After 23+ years of military field experience and having solved the Soldier's load problem for myself back in 1995, I think enough-is-enough after reading the gear debacle in Afghanistan and the Rakkasan 1SG's call for going into combat "Combat Light".

See: www.geocities.com/usarmyafghangearproblems

After 6 years and 100+ web pages [www.geocities.com/equipmentshop] I guess I haven't been clear enough; so this time I'll try again to define what "Combat Light" is without pulling any punches.

First, the planet earth has not changed that much that its not possible to have a solution that works from freezing to 100+ degrees, a "combat light" field living and fighting capability implying its light enough that you can move fast on your feet at 4-7 mph; with human or electric powered all/extreme terrain bikes that speed can increase to 25 mph. Against cunning, 21st asymmetric-overmatch-seeking enemies who have "home field advantage" of being able to cache and hide their supplies amongst closed terrain and sympathetic populace, U.S. forces projecting from CONUS have to carry everything they need to prevail in a fight. To beat the guerrilla at his own game of mobile, light infantry warfare we have to be significantly smarter and tougher than we are now through a holistic and honest bottom-up approach that leaves no stone unturned to rid every ounce possible from our Soldier's backs.

The following is my immediate solution and its worked for me for over 7 years in the field and it can work for YOU so that you can live in the field COMFORTABLY. The only exception is sub-zero temperature conditions where you must carry a full size sleeping bag and extra layers of insulating clothing. However, if you have to just stay ALIVE until morning in sub-zero temperatures, the set-up below will do this though you may not be COMFORTABLE.

I realize admitting that you want comfort is not allowed and a curse word ("snivel gear") in the who-has-a-bigger-penis ego-driven U.S. military; but let's stop playing games, get the "cat out of the bag" (face unpopular truths), admit that we are human beings with finite load carrying limits (no more than 1/3 of our own weight) and realize that these bloated rucksacks we see carrying comfort gear in PEACETIME are skewing our training focus and future TA-50 gear design resulting in us not performing well in actual combat as Afghanistan proved---when our entire focus should be centered on carrying COMBAT ammunition loads with the bare-minimum field living gear to survive so we can move as fast and as strong as possible. Some have termed this concept "eXtreme Soldiering" to use the vernacular of today.

Relationship of Ammo Load to Soldier Mobility

IAs	Snipe	BOF	Speed	Movement	#Rounds	Type	Weight
10 mn. firefights	1-shot	suppress	mph	Max speed		ammo	pounds
3x	325 kills	30 mns.	0-6 mph	RUN	325	5.56mm	12.5 lbs
6x	650 kills	60 mns	0-4 mph	MARCH	650	5.56mm	25 lbs
12x	1300 kills	120 mns	0-1 mph	WALK	1300	5.56mm	50 lbs

The amount of ammunition carried on the Soldier must not when combined with the other things he's wearing cause him to be unable to RUN at least for 1 mile at 6 mph.

Let's call this the "running" ammo load.

RUNNING AMMUNITION LOAD

325 rounds of 5.56mm is 12.5 pounds.

Almost all of the Soldier's load studies have determined that the individual Soldier should not carry more than 1/3 of his weight into battle. A typical 180 pound Soldier could carry up to 60 pounds.

Subtract 12.5 pounds from 60 pounds = 47.5 pounds available

47.5
(-)7.0 M16 Assault Rifle
______________________
40.5 pounds
(-)3.0 Kevlar helmet
______________________
36.5 pounds
(-)6.0 uniform
______________________
30.5 pounds
(-)4.0 boots
______________________
26. 5
(-)4.0 LBE
______________________
22.5
(-)12.0 IBA Hard Body Armor
______________________
10.5
(-)10.5 A gallon of water in Camel-Bak
______________________

ZERO

As you can see, if you stick to 60 pounds you only have the capacity to carry 325 rounds of 5.56mm if you wear (IBA) Interceptor Hard Body Armor. You can still run, not fast but you can run.

What does 325 rounds give you?

You can theoretically kill 325 people if you one-shot/one-kill snipe.

You can Immediately reAct or Act (IA) 3 x times or 3 x 10 minute firefights.

You have 30 minutes of battle suppression of 1 well-aimed shot every 5 seconds (12 shots per minute).

Is this good enough?

I'd like to have more rounds on my body but we HAVE TO BE ABLE TO RUN to function well in a firefight.

WALKING AMMUNITION LOAD

The Soldier's Load now is 60 lbs/325 rounds 5.56mm.

Place a 6 pound rucksack on him.

You are now starting to eliminate his ability to run at all or walk fast (MARCH) as you pile more weight on.

This is where we go wrong in the U.S. military. We do not carry real or simulated ammo to get to this point. If we did we'd realize we cannot afford to carry rucksacks into battle and would get ATACS (carts), A/ETBs (bikes) and APCs (M113A3/4 Gavins) so we can carry more ammunition, food, water and Soldier's living gear on board.

But because we don't carry something simulating ammo we in the U.S. military carry rucksacks into the field full of inefficient field living gear which in turn pampers the troops to depend on large sleeping bags, tents and sleeping pads. When the war actually comes, their Load Bearing Equipment (LBE) suddenly with the IBA body armor becomes unbearable burdens with their rucksacks filled to the gills with field living gear = Operation Anaconda in Afghanistan.

This explains this photo of the 173rd Airborne Brigade Paratrooper in Iraq who doesn't seem to be wearing IBA:

So to solve the problem in the U.S. we need to create dummy ammunition loads that would be carried ALL THE TIME to force us to factor in ammo weight.

Then, we drop the sports PT non-sense and ruck march with 4-7 mph mobility goals:

www.geocities.com/equipmentshop/apft.htm

Then....

We need to view the rucksack as a LOGPAC(k). It is NOT the Soldier's turtle shell home away from home, its an UNIT conveyance. All it should carry is bulk ammo, food and water, that is collected by his unit and placed in carts, bikes or APCs. The Soldier himself should live out of only his detachable buttpack "Combat Light":

www.geocities.com/equipmentshop/combatlight.htm

Saying all of this, its possible to carry 25 pounds more of 5.56mm in the 6 pound rucksack for a 31 pound rucksack that could be carried SHORT DISTANCES by Soldiers with 60 pound loads previously described.

The ideal would be the Soldiers nearly empty their ammo loads during the battle, say a deliberate attack. Their load weight now minus ammo and water = 37 pounds. The rucksacks and buttpacks would be shuttled forward by carts/bikes to resupply themselves to regain their 325 x 5.56mm round RUNNING AMMO LOAD and possibly defend in place now with 650 additional 5.56mm rounds and/or sleep using their Combat Light sleep/shelter system.

I use this simple strawman to get at the 80% reality we should create for our 5.56mm rifle equipped infantrymen. Variations like 7.62mm machine gunners, rockets, hand grenades, binos, NVGs, Combat LifeSavers etc. have been omitted to get at the problem's essence.

COUNTER-PROPOSAL: John Wilson

"Your load of 325 rounds is excessive. The 60 lbs you mention is supposed to include a 22-25 lb Existence Load (Ruck Sack).

That means the typical Fighting Load (your Running Load) should be between 36 - 39 lbs (including BDUs and Underroos) [This is according to extensive research throughout the history of the Soldier's Load issue/research as reported by S.L.A. Marshall, in "Soldier's Load and the Mobility of a Nation"]. According to U.S. Army Doctrine (FM 7-10, p. 8-12) the Fighting Load is to be LESS THAN 48 pounds.

JRTC OPFOR would exist on 6 Magazines and a Camelbak MULE (with Demo and rations) for 2-3 days at a hitch. This load had them under 36 lbs and dancing circles around more heavily laden BLUEFOR troops (normally conducting Movement-to-Contact with full 60-80 pounds strapped to their backs). I know that this is simulation, but you have to remember the formula:

Fear = Fatigue & Fatigue = Fear

If light loads are nice-to-have in simulated combat, then they are ESSENTIAL in live combat.

Your UBL should be no less than 6 magazines (according to previous e-mail by a trusted combat vet via Randy Bartlett in previous email) = 180 rounds = 6.92 Lbs or 7 Mags = 210 Rnds = 8.08 lbs....You don't need more than this unless you're a LRRP/Delta Force. The chances of an average Soldier firing more than 180-210 rounds in one or two firefights before a resupply can reach him are slim.

Lets figure 45.4 Lbs for the Fighting Load

Balance

38.4 -7.0 6 Mags of Ammo (in pouch/Bandoleer)
31.4 -7.0 Rifle (M4 Carbine)
28.4 -3.0 K-Pot (New Style)
19.9 -8.5 Uniform + Boots
7.9 -12.0 IBA Armor
0 -7.9 Camelbak MULE (With 3L Water)

Drop the pistol belt and LBV because they are not needed. The new body armor comes with loops for attaching magazine pouches. Or, tote you magazines in the new style ammo bandoleers (pull the little white thread out, and the bandoleer will carry 30-round magazines neatly)

Remember...the FIRST order of business is to fight and live through the next firefight. A heavy-burdened troop struggling under a heavy 60-80 pound load on a patrol is concentrating more on the crap he’s carrying than he is paying attention to his situational awareness (especially when he's in the 3-D environment of MOUT).

A man can survive 3-days without water and 30-days without food. But he won't survive long in MOUT without a weapon, adequate ammo (180-210 rounds), and body armor. Water is the very next on the priority list behind this. If the Soldier drinks one quart before he leaves and has the full Camelbak, he's good for 8 - 12 hours.

Carry everything else on vehicles or throw it on the carts. If you don't have that kind of transport, designate a squad as "porters" and have them carry the 60 lbs in trail.

Soldiers must be equipped like Olympic Sprinters not Pack Mules. No amount of PT, no matter how the PT is carried out will enable the average Soldier to sustain himself long in combat with a 60+ pound fighting load."

IMMEDIATE SOLDIER'S LOAD FIX

1. Think Combat Light

ALL Soldiers should go to level "C" SERE training by stopping the BS initiation/harassment games at the end of basic training and incorporating survival training of 3 weeks so Soldiers can have skills to live off land's resources and not have to carry items to artificially create needed capabilities.

ALL Soldiers with laminated SERE cards in their BDU pocket.

Leadership "Combat Light" eXtreme Soldiering ethos:

D-R-O-P

Decide mobility level to accomplish mission

Reduce un-necessary gear

Organize transport means to carry unit gear

Police the ranks

Unit leaders should in mission planning have a list of the weights IN THEIR MIND'S EYE of all TA-50, weapons and ammo and add up the loads for their various Soldier assignments and make DRASTIC ADJUSTMENTS ACCORDINGLY. See: www.geocities.com/equipmentshop/combatjump.htm

However, the following general SOP will get you "in the ballpark" for 99% of all situations except for extreme sub-zero arctic conditions.

2. Your rucksack is a unit logpack not an individual's "mobile home"

All rucksacks should carry is ammo, water and food in that order. Empty rucks should be able to be collected at any time and moved by unit transportation or sent back to be refilled and sent forward with ammo, water and food. If you have to move rucks using your own power, attach "wheels" to them and tow or push them as all-terrain carts or on all-terrain bikes. See:

www.geocities.com/itsg.geo/atac.htm and www.geocities.com/itsg.geo/atb.htm

You do not fight with your ruck on your back ("Combat Heavy") nor do you need your ruck to survive indefinitely in the field. Its just a means to move forward a for the human back, a large amount of bulk supplies.

Whenever you get the even empty rucksack off your back---you shed at the very minimum 6 pounds of weight upwards to 100 pounds. This will "pay" for the following.

a. Army standard NSN 8405-01-416-6216 Eco-Tat Lightweight Sleeping Bag Multi-Purpose LWSB-MP (3.0 lbs)

b. Army standard NSN 8405-00-290-0550 Poncho with 550 cords to be a poncho-tent, hood tied into a knot (1.3 lbs)

c. Army standard NSN 7210-00-935-6665 OD Green space casualty blanket (0.6 lbs)

d. Army standard NSN 8415-01-228-1312 ECWCS Gore-Tex jacket (1.5 lbs)

__________________________________

6.4 pounds TOTAL

See:

www.geocities.com/equipmentshop/lwsb.htm

www.geocities.com/equipmentshop/tent.htm

www.rangerjoes.com/catalog/selection.cfm?category=main&id=892

That's it.

This is all you need to survive from the elements from freezing to 100+ degrees. Items b-d fit inside your buttpack or inside the Ecotat LWSB Multi-Purpose's stuff sack. Item a, the LWSB-MP straps on top of the buttpack or directly to your LBE rear and acts as a kidney pad or stuffs inside it. The weight you save by not carrying even the empty ALICE rucksack (6 pounds) essentially "pays for" the Live Light Package at your buttpack. Why carry 6 pounds of volume when you can carry instead 6 pounds THAT DOES SOMETHING FOR YOU; ie; allows you to live comfortably (YES!) in the field?

If you are moving and it begins to rain, you put on your waterproof, but breathable GT jacket, otherwise you sweat in your brush-breaking BDUs and hopefully dry out by night's end. GT jacket also acts as windbreak, but must be treated with McNett.com water repellency Revivex treatments to remain effective. The GT jacket extends down far enough so that only a small part of your legs are uncovered but while you are moving these large muscles are getting hot so they will dry off any rain/dew on vegetation contacted so the GT pants are not needed.

How can you compress the GT ECWCS jacket so it can fit with the other Combat Light items?

Compress the GT jacket with a clear plastic vacuum bag from www.spacebag.com so it takes only a small part of the space inside your buttpack.

At night's end and you become stationary; you find two trees or bushes and tie your long poncho-tent cords to stretch them out. Cut branches to act as tent stakes and mash down into the ground. You now have a rain and wind break; 15 degrees of warmth gained. Unfold mylar blanket shiny side up to reflect your heat back to you (about 15 degrees F) so its not lost to the ground via conductivity and stretch out inside your poncho-tent as a floor.

Open up Ecotat LWSB-MP, pull over and around yourself; you can keep your boots on if you want---tighten shock cords around your feet above boot soles to keep mud out from inside your LWSB-MP. Close head shock cords to trap further heat and go to sleep, drying out your BDUs by the morning. Or if the situation is less threatening, remove your boots and socks and close lower end of LWSB-MP around bare feet for restful sleep. Use GT jacket as extra insulation or pillow for head by stuffing into unused LWSB stuff sack.

If you are in a 2-man fighting position (square hole in the ground to evade enemy observation/fires) and not on watch, unzip LWSB-MP so its a poncho-liner-like blanket (but warmer) and open head hole and stick head through it. Curl up and go to sleep but with weapon at the ready. If you have to go into action you are ready to shoulder weapon and return fire, to include running---you are not caught zipped up in a sleeping bag.

Combat Light in Open Terrains

The only variation is that in open terrains you don't have trees to tie your poncho-tent lengthwise cords to and material to cut stakes from, so you carry 6 tent poles and 6 x OD green plastic tent stakes---the stakes in your buttpack and the poles tied together into one unit attached to the LWSB-MP's stuff sack or on top of the buttpack.

You live the same as you would in closed terrain except that you erect 3 poles in front and 3 poles in the rear of your poncho-tent to erect it and let the tension from the stakes pulling on the cords to keep the tent standing.

Other benefits:

If you become a casualty, the mylar space blanket, LWSB-MP available on your person can be placed around you by a Combat LifeSaver so you stay warm to not go into shock and die. The poncho can be used to drag you like an expedient SKEDCO type MEDEVAC aid for 1 person rescue. Shiny side of mylar casualty blanket can be used as attention getter for rescues or aircraft recognition/marker panel for Close Air Support.

4. Hygiene Combat Light

Also in your buttpack would be a VERY SMALL HYGIENE KIT in ziplock plastic bag:

e. 2 pairs wool socks rolled up with small can foot powder

f. disposible razors with handles cut

g. small travel toothbrush or one with handle cut

h. small bar of soap

However, if the U.S. Army got smart, it would mold on the back of the MRE plastic spoon a toothbrush and rails to accept shaving cartridges (Spork Toothbrush Shaver) and supply a small packet of multi-use soap Soldiers wouldn't even need to find a "PX in Afghanistan" to obtain/carry the items described above except for the socks/foot powder.

Learn to shave with just water from your canteen cup, until then use soap for lather. In worse case scenario, you can clean teeth with wad of toilet paper from MRE and rinsing water in mouth.

Quick-Detachable Buttpack to carry the "Combat Light" Module

The following pictures show how you can rig your buttpack so it can be quickly attached or detached from the rear of your ETLBV or LC-2 Load Bearing Equipment (LBE) fighting load. You would have the option of jumping the buttpack with Combat Light module INSIDE your rucksack so you do not have a bulge at your rear in event of the likely rear PLF. However, at first opportunity you can in a matter of seconds clip the buttpack to the back of your LBE without fumbling around with flimsy ALICE clips and shed your rucksack at a cache point or into some form of unit transportation.

Use a buttpack like London Bridge makes with quick-release buckles for easy access when worn at your back

Anchor the female buckles of a pair of Blackhawk sternum straps to the buttpack

Anchor the Blackhawk straps' male ends to the pistol belt on the ETLBV or LC-2 LBE

Route a strap with or without buckles to secure top of buttpack to ETLBV

Use same procedures for LC-2 except route top strap thru the two rear metal snaphook horizontal openings

Of course, you could jump your buttpack attached to your LBE back and at first opportunity stuff the LWSB, poncho-tent, casualty blanket inside or strap them as a unit inside the LWSB stuff sack on top of the buttpack, leaving space inside for , a thin inslation layer of clothing like the field jacket liner or Brigade Quartermaster "Bivvy Wear Packable Thermals" proven recently by British Soldiers in Afghanistan since the current ECWCS insulation layers are too bulky and heavy to be carried along in a buttpack for staying warm after a long day's march.

Another good, larger buttpack that can be used is the SpecOps Brand "SOB" described on the link below:

Soldier's Optimized Buttpack

Problem: Soldier's have depended on Buttpacks for years. In theory, they are an excellent method of carrying much needed gear low and close to the body. Problem is, when they are attached to military web gear, it is nearly impossible to access contents without the aid of a buddy, or worse yet - removing your entire set of web gear. This wastes time and unnecessarily puts the Soldier at risk.

Solution: S.O.B. - Soldier's Optimized Buttpack. A workhorse built for the modern warrior: the modernization of an old standard: the Buttpack. This S.O.B. has 3 compartments with zippered entry to allow the Soldier instant access to critical gear while on the move. No more straps and flaps to fool with. The need to remove web gear or ask for assistance is gone. Larger, more rugged than conventional Buttpacks, this S.O.B. means business!

Features and Benefits of the S. O. B. :

Constructed from 1000D Cordura™.

Main body compartment has white 'DURA'-panel liner: provides added water resistance and increased visibility of contents.

Multiple gear loops for additional gear attachment points (works well with the X-System from Spec.-Ops. Brand).

No exposed stitching along seams.

Fully seam-taped interior, double needle stitched.

Dual side pockets with grommet drain holes allow the Soldier easy access on the move.

3 zippered compartments: main body compartment has "storm-fly" zipper cover for extra element protection.

4 welded mil.-spec. 'D'-rings for attachment to military web gear.

Carry/hang handle.

Color: Woodland, Olive Drab and Black.

Dimensions: 14" x 11" x 6"; 930 cu. in.

Retail Price - $49.95

Guaranteed for life, MADE IN TEXAS, U. S. A.!

5. Fighting Combat Light

a. One E-tool per every 2-man buddy team because only 1 can dig at a time while the other provides security and it must be on his ETLBV not his rucksack!

E-tools are parachute jumped on the rucksack for safety reasons. When rucksacks are ditched at the cache point or transported by air/ground vehicles the e-tools are removed and placed inside the buttpack top. Men with e-tools are these with M16/M203 grenade launchers that cannot attach a M9 wire cutter bayonet as currently configured. Same men also have a Leatherman or Gerber multi-tool type utility device to make up what was lost by not having a M9 WCB.

b. MOPP Gear should be in a modular roll that can be attached to the top of the LWSB-MP or if there is no threat kept with rucksacks which would have individual name/unit markings so if used as collective LOGPACKS can get the right sized MOPP suit/boots to the right Soldier.

c. Extra BDUs: are un-necessary; one set on your body can easily last 1 week or more. Dry out during the night in your poncho-tent. Even then extra material should be removed to improve cooling and shoulder sleeve pockets added.

d. Individual Fighting Gear sublimation: the two canteen covers on your ETLBV should be covered, multi-use pouches and the canteens themselves flexible, collapsible so if they are emptied of water can be stuffed in the buttpack and the pouches used to carry AMMO, grenades etc. for firefights. All M16/M4 magazines with pull cords to clip onto a snaplink to not get lost when emptied in a firefight.

See: www.geocities.com/equipmentshop/canteencover.htm

Two field pressure dressings taped to stock of weapon for entrance/exit wounds and to act as "cheek weld" for firing positions. Camel-Bak on your back puts 70 more ounces of water available on the move, and should have a purification filter so any water source can be used to pump fill the reservoir and the two 1 quart canteens. Night Vision Goggles/Binos held in chest pouch worn over top of body armor. Every Soldier with red lens small neck chain Photon fingertip-sized flashlight for map reading and general visibility if needed at night not large, bulky G.I. anglehead flashlights. Natick Stove/Canteen cup in your rucksack for parachute jump, transferred to your LBE for water boiling/hygiene at first opportunity.

See: www.geocities.com/equipmentshop/hotdrinks.htm

e. Unit Mission Gear sublimation: ropes, radios & batteries, claymores, MG spare barrel bags with tripods, Combat LifeSaver Bags etc. whenever possible are carried on back of designated Soldier by their own carry straps, avoid requiring the rucksack to carry FIGHTING LOADS; rucksack should be LOGPACK with generic extra supplies, and even then as a packboard is best configuration to carry heavy dense ammunition. The packboard shelf should be able to carry a wounded Soldier like Kifaru's cargo chair does.

We need to grow up and start taking war seriously which means every time going to the field carry actual live ammunition so we are carrying realistic loads so we don't use up rucksack volume with field living comfort gear done badly and having the trust and confidence that we treat our Soldiers like professionals so they return the ammo at exercise end and not go "postal". If we are not there yet, then we damn well better develop some actually-weighs-the-same-as-live-ammo DUMMY (cannot kill anyone) AMMO, grenades, bullets, rockets, missiles so we can train realistically as we should fight.

The current sports t-shirt, shorts and running shoes APFT should be junked in favor of a 6 mile march for time with full combat equipment; rucksack, LBE, basic load of ammo, helmet, BDUs, boots. If we can achieve 4 mph with "combat heavy" loads with rucks on our backs, then when we cache the rucks we should be able to go 4-7 mph "Combat Light".

A "Council of Colonels" meets to decide gear for us grunts for the SEP program to "type classify" (tested to "perfection" to be declared Army kosher) when it should be the lower-ranking gear gurus who are actually humping (carrying) the machine guns, rockets and mortars from every Army command representing their specific climes/places/missons. This is why a lot of our gear sucks. Most Colonels I've run into are concerned more with form than function and are not technotactically oriented enough and candid. SGTs, LTs and CPTs should decide on our new gear from actual try-it-themselves testing.

An Army bureaucrat informs us that Company Commanders can buy with unit funds whatever gear they need for their men from the GSA Catalog and CTA 5900 (not Army "type classified" but available for purchase: "good enough" using Army funds) but this is something that's not pro-actively done and known about. Have you ever heard about this? GSA catalog is on CDs Supply Sergeants have so it takes a bit of looking when it should be on the www for all Soldiers to see.

What we need is a Soldier's Board of lower ranking gear experts who will review new gear, get it on the GSA Catalog/CTA 5900 and then publish an annual focused list throughout the Army encouraging Commanders/units/individuals to buy these items. Apparently its ok for units to fund-raise to build up a unit fund or this purpose, too so not having the money is not an obstacle. This list of authorized field gear on GSA/CTA 5900 should be placed on the Army Knowledge Online (AKO) secure web site so any Soldier can see what the Soldier Board recommends they get ASAP.

Every year, every Major Army Division (Airborne, Air Assault, Light, Mechanized, Armored etc.) and separate unit (2nd ACR, 172nd Arctic Brigade, SF, Rangers) has ITS SOLDIERS select by vote a field gear representative who will travel to Fort Benning, Georgia to decide for the rest of the Army what off-the-shelf Soldier gear to buy and what gear to develop. Every unit has at least one "gear guru" right for this job; a pro-active Soldier who studied field gear and on his own tinkers and tests what works and does not. THE CHAIN OF COMMAND DOES NOT SELECT THE GEAR BOARD SOLDIERS. Some out-of-touch Army General does NOT select some political yes-man to be on the board to keep the troops ill-equiped and "in their place". Some DA civilian with a ponytail going through perpetual mid-life crisis does NOT decide what items are bought or developed, THE SOLDIERS DECIDE. No "Council of Colonels". Its the individual Soldier's lives that are at stake not some bureaucrat in a comfy office with one retirement already under his belt longing for the good 'ole days when the equipment they had sucked and everyone liked it. What the Soldier TA-50 Board decides AUTOMATICALLY become AUTHORIZED Soldier optional wear/use items without the current kill-joy, politically correct "uniform board" having one say in their decisions. They do a great job keeping everyone miserable and without esperit de corps during garrison hours; the field Soldier's attire should be guided by FUNCTION decided by the mud-Soldiers. Each year a list of acceptible alternatives will be decided on by the Board for Soldiers to buy/use on their own option. Each year the board will decide on commensurate with the SEP budget what items will be bought/issued to enhance Soldiers immediately. And each year the board will see what industry and Natick Labs have "cooking" and provide feedback.

Next, 3 weeks of Basic Training BS harassment should be replaced with 3 weeks of in the field survival training by sending trainers to U.S. Army SERE Level "C" school at Camp MacKall, NC and then having them take-over the last 3 weeks of every cycle's training before graduation. Designated "Master TA-50" gear experts in every Army Company would also be sent immediately through SERE school and Natick Lab training to advise commanders/units and meet annually to determine the direction of Army SEP and R&D efforts.

The APFT needs to be changed to a "Combat Heavy" ruckmarch for time and from now on the Soldiers who actually carry gear into battle decide what gear is bought and how new gear is developed with ruckframes that become all terrain carts and folding human and electric powered bikes fielded in experimental light units as DoD Advanced Concept Technology Demonstrations (ACTDs) to quicken those dismount-centric units that will optimized to hold lodgments and move through the most restricted terrains and not be supplied with a high-technology, stealthy, band-tracked, C4I digitally-connected, air-transportable Air-Mech-Strike armored fighting vehicle (21st century tanks) that other mounted-centric units acting as shock action suppliers for mobile warfare through less restricted terrains should have.

itsg@hotmail.com

Former IDF officer and combat veteran, Theodore Lapkin writes:

"Hello:

I am a former Israeli infantry officer with combat experience from Lebanon during the 80s. Since the late 70s, the IDF has been using an excellent webbing system that has been constantly refined and improved. Its latest iteration is the "assaultvest." It is a one piece system with enough capacity for ammunition, grenades, water, and the light load (light sleeping bag+spaceblanket) that you recommend.

You can see this Israeli assault vest at:

www.assaultvest.com

or at

www.isayeret.com

It comes in a variety of formats, including rifleman, M240/M249 gunner, medic, EOD. I would argue that this is the finest, most durable, most comfortable and most effective TA-50 load carrying system out there today. The Israelis wear it over their body armor, and it would easily fit over the Interceptor vest. The US Army would be very well served if they adopted it instead of the MOLLE-2 crap they are issued.

There is no need for a ruck, which is why IDF infantry don't carry them. They instead carry ammunition for platoon crew served weapons (7.62 rounds for M-240 [called the MAG-58 in the IDF], AT-4s, etc...) The Israeli infantryman is just as much a beast of burden as the US grunt, but almost all of that weight consists of weapons and ammunition.

BTW, the Israeli infantry don't carry tripods for its M-240s. The prefer, instead, to use that weight to carry additional rounds, and they fire from the gun's integral bipod, instead.

Best wishes,

Ted Lapkin"