Abstract
During operations in a chemically contaminated environment, the combat soldier must wear, in addition to his normal combat uniform, a special chemical protective overgarment including jacket, trousers, overboots, rubber gloves, and a gas mask with hood. This clothing system was investigated for its impact upon the soldier's ability to perform one-handed and two-handed tasks of manual dexterity. The results of this study indicated that compared to bare-handed conditions, manual dexterity was substantially poorer with the gloved hand. In addition, learning of the manual tasks was slower under the gloved conditions. The difference in performance between bare-handed and gloved conditions remained the same regardless of whether or not the soldier was wearing the gas mask with hood.
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