VATICAN CITY (AP) — The world's oldest standing army is getting some new headgear.
The Swiss Guards plan to replace their metal helmets with plastic PVC ones made with a 3-D printer, giving the pope's army cooler and more comfortable headgear when standing guard for hours at a time.
The Swiss Guards unveiled the helmet prototype before their annual swearing-in ceremony Sunday. Thirty-two new recruits — all of them single Swiss men under age 30 and upstanding Catholics — will join the small corps for a minimum two years by pledging to protect the pope and his successors.
Guard spokesman Sgt. Urs Breitenmoser says the new helmets won't be used Sunday. The army is looking for sponsors for the 880-euro ($1,050) helmets, which cost about half as much as the old metal ones.
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