Senator Hassan Calls on West Point to Provide Female Cadets with Better-Fitting Uniforms

WASHINGTON – In case you missed it, U.S. Senator Maggie Hassan (D-NH) urged Army Secretary Ryan McCarthy to review West Point’s uniform policy to ensure that all cadets have access to uniforms that fit. Stars and Stripes, a military newspaper that covers matters concerning the U.S. Armed Forces, reported on Senator Hassan’s letter to the Army Secretary.

See below for excerpts from the Stars and Stripes article on the Senators’ letter:  

Senator calls on Army secretary to give new West Point cadets access to uniforms that fit women

By Rose L. Thayer

Sen. Maggie Hassan, D-N.H., has asked Army Secretary Ryan McCarthy to review a “gender-neutral” policy of issuing all West Point cadets unisex Army Combat Uniforms because it then forces women entering the academy to purchase better-fitting uniforms designed for female bodies.

“While on its face, the uniform policy may appear to be a gender-neutral policy, it does not appear to be so in effect. As the academy celebrates 40 years since its first female cadets graduated, it is past time to ensure that female cadets have equal access to uniforms that fit,” Hassan wrote in a letter sent Monday to McCarthy. “The disproportional impact of this policy on female cadets may unintentionally send a message to female cadets that they are second-class citizens.”

When the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, N.Y., issues full sets of gear to incoming cadets, that gear includes five sets of unisex Army Combat Uniforms, known as ACUs. This distribution does not include alternate sizes of the uniform, which are called the ACU-Female, according to Hassan’s letter.

Any cadet wishing to wear the ACU-Female must purchase it on their own, with their own money.

[…] Because cadets go straight into training, they also miss the 10-day window to return any unused uniforms for a different size, she said. New ACUs cost about $100 per set. Meanwhile, “their counterparts do not have to spend a dime,” Hassan wrote.

The alternative female uniform was created following a 2008 Army report that found the unisex ACU favors men and fits many women badly in the shoulders, bust, hips and crotch.

[…] Hassan asked McCarthy to answer four questions by Oct. 30. Those questions focus on why the female-sized uniforms are not an option during initial issuance of uniforms, what needs to be done so that they can be included and whether McCarthy will commit to making the change. She also asked whether women who enlist in the Army are able to access the ACU-Female sizes during their initial issuance of uniforms.

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