美军怎么看女飞行员装备发展？

美军八股之多部门共同探讨女性飞行装备发展的新方向 (New Direction for Female-Specific Flight Equipment)

内利斯空军基地 / NELLIS AIR FORCE BASE, Nev. (AFNS) —

The Air Force is working to redesign the gear used by female pilots across the force after facing challenges with current flight equipment.

空军正在为了应对现有飞行装备的挑战而重新设计女性机师使用的装备。

“We have women performing in every combat mission, and we owe it to them to have gear that fits, is suited for a woman’s frame and (one) can be in for hours on end,” said Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. David L. Goldfein at a Defense Writers Group breakfast, March 2018 in Washington, D.C.

“女性的身影活跃在我们所有的战斗任务中，我们应该让她们拥有更合适的装备，这些装备应该适合女性的身体特征，并且能够连续穿着几个小时。”2018年3月在华盛顿特区举行的国防作家集团早餐会上，空军参谋长David L. Goldfein将军这样说到。

The majority of the equipment currently worn by pilots was built off anthropometric data from the 1960s, a time when only men were in aviator roles.

现在机师们的主要装备都是基于20世纪60年代所测量的人体数据设计的。而当时空军只有男性在从事飞行员的角色。

The lack of variety and representation in the current designs have caused multiple issues for women, said Col. Samantha Weeks, the 14th Flying Training Wing commander, assigned to Columbus Air Force Base, Mississippi.

现有的装备缺乏多样性和特点的设计已经给女性官兵带来太多问题，密西西比州哥伦布空军基地所属第14飞行训练联队指挥官Samantha Weeks上校说。

Many of the uniform issues circulate around G-suits, flight suits, urinary devices and survival vests.

许多关于制服的问题都是围绕着抗荷服（G-suits）,飞行服，排泄装置和救生背心。

“The challenges other female aviators and I face are the fit and availability of our flight equipment,” said Capt. Lauren Ellis, 57th Adversary Tactics Group executive officer.

“我和其他女飞行员面临的挑战是飞行装备的适用性和可用性，”第57假想敌战术大队军官Lauren Ellis上尉说。

Limited sizes and accessibility often force aircrew to order the wrong size and have it extensively altered to fit properly, taking time and money away from the mission, Ellis said.

Ellis说，有限的尺码和辅助功能经常会迫使机组人员选择并不合适的尺码，然后不得不进行大量的修改来让这些装备更好的适合自己，这就导致她们为了任务花费更多时间和金钱。

“All of the bladders on my G-suit need to be modified,” Ellis said. “It’s a lot of work for the Aircrew Flight Equipment, or AFE, Airmen. Even after they’re modified, the proportions don’t fit.”

“我的抗荷服上的所有气囊都需要修改，”Ellis说。“对于地勤人员（Aircrew Flight Equipment， AFE）来说这是个不小的负担。更严重的是即使他们已经修改过了，这些装备仍然不合体。“

G-suits are vital anti-gravity gear for aviators. The bladders in the suit fill with air and apply pressure to the pilot’s body to prevent a loss of consciousness during high levels of acceleration. Not having a properly fitted G-suit could lead to hypoxia followed by unconsciousness.

抗荷服是飞行员客服重力加速度至关重要的的装备。它通过在其中的气囊充满空气来向飞行员的身体施加压力，从而防止飞行员因为飞行中的巨大的加速度而失去意识。没有合适的抗荷服就可能导致缺氧，随后就会出现意识不清。

Ellis said ill-fitting flight suits are a common problem for men and women. Aircrew who are significantly above or below average height have a hard time finding suits that fit their body type.

Ellis说，飞行服不合体是男女飞行员中都很常见的问题。明显高于或低于平均身高的机组人员会很难找到适合自己体型的服装。

Even if a woman found a flight suit close to her size, the flight-suit zipper is designed for men—not women. Female aircrew struggle with relieving themselves during flights because the flight-suit zipper isn’t designed low enough for them to properly use their urinary devices.

而即使一个女性机组人员找到了一件接近她的尺码的飞行服，那件飞行服的拉链也是为男性而非女性设计的。由于飞行服拉链的设计的太高，导致女飞行员们无法使用排泄装置，因此女性机组人员在飞行期间只能很无奈的自己解决这个问题。

“There are flight suits that were designed with longer zippers for women, but they’re almost never available,” Ellis said. “It’s common for females to have to wait months to receive the flight suit they’ve ordered which causes them to have to wear the male one.”

Ellis说：“那些专为女性设计的飞行服拥有较长的拉链，但它们几乎没有现货。”“女性官兵必须等几个月才能收到她们订购的飞行服，在这期间她们只穿着男性服装执行任务。”

Along with the possibility of injury and discomfort associated with G-suits and flight suits, women struggle to get their life-saving gear to fit accordingly. The process of ejecting is so powerful, even pilots with well-fitting gear are at a serious risk of injury. It’s important for aviators to be heard and the modernization of equipment for everyone continues, Ellis said.

伴随着有可能因为抗荷服（G-suits）和飞行服而带来伤害和不适，女性飞行员们还要尽力去适应她们的救生装备。飞行座椅弹射的过程所产生的力量非常强大，即使装备精良的飞行员也有受伤的严重风险。Ellis说，女性飞行员面对的问题应该得到重视，关系到每一个飞行员的装备都应该在不停的现代化。

“In certain situations, having ill-fitting gear, such as harnesses and survival vests, can result in a loss of life,” Ellis said. “If an aircrew member ejects from the aircraft with equipment that doesn’t fit, they can be severely injured or lose their life.”

“在特定情况下，使用不合适的装备，例如安全带和救生衣，可能会导致飞行员死亡。”Ellis说：“如果机组人员用着不合体的装备进行弹射，那么他们很可能会受到身负重伤乃至丧生。”

The Air Force and Air Combat Command are working to find a feasible solution for aircrew members.

空军和空战司令部正在努力为空勤人员寻找可行的解决方案。

Part of the strategy to correct the uniform problem was to take part in several collaborative Female Flight Equipment Workshops at AFWERX Vegas. Female Airmen stationed across the globe traveled to the innovation hub and attended the workshops to explore areas of opportunity and come up with proposed solutions.

部分关于现在飞行装备问题的策略成为了位于维加斯的AFWERX创新中心中女性飞行员装备研讨会（Female Flight Equipment Workshops）的议题。驻扎在全球各地的女性飞行员们来到创新中心参加研讨会，共同探讨相关领域的问题和其中机会，并切提出各自的解决方案与建议。

“The purpose of the workshops is to bring together female aviators, Aircrew Flight Equipment, Human Systems Program Office personnel and subject matter experts to understand the current products, the acquisition process and the actual needs from the field,” Weeks said.

“研讨会的目的是将女飞行员，地勤人员，人员系统项目办公室（The Human Systems Program Office）官员和项目专家齐聚一堂，共同探讨当前的装备，装备的采购流程还有来自一线的实际需求，”Weeks说。

Throughout the workshops, aviators participated in briefings, as well as discussions and exercises with the agencies involved in the design and distribution of their gear.

在研讨会期间，飞行员们参加了报告会和讨论，并和装备设计和销售的机构的代表共同参与了讨论和体验活动。

“The Human Systems Program Office acquires and sustains all equipment for male and female Airmen,” said Lt. Col. Elaine Bryant Human Systems Program Office deputy chief, assigned to Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio. “We are committed to hearing our consumers’ voices, and we will make the changes necessary to our current process to meet their needs.”

“人员系统项目办公室为空军的男女官兵们采购和维护所有装备，”俄亥俄州赖特 - 帕特森空军基地的人员系统计划办公室副主任Elaine Bryant说。“我们致力于听取最终用户，也就是飞行员和地勤人员们的意见，我们将对当前流程进行必要的改革，来满足他们的需求。”

The workshops established the communication needed between the consumer, designers and suppliers to reach a mutual goal of understanding and development.

为了实现最终用户，设计师还有供应商之间的沟通与共同发展的需求，研讨会在三者之间建立信息沟通渠道。

“We now have some pretty clear actions coming out of the Female Flight Equipment Workshops,” Bryant said. “We’ve heard the feedback, and we want to make sure we have actionable things we’re accomplishing within specific time frames for our consumers.”

Bryant说：“在参加了女性飞行装备小组研讨会后，我们现在已经展开了一些非常明确的活动。”“我们听到了她们反馈意见，我们希望能够确保我们在接下来的时间里为我们的客户完成力所能及的事情”

“We will take the field up on their offers of coming out to the units and meeting the aircrew for whom we supply,” Bryant said. “We’ll ensure we maintain the lines of communication needed to better our program.”

“我们会和由我们负责提供保障的飞行员们进行沟通，并对各单位提出的问题进行改进，”Bryant说。“我们一定会维持这条优化我们项目的沟通渠道的畅通。”

Another major improvement for female aviators is the adoption of the Battlefield Airmen Rapid Resource Replenishment System, a centrally managed equipment facility. BARS is capable of shipping needed resources directly to female aircrew. Using this system will allow women to acquire the proper fitting equipment they need within an acceptable timeline.

另一项针对女性飞行员及机组人员的重大改进是采用战场空军快速资源补给系统（Battlefield Airmen Rapid Resource Replenishment System，BARS），一个集中管理的物质配发体系。 BARS能够将所需资源直接运送给女性飞行员及机组人员。使用该系统将把女性飞行员及机组人员获取装备的时效控制在一个可接受的范围。

“BARS is a step in the right direction,” Ellis said. “Everyone deserves to have equipment that fits them. There are certain things we have to adapt to, but as long as we’re trying to improve and modernize our gear, we can be a more ready and lethal force.”

“BARS系统是朝着正确方向迈出的一步，”Ellis说。“每个人都应该拥有适合他们的设备。总有一些困难我们不得不去适应，但只要我们努力提升和改进我们的装备，我们就可以变成一只战备水平更高且更致命的力量“

“The Air Force has evolved over the years and continues to evolve,” Weeks echoed. “Female aviators entering the Air Force now will not have the same issues I had over the last 21 years.”

“空军多年来不断的与时俱进，”Weeks回应道。“现在进入空军的姑娘们不再会像过去21年中的我一样遇到的相同的麻烦了。”w