Corps examines downside of full combat load

[unhappycamper]

Loaded with more than 90 pounds of military gear, Marines with the Tactical Rescue of Aircraft and Personnel practice on-loading and off-loading helicopters and simulate a rescue in Iraq in 2006. According to a Naval Research Advisory Committee report, the average Marine carries 97 to 135 pounds in combat loads -- far above the recommended weight of 50 pounds.


Corps examines downside of full combat load
By Kimberly Johnson - Staff writer
Posted : Tuesday Jan 22, 2008 21:11:42 EST

No doubt about it, the Corps’ full combat load is making sure grunts live up to the name. But relief is in sight for Marines tired of humping the heft of full “battle rattle,” as the Corps looks to refine its stance on how much body armor and gear must be worn into combat.

According to a Naval Research Advisory Committee report, the average Marine carries 97 to 135 pounds in combat loads — far above the recommended weight of 50 pounds. The bulk of the weight carried is protective equipment.

“Considerable anecdotal information based on current combat operations indicates heavier loads severely reduce Marine or soldier effectiveness, especially on long-duration patrols, close-in urban combat and other adverse situations,” said a NRAC study, released in September.

“Common sense tells you that if you put more weight on a Marine, obviously he’s going to be slowed down,” said Capt. Jose Vengoechea, project officer for the Lighten the Load initiative at the Marine Corps Warfighting Lab in Quantico, Va., in a phone interview. “We break the rules. No one should have to carry more than 30 percent of their weight in combat.”

Combat loads vary from Marine to Marine. Machine gunners, squad leaders and Navy corpsmen, for example, all carry more weight than the average rifleman, Vengoechea said.


Rest of article at: http://www.marinecorpstimes.com/news/2008/01/marine_lightenload_080122/