Weight of kit

[JRSCline]

Modern U.S. Army doctrinal loads are 48-62 pounds, but in field training the Army loads its grunts down with so much excess that they're presumably going into combat carrying 80-120 lbs all told, weapons and ammo inclusive.<br>
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In "The Soldier's Load and the Mobility of a Nation," Marshall argues that armies have always burdened their foot soldiers with too much baggage, and that soldiers invariably lighten their loads of their own accord as soon as they go into a real-life situation where their prescribed load begins to threaten their own welfare. Lists that have the poor soldiers hauling everything but the kitchen sink may well reflect training loads, which would have been higher than those actually carried into a combat zone, just as they are today.<br>
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From practical experience on extended deployments in remote areas, I believe the above to be perfectly true. Fully 3/4's of the gear I brought in two (!) duffel bags and one large rucksack never even came out for use; we had all been required to bring this much equipment, but quickly realized that we could get by with much, much less. Most of the weight we ended up carrying was a personal water supply, gas mask, weapon, ammunition, and prepackaged food.<br>
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A terrific discussion of soldiers' burdens, particularly as it relates to rations and how many days of food supply Roman soldiers carried, can be found in Jonathan Roth's Logistics of the Roman Army.<br>
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Cheers,<br>
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Jenn <p></p><i></i>