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December 6, 2000

The Army has completed one of the three final tests for the new MOLLE combat backpacks, this one being the use of the equipment by women. The women unanimously declared the backpacks vastly superior to the existing ALICE packs. Despite nominal equality of the sexes, the biological fact is that women's shoulders are different from those of men, and all previous Army equipment was made for men and did not fit women well. The new MOLLE equipment is adjustable in several ways, and women can adjust the backstraps to fit their shoulders. The point of a backpack is to stabilize the load with the shoulders but carry the weight on the hips, something that women could not achieve with the previous packs that were designed for men.--Stephen V Cole