While Captain America may have bitten the dust, a whole new breed of American soldiers is on the verge of birth. At DARPA (Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency), the common soldier is getting a boost. According to this article, DARPA is working on a number of projects designed to enhance soldiers in the field, the foremost of which is an accessory known as the glove. While only a prototype, the glove fits over the user’s hand and essentially grants prolonged stamina. The way this device works is simply by drawing the blood to the surface of the hand and either cooling or heating it (according to the environment in which the user is operating), and the recirculating the blood back to the rest of the body.After reading about DARPA’s glove I was simply amazed. This is something straight out of science fiction. Not only that, but the device doesn’t use any chemicals or radiation, which means there should be no adverse affects on its users. In addition to the glove, other systems for soldier enhancement are being researched, such as hibernation for soldiers suffering 60% blood loss. I think this kind of research will save American lives in the field. War will become especially more dependant on smaller groups of better equipped soldiers due to the paradigm shift in fighting that has occurred over the past few decades.
