Clothing's proficiency improves with scanner

9 Aug 2002 | Cpl. Eric Lucero Marine Corps Training and Education Command

The depot's Clothing Issue is now the proud owner of a new piece of equipment that will enable it to step up its proficiency in nearly all categories.

The equipment, made by Cyberware, is appropriately named the Whole Body Scanner. It produces three-dimensional images of a person's body by utilizing four laser scanners placed on four sides of the person, said Master Sgt. Douglas D. DeLoach, staff noncommissioned officer-in-charge of Clothing Issue. Once a person steps into the chamber, it is up to the system's two computers to appropriately set up and analyze the subject's data, which it then prints out onto a small, single sheet of paper.

The entire system is priced at about $140,000, but is being utilized on the depot free of charge through a purchase made by the Defense Logistics Agency.

Although the new electronic scanner is faster than its human counter part, the entire time process is about the same, said DeLoach. With the time it takes to enter the subject's information, scan the subject, then analyze and print the data, the new process' time is very close to that of a human tailor.

"The difference relies on all of the other advantages the scanner brings with it," he said.

One of the advantages lies in the scanner's ability to map in detail each subject's body and store that image so that later in training as the subject comes in for his last fitting, a comparison can be made that will give the Recruit Training Regiment an exact idea of the physical change recruits undergo on the depot.

Another advantage is, through time, a more appropriate idea of sizes can be grasped through use of the scanners ability to catalog every subject's data and store it as a whole.

"The average recruit's body is not the same as it was 40 years ago," said DeLoach. "This will give us a better estimate of the uniforms we should be ordering."

By ordering uniforms closer to the recruits' actual sizes, tailoring of the uniforms might be able to be kept to a minimum.

"It could save the Marine Corps thousands of dollars per year in tailoring costs alone," he said.

The ability to find tailors whose talents mirror each other's is very hard. In that regard, the ability to putĀ  forth a consistent result is near impossible, said DeLoach.

"We have excellent tailors with years of experience," said DeLoach. "However, if one of them were to stop working tomorrow, we don't have the time to train another fast enough to produce the same results.

"With the scanner, we don't have that problem. It puts out the same consistency day in and day out."

Although a similar machine has been used for the last three years at Marine Corps Recruit Depot, San Diego, the depot's equipment is expected to produce better results than its West coast counterpart.

"Like every other piece of technology, flaws are realized and fixed, giving companies a chance to put forth a better product," DeLoach said. "This piece of equipment is state of the art."

Although the Marine Corps is the only military branch currently using the scanners, the Navy plans on installing a scanner at its training base soon.

For now, the Marines at Clothing Issue look at their new piece of equipment with optimism.

"It has a lot of potential," said DeLoach. "I see it staying here a while."

Marine Corps Training and Education Command