Cuirrass, gorget, spaulder, codpiece, gousset

This past Friday we went to RFI to get all our new toys. We turned in the pre-2007 Interceptor Boday Armor (IBA) and got in its place the Improved Outer Tactical Vest (IOTV). It's better because it distributes the weight more evenly, it has side plates to protect the ribs, and you can get it off in a jiffy by pulling on a single cord.

My favorite thing about it, though, is that there are a whole bunch of archaic words that perfectly describe what each part does. The first thing I did when I got home was look them all up. Here's what I found:

• Cuirass -- the front and back armor for the torso.
• Aegis -- the front part of the cuirass
• Gorget -- the throat covering
• Spaulder -- the part that covers the shoulder (the Army calls it the "Deltoid Axillary Protector" or DAP. You tell me which one's cooler.)
• Gousset -- the protection for the armpit and side of the chest.
• Codpiece -- the covering for the groin. There's a long and storied history for this one in Wikipedia (no pun intended...)

I suppose military traditions never die -- they just get recycled at some point or another.