Army & Navy - EQUIPMENT: Fashion Note (G.I.)

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In Alaska and Greenland this winter, U.S. soldiers present a new silhouette, a new color: Olive Drab 7 (very dark). Reason: G.I.s in northern posts are testing the Army's latest field uniform.

The basic outergarment (field jacket and trousers) is windproof, waterproof, practically snagproof. If it holds up on test, it will be worn by U.S. soldiers everywhere except in the tropics.

As the mercury drops, layers of clothing are added inside the outer shell: extra shirts, trousers, underwear. The discovery by the Army Quartermaster Corps (which had few advantages in its youth) that separate layers of cloth are warmer than one extra-thick layer like an overcoat, is not new. Chinese coolies, for instance, have known for centuries that two 4-lb. coats are warmer than one 8-lb. coat.