Military

Air Force Testing New Maternity Uniforms

Her camouflage maternity uniform was such a comfortable fit, Air Force Capt. Mollie Eshel said her co-workers didn't notice she was pregnant until something like her 34th week.

Eshel, 32, was part of a group of 60 female airmen who have tested a prototype of the uniform the Air Force Uniform Office hopes to roll out next October.

"Most people didn't even notice that it was different, so that was kind of a plus," said Eshel, a deputy branch chief in the Air Force Research Laboratory at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base. "It's been really comfortable to wear all the way through."

With a $1.7 million budget and 18 staff members, the small uniform office headquartered at Wright-Patterson oversees the outfitting of hundreds of thousands of Air Force personnel serving around the globe in all kinds of climates and terrains on Earth and above it.