Ernst’s bill calls for improved personal protective equipment for female service members

U.S. Sen. Joni Ernst (R-IA) on Dec. 3 sponsored a bipartisan bill to improve the fielding of the newest generations of personal protective equipment (PPE) for members serving in the U.S. Armed Forces.

“As a woman who served in combat and commanded troops during Operation Iraqi Freedom, and with my own daughter who is going through training right now at West Point, I understand just how important it is for all service members to be properly equipped for the battlefield,” Sen. Ernst said last week.

The senator introduced S. 2970 with cosponsors including U.S. Sens. Martha McSally (R-AZ) and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), to encourage the expedited contracting, procurement and fielding of new PPE by the Armed Forces that better fits and protects all U.S. military service members, particularly females.

“Right now, female service members are facing injuries due to ill-fitting equipment. We must do better for our military men and women,” said Sen. Ernst. “This commonsense, bipartisan proposal is a step toward ensuring adequate and proper-fitting equipment is readily available to our female service members to ensure their readiness, survivability and effectiveness in combat.”

If enacted, S. 2970 also would direct the Armed Forces to collaborate with academia and industry to use emerging technologies, such as artificial intelligence, human factors modeling and digital predictive human modeling, to develop the next-generation of combat equipment and PPE, according to a bill summary provided by Sen. Ernst’s office.

Among several other provisions, the bill also would require the Defense Health Agency to administer a trackable system for data input related to injuries to accompany the issuance of new PPE, and to provide a report to Congress in fiscal year 2025 that identifies the prevalence of preventable injuries attributed to ill-fitting or malfunctioning PPE, according to the summary.