Trends at the Joint Readiness Training Center show that many units begin their rotations with overloaded soldiers. Most are able to identify this problem after their initial movements and enemy contacts and make arraignments to reduce their loads through elimination, caches, or company trains. The question remains, however, why were these load problems not addressed while the unit prepared for combat in the Intermediate Staging Base (ISB)? In WWII, Korea, or Vietnam, soldiers had years of collective combat experience to help them determine what was absolutely essential for them to carry. When weighted down with unnecessarily cumbersome loads, soldiers would simply fall back on their expertise and discard the equipment they did not need. Today however, American military campaigns are measured in days, not years. By the time light infantrymen in combat learn what they truly must carry and what is superfluous, the conflict may well be over. These lessons must be learned before men find themselves in combat, and the only way to do this is through tough, realistic training.
A common reason leaders give at JRTC to justify the loads they are carrying is that they simply cannot trust their resupply system. This is equivalent to admitting that their unit has failed to adequately train on logistical tasks at their home station. Each and every field problem a unit conducts is an opportunity to stretch, strain, and improve their logistical tail. Company executive officers and first sergeants must become experts in how to request, transport, receive, and distribute supplies. By forcing soldiers to survive for extended periods of time with only the load they will carry in combat, units will learn to trust that their basic needs will be met, and their mental and physical stamina not wasted.
Scientific study has shown that a soldier can carry 30% of his body weight and still maintain the stamina he will need to engage the enemy. This means a 170-pound soldier would carry a load of 51 lbs. For each additional 10 lbs. carried, the soldier will lose 15% of his agility. When a load reaches 45% of a soldier’s body weight (76.5 lbs. for a 170 lbs. soldier), his ability to functions drops dramatically and his risk for becoming a casualty increases.[2]
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