Xena: Warrior Princess Will Inspire Military Body Armor (And That’s A Good Thing)

If we are going to send men and women off to war, we'd like to think they are as safe, well-protected, and supported as possible. And after that, we really hope they look totally badass, too. So, when it comes to true Amazonian butt-kicking, for this '90s-obsessed writer, there is but one emblem of badass-ery: A princess. A warrior princess, in fact.

Since Lucy Lawless is the paradigm of cool and safety, when focus groups set out to revamp and increase effectiveness for female military personnel, they took some inspiration from Xena's incredible costuming — specifically, her totally tough breastplates. The idea behind the Xena-esque design is that the plate will spread out the impact of any bullets while contouring more to the feminine shape.

Hey, if there is any fictional character to base the safety of our soldiers on, it should be Xena. Just as long as they leave out that pleated leather skirt ... that one belongs to us plebes. (Huffington Post)