Abstract
The objective of the study was to design a Battle Dress Uniform(BDU with improved motional flexibility, body fit, and protectiveness to cope with the special operational environment of the subjects. For this purpose, the researcher conducted a questionnaire survey on 92 male members of Special Weapon Attack Team(SWAT units in a former study, and based on the results of the survey, made the two-piece and one- piece BDU samples to overcome the identified problems and inconveniences. The sample uniforms were designed ergonomically from five aspects. Subsequentlv, the new BDU was compared with the current operational uniform in terms of outward appearance(design and fit), motional flexibility, and suitability for field activities. The samples were evaluated by 5 SWAT members as subjects and 8 graduate school students majoring in clothing and textiles as experts. According to the results, the two-piece and one-piece samples gained higher scores than the existing operational uniform in terms of outward appearance(design and fitness) and motional flexibility, and the one-piece sample was preferred with regard to fit when worn by the subjects with their full kit for field operations. That is, the one-piece sample appeared to be more suited to the special work environment of SWAT and to be more functional in terms of ease of putting on and taking off, motional flexibility, body fit and protectiveness than the current operational uniform(two-piece type).
