Weight of Combat Gear Is Taking Toll

[Fuchs]

If you need to carry weight then (from my experience) you carry the combat essentials in your chest and hip webbing and all the other stuff mainly food and water and additional ammo etc in your Bergen. On contact hit the quick release belt-buckle and drop the Bergen and get on with the fight. First few minutes with the weight off you and the adrenalin it feels like you are walking on air. Kind of addictive. Go back and get your other kit later.

The stuff on your chest and belt only can't be too much more than 10kgs unless you are a machine gunner.

The change that is necessary for these longer ops is that the kidney pouches are removed from the back of the belt so the Bergen can ride on the hips.

German tradition is to separate Rucksack and a small combat pouch (rear, on the belt). The Rucksack is almost never worn, though (exception: mountain troops). It's hard to impossible to find exercise or wartime photos where infantrymen carry Rucksacks. Platoon trailers and later squad vehicles carried the stuff.

Very early 1870-1914), soldiers were often portrayed or photographed with moderate march packs on their back, but that weighed less than a Rucksack.

[JMA]

German tradition is to separate Rucksack and a small combat pouch (rear, on the belt). The Rucksack is almost never worn, though (exception: mountain troops). It's hard to impossible to find exercise or wartime photos where infantrymen carry Rucksacks. Platoon trailers and later squad vehicles carried the stuff.

Very early 1870-1914), soldiers were often portrayed or photographed with moderate march packs on their back, but that weighed less than a Rucksack.

Yes that is very much like the Brit system I grew up with. The "big pack" had spare clothing etc and was always in a vehicle in B Echelon for access when out of "the line". Then we had a '44 Pattern pack which was small on the back and was good for bedding and a few days rations and water but never taken into battle under conventional circumstances. Then there was the basic (hip) webbing which was all that was worn for combat.

Unconventional war/counter insurgency changed all that. If you were to search a river-line (for example) for sign of the enemy and it would take 8 days then you had to carry food for 8 days and spare this and spare that but water was obtained locally. The patrol was essentially a fighting patrol so when you bumped into them you needed to be able to fight immediately and could do so only if you dumped your pack/Bergen. Very seldom if ever established a patrol base camp and patrolled out from there.

[Kiwigrunt]

The perils of armour in days gone by.

link

[tequila]

Some additional data from Tom Ricks' blog:

http://www.foreignpolicy.com/files/f...flePlatoon.pdf

Rifle Platoon Basic Load OEF XII
1st PLT, Alpha Co., 2/504 PIR

Some bullet points:

Average Paratrooper bodyweight - 184.7 lbs

Average Paratrooper 72hr kit - 103.69 lbs

Paratroopers are carrying 55% of bodyweight

Nothing new, of course, but thought some might like the most up-to-date info.

The PDF breaks down the loadouts by billet in the platoon as well.

[gute]

What is a Thor? What about a Goldie?

[Tzeentch]

Thor - IED jamming system

Wolf Hound - radio direction finder

Goldie - IED parts detector (not familiar with this system)

Minehound - Ground penetrating radar system and metal detector

Gizmo - metal detector

[slapout9]

Have known this was out there for sometime but could not remember the exact title so it was very difficult to find. This is one the most complete Load Bearing Equipment studies about the modern Infantryman. They even tested what the proper width of shoulder straps should be, the detailed reference bibliography is a gold mine. Enjoy!



"A Survey Of The Effects Of Load Carrying And Equipment Design Upon Tasks Performed By The Combat Infantryman" from 1962
http://www.dtic.mil/dtic/tr/fulltext/u2/294993.pdf