The Modern Warrior’s Combat Load

[HollywoodCowboy]

Old school  - 100 pounds of "old" $hit
New school - 100 pounds of "light weight" $hit

That's about it in a nut shell…

 

[OldSolduer]

The stupid thing is some times you are made to take them off even at a FOB.
I had a BC Flag on the center of my Armour on the lower Velcro I had to remove.
It was always covered under my rig when we went out, so i don't get why it had to be moved.

I can get the Major League Gun Fighter ones and such that are on the outside as they are not professional.

Jay - they pay people like me to enforce dress regs. You swore an oath to Canada, not British Columbia, which is part of Canada. Whoever told you to take it off was right.

Old school  - 100 pounds of "old" $hit
New school - 100 pounds of "light weight" $hit

That's about it in a nut shell…

LOL too true!!!

 

[JaY_III]

Jay - they pay people like me to enforce dress regs. You swore an oath to Canada, not British Columbia, which is part of Canada. Whoever told you to take it off was right.

And like I said, every time i was outside the wire it was covered up with only the Canadian flag showing.
I don't see how it hurt.

 

[Infanteer]

And like I said, every time i was outside the wire it was covered up with only the Canadian flag showing.
I don't see how it hurt.

Because the guy beside you thinks it is cool and puts his "Infidel" patch on, and the next guy puts his naked lady one on, and then the guy in the other section puts all 17 of morale patches on and looks like a Christmas tree.

Gotta draw the line somewhere.

 

[Jarnhamar]

Morale patches were illegal on my tour, which is why only the higher ups in those strange command groups in KAF were allowed to wear them.
Theirs were mystically sanctioned by "someone?", we were told if we got caught wearing them we'd be sent home- love O-group threats.

This thread is a really interesting thread and interesting link (ModernWarriorsCombatLoad), thanks!.  It was interesting comparing that list with my own (got some good ideas too)

Any reason why one might think it's a bad idea that every soldier carry's a set of NVGs?

Our body armor isn't that heavy, it's only 3 pounds more than our (empty) rucksack..

 

[JaY_III]

Gotta draw the line somewhere.

I would have liked and thought it was anything VISABLE once you leave the wire  :

Any reason why one might think it's a bad idea that every soldier carry's a set of NVGs?

I would think its a bad idea not to carry them.
You dont always come back before the sun goes down.

 

[daftandbarmy]

The amazing thing - the body armour and helmet are already how heavy? That is BEFORE you take into account ammo, water, rats......

Observe the complete absence of personal armour.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=koJDINSd-vk

Then again, what do the Royal MArines know about all that, eh?

 

[Timmy!]

Army Times - All Geared Up

 

[Jarnhamar]

Splitting a thread from here
http://forums.army.ca/forums/threads/105288/post-1130341/topicseen.html#new
Canadian engineers at NTC Fort Irwin

Indeed..

THIS is overburdened, 110lbs of kit per man in rucks, not including daysacks, body armour, FFO etc.

The only thing I see them overburdened with is the C9, useless bit of ironmongery that it is.

Sorry I should have been more clear. I was making observations from a first person perspective not just the picture.  The engineers were doing their engineer thing out desert but when they came into an urban environment I expected them to drop some kit.  The US (infantry) seemed to take a big step back and let the engineers clear houses.  That in itself made me damn proud of them , having the US recognize their skills, but personally I'm not so sure about using engineers as infanteers.

As for the kit the engineers seemed bagged right from first contact. Being on the other side gives you a really interesting perspective.  Bulging tacvest pockets, attached pockets to the straps at the back of the tacvest, bursting small packs (think I saw one guy with a 3 legged folding stool and snugpack bivy tent on his smallpack).  Stuff as getting caught and it seemed to really reduce their ability to climb through windows, climb ladders, move with any speed or dexterity. The enemy force had weapons, some mags and man jammies. Not sleighing the engineers at all but generally speaking you could see a huge difference between what we carry to battle and what the bad guys do.  You could argue a ton of pros and cons but as far as mobility goes the bad guys can (and did) literally run circles around the good guys.

In the future I'll definitely be experimenting with minimal kit- taking the side pouches off the tacvest. No drop leg holsters or bags. No smallpack or a very very limited one.  Either bring up extra ammo and special equipment as needed, have it close by OR make someone 'the mule' ;D

 

[a_majoor]

Whatever happened to leaving that "stuff" with the CQ?

As for some of your observations, people who bring their stools, camp gear etc attached to their rucks or daybags are adding to their own burden. I con muster up the sympathy for carrying giant issue rucksacks and wearing body armour, but people who add the extras are really doing themselves no favours.

As an aside, I once participated in an exercise with the USMC, and they pretty much slept on the ground in bivvy bags and lightweight sleeping bags. The sleeping bags were clearly much lighter than ours; if there was a need to oerate in colder weather there was a second synthetic bag to make a 2 layer system. I don't remember the temperature breakdown of the sleeping bag system, but if really arctic conditions were anticipated, a lightweight mylar "space blanket" could be added to the mix. Our sleeping bag system is quite heavy and bulky, and is worth bugger all should it ever get wet.

 

[Lerch]

As an aside, I once participated in an exercise with the USMC, and they pretty much slept on the ground in bivvy bags and lightweight sleeping bags. The sleeping bags were clearly much lighter than ours; if there was a need to oerate in colder weather there was a second synthetic bag to make a 2 layer system. I don't remember the temperature breakdown of the sleeping bag system, but if really arctic conditions were anticipated, a lightweight mylar "space blanket" could be added to the mix. Our sleeping bag system is quite heavy and bulky, and is worth bugger all should it ever get wet.

I don't know if you've seen them, but the special order sleeping bags follow that system. The outer bag is made for +5°, the inner bag is for -40°, and then put them together and they're rated to -50°. They both compress MUCH better then the old sleeping bags, and come with built in hoods, making that arctic hood redundant.

 

[Loachman]

That in itself made me damn proud of them , having the US recognize their skills[/quote]

Are you sure that the Yanks weren't just letting them get killed first?

 

[daftandbarmy]

Whatever happened to leaving that "stuff" with the CQ?

As for some of your observations, people who bring their stools, camp gear etc attached to their rucks or daybags are adding to their own burden. I con muster up the sympathy for carrying giant issue rucksacks and wearing body armour, but people who add the extras are really doing themselves no favours.

As an aside, I once participated in an exercise with the USMC, and they pretty much slept on the ground in bivvy bags and lightweight sleeping bags. The sleeping bags were clearly much lighter than ours; if there was a need to oerate in colder weather there was a second synthetic bag to make a 2 layer system. I don't remember the temperature breakdown of the sleeping bag system, but if really arctic conditions were anticipated, a lightweight mylar "space blanket" could be added to the mix. Our sleeping bag system is quite heavy and bulky, and is worth bugger all should it ever get wet.

I've also seen the USMC rendered pretty much combat ineffective because they were improperly equipped for snow and 20 below - mild winter temperature by our standards.

 

[daftandbarmy]

Here's an idea for a new PT test in honour of the 30th anniversary: The Falkland's BFT.

In the winter time, carry 120lbs for 70 miles in 3 days then assault an enemy brigade, well dug in on a series of mountain positions, and kill alot of them while suffering considerable casualties yourself.

  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0iy1DvEytgo&feature=relmfu

 

[Infanteer]

Why do that?  I prefer Iraq PT - insert by helicopters or armoured vehicles and kill lots of bad guys while taking little to no casualties yourself.  ^-^

 

[daftandbarmy]

Why do that?  I prefer Iraq PT - insert by helicopters or armoured vehicles and kill lots of bad guys while taking little to no casualties yourself.  ^-^

Sigh.... mother was right: you just don't GET me  :'(

 

[Timmy!]

Pretty sure we can simulate that in Newfoundland, instead of going to the Falklands. Let me strap on me daisy-roots, and show the poodle-faker who is boss. After me brew, of course.

Here's an idea for a new PT test in honour of the 30th anniversary: The Falkland's BFT.

In the winter time, carry 120lbs for 70 miles in 3 days then assault an enemy brigade, well dug in on a series of mountain positions, and kill alot of them while suffering considerable casualties yourself.

  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0iy1DvEytgo&feature=relmfu

 

[a_majoor]

WRT the exercise; it was done during the spring, so sleeping under hoochies or in crew tents was possible for us. The sleeping bag system described upthread sounds sweet, it would make a great replacement for what we have now.

I spoke to a friend in 3RCR who did a trial with the new C-16 grenade launcher; the thing was so massive that each allegedly man packable part pushed the soldiers load well over 100 lbs; the guys carrying the gun were hardly mobile. (Apparently no one thought to complete the simulation by having the rest of the troops carry huge sand filled ammo cans to represent the belted grenade ammunition).

No wonder the ideas of powered exoskeletons and robotic "mules" are so popular these days.

 

[Old Sweat]

The sleeping bag we used in the sixties had a flannel liner and two "bags," an inner one and an arctic outer one. The combined bag would keep a soldier warmish for four or five hours in -50 f temperatues, and I am speaking from experience here. The bag also did not have any zippers for closure. Instead it used flaps and overlap. This apparently was because zippers could freeze in the cold. (There is the story we all heard about American troops in Korea discovered killed in their bags with frozen zippers, or at least that is what we were told.)

 

[daftandbarmy]

Pretty sure we can simulate that in Newfoundland, instead of going to the Falklands. Let me strap on me daisy-roots, and show the poodle-faker who is boss. After me brew, of course.

Wizard!