1st Marine Division and Log Lite

[Infanteer]

All,

In Bing West's "The March Up", he mentions an order put out by Gen Mattis to 1st Marine Division entitled "Log Lite", which dealt with shedding weight and strict rules regarding sustainment to help ensure the Division's mobility.

A search of google reveals nothing on this - does anyone have any links to source material discussing this initiative in any more detail? How about a way to get a read of the actual order?

Thanks,

Infanteer

[jcustis]

Cole,

I'll look through the three History and Museums Branch publications I have to see what they mention, but you most likely won't see the order (or annex, as I think it was) since it is classified. If I can find relevant passages, I'll shoot the link to the .pdf for the book.

If I recall the principles that made it down to my level (LAR coy command) at the time, there were basic tenets:

-Nobody lived above the standard of the rifleman private. Folding cots weren't even supposed to be carried forward.
-Bottled water, which took up cube that could be used for ammo, medical supplies, fuel, etc., was not taken forward. Reverse osmosis purification units produced our water. I think I only drank from one or two bottles the three months of the heaviest push.
-If logistics got bottlenecked, we simply went to reduced rations in order to maintain tempo. There were plenty days when a single MRE was all that my crew had to subsist on. I honestly think Gen Mattis intended to Blitzkrieg the Division all the way.

[jcustis]

Cole, go to page 32 of this book:

http://www.marines.mil/news/publicat...00000000_8.pdf

It differs from my tactical-level dissection of the log-light concept, but it's more in line with what West was talking about.