In mid-January, Shoygu said he would rid the army of its antiquated "footwraps," or portyanki, and a few days later the designer of Russia's new army uniform said that the ear-flap hats traditionally worn in winter would be replaced with more modern headgear. The Russian military's ushanka hats were improved between 2013 and 2015, when the Russian armed forces were being equipped with new uniforms. The new version of the traditional - and somewhat stereotypical - hat features better heat insulation and longer ear flaps. A new uniform for hot climates was introduced in mid-2018. On 28 May 2022, on the background of the ongoing invasion of Ukraine, Vladimir Putin signed the law which removed the upper age limit for signing first contract for the performance of voluntary military service (earlier this limit was 40 years old). Military education The Russian military education system, inherited from the Soviet Union, trains officer-specialists in narrowly-defined military occupational specialties. In this it differs greatly from the American military education system in which newly-qualified second lieutenants receive particular specialties in the framework of their "career branch" only after graduation from a military academy or the ROTC. Students of Russian civilian institutions of higher education wishing to join the reserve officer training program can’t choose a military occupational specialty, because each civilian specialty taught by civilian university is attached to a particular military occupational specialty taught by the military training center of the same university by the rector's order. It also differs from the American military education system in which students can choose between available types of ROTC. The Russian military education system includes: Warrant officer schools, which prepare career warrant officers for active duty service. Higher military schools, which prepare career commissioned officers for active duty service as platoon/company commanders and at equivalent positions (tactical level). Military training centers within civilian institutions of higher education, which prepare reserve commissioned officers who can serve as platoon/company commanders and at equivalent positions (tactical level). Military academies, which improve the military occupational specialty knowledge of commissioned officers to allow them to be appointed to battalion/regiment/brigade commander or equivalent positions (operational-tactical level). Military Academy of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Russia, which improves skills of officers graduated from military academies to allow them to become highest ranking military officers (strategic level). Adjunctura is a military analogue of civilian graduate school, which allow commissioned officers to