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File photo of one US soldier. Kevlar underwear, enhanced night-vision goggles and portable solar panels: the US military is seeing a gear revolution. |
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Kevlar underwear, enhanced night-vision goggles and portable solar panels: the US military is seeing a gear revolution, thanks to the lessons learned during 10 years of war in Afghanistan and Iraq. The M4 rifle remains the basic firearm of the American GI, but the addition of many gizmos now makes the soldier look more like Inspector Gadget than GI Joe: the typical gear kit includes 73 items, from clothes to weapons. Program Executive Office Soldier, the military unit responsible for inventing and producing army equipment, says some items are designed to better protect soldiers on the ground, while others help them understand the terrain. Since 2004, every soldier has been issued a bulletproof vest with extra protection panels. But the increased use of improvised explosive devices (IEDs), responsible for more than half the deaths of US soldiers in Afghanistan, has led to the development of new protective gear. Over the next two months, "tens of thousands" of Kevlar outergarments to protect the pelvic area will be sent to US soldiers in Afghanistan, according to Colonel William Cole, who is part of the PEO Soldier unit. "It protects soldiers if they step on an anti-personnel IED. It can really mitigate their injuries," he told reporters. The protective outergarment is worn over the soldier's fatigues. Soldiers in Afghanistan also will have a Kevlar undergarment, similar to a pair of biker shorts, which helps protect them against infections caused by dirt and stones kicked up in a blast. "When you keep the wound area clean, you prevent follow-on infections," Cole said. To combat the frequent traumatic brain injuries suffered by troops in both Afghanistan and Iraq, which doctors say often lead to cases of post-traumatic stress disorder, helmets are being tricked out with sensors. "When a soldier is caught in an IED event, we will be able to immediately download the data from his helmet to determine what kind of impact the helmet got to help the medical community correlate that to what kind of brain injury he might have," Cole said. For night-time combat, modern armies have the upper hand over insurgents thanks to night-vision goggles. The new-generation eyewear, which is just reaching the field, will allow troops to more easily detect enemy fighters. (Read by Christine Mallari. Christine Mallari is a journalist at the China Daily Website.) (Agencies)
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凯夫拉尔纤维内衣裤、更先进的夜视镜、便携式太阳能电池板……美军装备正迎来更新换代，这还得益于十年来阿富汗和伊拉克战争的作战经验。 M4型步枪仍然是美军步兵的基本作战武器，但目前新增的诸多新式装备使这些美国大兵看上去更像“神探加杰特”：从衣服到武器的全套装备足足有73件。 负责设计、生产军事装备的单兵作战系统执行办公室称，其中一些装备可以更好地保护执行地面任务的士兵，另一些装备则可以帮助士兵熟悉地形。 自2004年起，每位士兵就已配备有一个带有额外保护垫的防弹背心。 但由于简易爆炸装置的使用愈发频繁，美军的防护装备也在更新换代。在阵亡的驻阿美军士兵中，愈半死于各种简易炸弹。 单兵作战系统执行办公室上校威廉•科尔表示，未来两个月内，驻阿美军将配备数万套凯夫拉尔纤维防护服，用来保护士兵下体。 他对记者说：“这种防护服可以保护踩上杀伤性简易炸弹的士兵，减轻受伤程度。” 这种防护服穿在士兵的作战服外面。 驻阿美军还将配备凯夫拉尔纤维内衣裤，类似于一条单车短裤，可以帮助士兵阻挡爆炸时扬起的灰尘和沙砾的感染。 科尔说：“只要伤口清洁，就可以预防继发感染。” 为了应对驻阿富汗和伊拉克美军频繁遭受的脑外伤，士兵的头盔上还将加装传感器。据医生介绍，战场上的脑外伤经常导致创伤后压力失调。 科尔说：“当一名士兵遭到简易爆炸装置的袭击，我们就可以立即从头盔下载到数据，确定头盔受到的撞击类型，以帮助医疗人员了解士兵受到了何种脑外伤。” 在夜间战斗方面，由于有了夜视镜，现代部队比非正规军具有作战优势。刚刚用于战场的新一代夜视镜将使美军能够更容易地探测到敌军。 相关阅读 有条件撤军 conditions-based withdrawal （中国日报网英语点津 Julie 编辑：冯明惠） |
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Vocabulary: Kevlar: 凯夫拉尔，一种质地牢固重量轻的合成纤维 GI: 美国步兵 gizmo: a device; gadget（小发明，小装置） Inspector Gadget：神探加杰特，也称为G型神探，是美国科幻卡通片中的主人公。 bulletproof vest: 防弹背心 pelvic: 骨盆的 anti-personnel: an anti-personnel weapon is one primarily used to injure or kill people（杀伤的） fatigue: military uniform, also known as fatigues（作战军服，作战服） trick out: 装束, 打扮 the upper hand: 优势 |
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