Page 13 - Ft. Irwin High Desert Warrior August 2016

www.aerotechnews.com/ntcfortirwin High Desert Warrior

13August 5, 2016
Innovation

shirt in hockey,” DiLalla said. “It goes on and you don’t need a buddy to help you don the system. From SHIRT, page 6
It’s form- tting so the Soldiers like it. Instead of one panel, the deltoid section is three panels. commercializing the product to better serve the law enforcement community. I feel extremely
It’s contoured so it stays with you. It moves with you. It has an improved range of motion…” proud that not only are we better able to protect Soldiers and other members of the military, but
we can also better protect members of law enforcement domestically and abroad.”
e Ballistic Combat Shirt is an integrated armor shirt that provides deltoid and thoracic
protection, as well as improved neck protection. “As a Soldier and the team’s commanding general, I can’t praise Rob DiLalla’s achievement
highly enough,” said Maj. Gen. John F. Wharton, commanding general of the U.S. Army Re-
“I think it bene ts Soldiers in a couple of ways,” said DiLalla. “It provides protection, but search, Development and Engineering Command.
it also enables them to do their missions better by giving them more range of motion, better
articulation. At the same time, it’s not complicated. ey don’t need to pull out a user manual. “It really demonstrates how Army researchers are committed to developing cutting-edge
It’s one shirt.” capabilities for the joint war ghter. ere’s a bigger story beyond that, however, about how the
command’s partnerships with other organizations and connections to the war ghter positioned
e shirt weighs less that the current Interceptor Body Armor system components it replaces the team and gave them the reach into the greater science and technology ecosystem to make this
and is less bulky. innovation possible. It will also be key to transferring the bene ts of this great new technology
to rst responders in support of the entire nation.”
“Our goal was to get it contoured, form- tting, so that the Soldier can do his job without
feeling like the equipment is hindering movement,” said DiLalla. “We successfully created a e idea, like most true innovations, was rst met with some resistance.
product that integrated ve components into one, and we were able to reduce weight by 35 “You need to be responsible, but sometimes you need to take a risk to make progress,” said
percent. It’s lighter, form- tting and more comfortable. It allows Soldiers to feel like they are DiLalla. “We needed to start clean and get rid of purely linear thinking, and I think some folks
wearing regular shirts without sacri cing protection.” had a hard time grasping the concept.”
DiLalla feels very humbled by being chosen for the Maj. Gen. Harold “Harry” J. Greene
DiLalla’s team also worked with U.S. Army Research Institute of Environmental Medicine Award for Innovation.
at Natick to ensure the new shirt wouldn’t increase the Soldier’s thermal burden compared to “It’s been a long, tough road,” said DiLalla. “We in the NSRDEC are very proud of what’s
the Interceptor Body Armor system. transpired. I’ve been a tinkerer my whole life. I’m an engineer by degree, and I’ve always been
a product person. I set out to do something novel, revolutionary, with the goal of improving
“We did not want a close-to-skin shirt that can make you hot,” said DiLalla. “ ere was a Soldier performance. It’s been an incredible experience.”
concern that it would trap body heat more than the current system, but what we found is that On the way to seeing his innovative idea come to fruition, DiLalla became a team leader at
it is actually equal to, or in a few instances better than, the baseline.” NSRDEC. He wants to instill this spirit of innovation in his team members.
“To create something revolutionary is hard work, but more importantly you have to believe
e invention has been a hit with users. you can do it,” said DiLalla. “My goal now, as a team leader, is to mentor the great minds on my
“ e Soldiers have spoken loud and clear with more than 90 percent user acceptance in team to be creative and think out of the box and not to be purely formulaic. ey need to feel
multiple user evaluations,” said DiLalla. “Typically, as we assess new body armor components, empowered because they are absolutely capable of inventing the next great thing.”
we’d consider 60 percent a successful number. So we were quiet surprised...”

e technology is also applicable to the needs of law enforcement.
“ ere are huge technology transfer possibilities,” said DiLalla. “Protect the Force is already

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