin to the outer layer of the clothing allowing the person wearing it to remain cool and dry in any condition or climate.
The site said servicemembers with jobs that put them at a high risk of flame exposure, such as pilots and explosive ordnance disposal personnel, were kept from wearing polyester materials because of the extra burn threat. Now, with so many encounters with IED explosions, the Marines are extending this ban to everyone going “outside the wire.”
When working in a low-risk environment where exposure to flames or intense heat is minimal, the military said the high performance apparel can be an optimal option for staying cool in the Iraq heat.
It is also why NASCAR and Indycar drivers don't wear the stuff.
Burning plastics are no fun. That's why there are a few napalm recipes with them.
Why our flight suits and gloves were made of Nomex! (Also we were directed to wear cotton only underclothing)
maybe this is stupid - but "what do they wear instead"?
Typical GI issue cotton undershirts...
100% cotton is always good, lot of wrinkles, but just burns instead of melts.
Cotton or Nomex is my guess.
I worry about all of those new ultra-soft blankers and stuffed animals that are being sold...made from spun plastic, if I'm not mistaken.
Not crap that burns and melts!
Is it just me or was this a misleading headline? I expected they were ordering soldiers to not wear popular brands of clothing because of the branding...
I know a UH-60 crew chief who no longer wears a paracord ID-tag chain cover. He now sports a permanant hangman's scar where the paracord melted to his skin in a hydraulic fire.
I have similar scars from melting paracord ends and getting careless.
Now, for the other side. Will there be "unintended consequences", such as increased heat stroke and hypo-thermia resulting for the use of cotton undergarments?
Right, I was just about to post the same detail. In the mid-fifties, there were some knock-off gloves that contained a light plastic fiber mix. Some aviators thought they were more comfortable on long SAC training missions and bought them. A B-47 stalled and crashed during a TAG landing series at McConnell AFB, Kansas and, while the crew was killed on impact, the backseater's fingers were melted off from the plastic-like fabric in his gloves. Ugh! I was on the accident investigation board and saw what plastic can do in a fire. CINC/SAC, Gen. O'Connell, let be known that any flight officer found to possess those type gloves, or other flight gear with that content, would lose his flight status and career very quickly.
Of course, the old hard-core saying "cotton kills" is always present. Cotton offers near-zero insulation and will become a major liability if wet, even from sweat. But, that probably beats burning to death.
"...even from sweat. But, that probably beats burning to death."
I'm with you on that. I'd rather sweat than die.
Fire Fighters call this phenomenon getting "shrink wrapped"
I don't think so, most of this stuff is new (relatively), and we did without it for a long, long time. Be interesting to see the military's numbers of heat stroke, exhaustion before and after the ban. If the stuff really is as good as people claim it to be.
Hey, I only had to peel the stuff off of my arms and hands once to know I would never, ever want to go through that again.
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