certain garments, in particular the personnel armor system for ground troops (pasgt) ballistic protection vest, seem to increase the risk of direct air blast injury. the response of fabric materials to air shock waves needs to be understood. four areas were reviewed: blast wave characteristic, blast biology, blast protection; and blast attenuation by porous and compressible materials. a numerical model of the human chest-lung system was adapted for evaluating the effects of different materials covering the chest. the model was used to compare the internal lung pressure when the chest was covered with layers of aramid fiber cloth and when it was covered with cotton cloth. plans for acquiring more material property data in shock tubes were outlined. testing will include high rate mechanical compression testing in addition to the shock tube study. keywords: blast protection; air shock waves; protective clothing; ballistic protection; blast attenuation; shock tubes. (sdw)