Perspective: Army looks to keep soldiers cool in Iraq

The Humvee's air conditioner conked out right after four U.S. soldiers clambered aboard for a run through some of Baghdad's most dangerous streets. The temperature was 115 - and without AC, it would quickly rise to 150 or higher inside the vehicle.

So 1st Lt. Robert Plummer and his men took the lesser of two unpleasant choices: They got out and walked.

"If you're out walking around, there's not much you can do but sweat a lot, wearing 80 pounds of gear," said Plummer, a 31-year-old Alabamian with the 12th Infantry Regiment.

As the U.S. military spends its fifth blistering summer in Iraq, the Army is evaluating new garments to help fight the dangerous combination of extreme heat and the heavy protection needed in the battlefield.

Read the rest at the San Luis Obispo Tribune