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View Full Version : How Much Weight Soldiers Carry, and Incredible POV Footage of a Massive Paratrooper D



Peter1469
10-19-2015, 08:12 PM
Big Army always wants the infantry to carry more. Give us a break.

Link (http://www.core77.com/posts/41704/How-Much-Weight-Soldiers-Carry-and-Incredible-POV-Footage-of-a-Massive-Paratrooper-Drop).


An old Army saw has it that
The General asks, "What does it do?"
The Senator asks, "How much does it cost?"
The soldier asks, "How much does it weigh?"




We think of soldiers as warfighters, but for even the most combat-hardened vet, the amount of time spent in firefights is a fraction of the time spent hauling their gear around. And that gear adds up: A soldier on the march might be saddled with an assault rifle, a sidearm, ammunition for both, a knife, smoke grenades, flashbang grenades, rations, water, medical supplies, tools, body armor, a flashlight, communications gear, extra batteries, night vision goggles, et cetera. (Members of crew-served weapons teams, i.e. mortars and machine-gun squads, have it even worse.)


What's even crazier is that sometimes soldiers with this amount of gear on are dropped out of airplanes—which can add another 53 pounds to the load. (The U.S. Army's T-11 parachute and harness weighs 38 pounds and the reserve chute adds another 15.) A veteran of the U.S. Army's 173rd Airborne Brigade based in Vicenza, Italy writes (http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=690429) that "Gear weight of a paratrooper…hits up to 160 lbs out the door!"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w846UcmIo5o

130 pounds added to the Soldier.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SFodSTuT_LY

Look at what they are carrying.

The gear issued to Soldiers.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LKH_M2nPBKE#t=43

The weight of warfare

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yc5O6Y-Yeyw

sachem
10-19-2015, 09:21 PM
Wow. That's a load to carry.

Bob
10-19-2015, 09:29 PM
It was many years back but I believe we carried packs with about 40 pounds. Today the troops pack like mules.

jimmyz
10-19-2015, 11:07 PM
I'm happy that special ops don't carry that stuff.SOP should have smaller payloads per drop for troops with follow-up drops for re-supply. How can you fight effectively burdened. My post is based on zero history of airborne ops and I would appreciate any opinion from our veterans here to educate me. TYIA.

Peter1469
10-20-2015, 05:15 AM
I'm happy that special ops don't carry that stuff.SOP should have smaller payloads per drop for troops with follow-up drops for re-supply. How can you fight effectively burdened. My post is based on zero history of airborne ops and I would appreciate any opinion from our veterans here to educate me. TYIA.

In both airborne and air assault units you are expected, as a unit, to carry what you will need for two weeks without resupply. Or at least that was the doctrine back when I was enlisted.

I know that the army is trying to change this. They are looking at very light weight vehicles for airborne units. So they can jump further away from targets, and drive close then attack. Because modern anti air defenses make airborne operations messy.

Tahuyaman
11-03-2015, 05:56 PM
Big Army always wants the infantry to carry more. Give us a break.


An old Army saw has it thatThe General asks, "What does it do?"
The Senator asks, "How much does it cost?"
The soldier asks, "How much does it weigh?"




That is not a joke. It's the absolute truth.

Tahuyaman
11-03-2015, 05:58 PM
It was many years back but I believe we carried packs with about 40 pounds. Today the troops pack like mules.


That's nothing.

Tahuyaman
11-03-2015, 06:08 PM
And in the Army, it's not called a "pack".

Peter1469
11-03-2015, 08:08 PM
ruck

Private Pickle
11-03-2015, 08:17 PM
I was half your body weight in basic for me. Not on the longer ones. Only the 6-10 miles rucks. One the final ruck which I thought was about 18 miles I had 50 lbs. The smaller ones I had 70 lbs.

Each time after a march I would take my ruck off and the Drills would make be do jumping jacks because my arms were blue from cutting off the circulation.

Private Pickle
11-03-2015, 08:20 PM
ruck

sack

I still have my large one. I went to an army surplus depot in Germany after I was issued my equipment. The equipment I was issued was new so I knew I had something special. I went to Mainz-Kastel and bought a duplicate of everything including my ruck, kit and even the entrenching tool. I used the used stuff throughout my deployment and turned it in when I was done leaving me brand new gear that I have to this day. I'll give it to my kids or something.

gamewell45
11-03-2015, 08:26 PM
Big Army always wants the infantry to carry more. Give us a break.

Link (http://www.core77.com/posts/41704/How-Much-Weight-Soldiers-Carry-and-Incredible-POV-Footage-of-a-Massive-Paratrooper-Drop).








https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w846UcmIo5o

130 pounds added to the Soldier.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SFodSTuT_LY

Look at what they are carrying.

The gear issued to Soldiers.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LKH_M2nPBKE#t=43

The weight of warfare

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yc5O6Y-Yeyw

I think it's about time the Army leadership remembers that soldiers are not pack horses. They can only effectively fight with all that weight up to a point.

Bob
11-03-2015, 08:37 PM
That's nothing.

I honestly can't give you the accurate weight of our packs since we were training but not in combat. Yesterday I hefted a WW2 German helmet and they were super heavy though with a very good harness in them.

Private Pickle
11-03-2015, 08:57 PM
Marines are for walking. Army is for telling where the Marines where to walk.

Bob
11-03-2015, 09:45 PM
And in the Army, it's not called a "pack".

I was in during 62-4 and thought the pack on my back was called a pack. A friend of mine is an expert on military garb, including uniforms.

Cthulhu
11-03-2015, 10:54 PM
Marines are for walking. Army is for telling where the Marines where to walk.
Navy actually. They answer to the navy.

Sent from my evil, baby seal-clubbing cellphone.

Cthulhu
11-03-2015, 10:55 PM
Big Army always wants the infantry to carry more. Give us a break.

Link (http://www.core77.com/posts/41704/How-Much-Weight-Soldiers-Carry-and-Incredible-POV-Footage-of-a-Massive-Paratrooper-Drop).








https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w846UcmIo5o

130 pounds added to the Soldier.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SFodSTuT_LY

Look at what they are carrying.

The gear issued to Soldiers.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LKH_M2nPBKE#t=43

The weight of warfare

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yc5O6Y-Yeyw
This is why I always giggle a little when the pro girl power crowd wants to do this stuff.

When grown men need help putting their own gear on, you know this is not a job for girls.

Sent from my evil, baby seal-clubbing cellphone.

Cthulhu
11-03-2015, 10:59 PM
I'm happy that special ops don't carry that stuff.SOP should have smaller payloads per drop for troops with follow-up drops for re-supply. How can you fight effectively burdened. My post is based on zero history of airborne ops and I would appreciate any opinion from our veterans here to educate me. TYIA.
You don't, you hit the quick release on your pack and drop it, kill the bastards, then pick it up again when you're done.

All the various packs I have ever used had quick release on the side so you could drop it instantly.

Same thing with the newer flak jacket too. But that is primarily for medical/aquatic reasons.

I have seen some awesome swimmers, but none so awesome to swim with a flak jacked loaded up.

Sent from my evil, baby seal-clubbing cellphone.

Dr. Who
11-03-2015, 11:00 PM
No doubt why they are researching robotic exoskeletons for soldiers.

Cthulhu
11-03-2015, 11:05 PM
In both airborne and air assault units you are expected, as a unit, to carry what you will need for two weeks without resupply. Or at least that was the doctrine back when I was enlisted.

I know that the army is trying to change this. They are looking at very light weight vehicles for airborne units. So they can jump further away from targets, and drive close then attack. Because modern anti air defenses make airborne operations messy.
I think they are going about it the wrong way.

What they need are light weight vehicles for sure, but not dropping a whole vehicle.

Drop it in pieces that are modular and allow for rapid field assembly. It would be just another piece of gear they learn to take apart and put together.

But make the fuel tank like 5 or 10 gallons so you could easily carry it when full for short distances.

Or even better, just drop ATVs and trailers. The trailer could be field assembled by the ATV itself is small enough and probably light enough to do the trick to haul a few guys within 50 miles with a small trailer designed to haul 4-6 guys with gear and such pending terrain.

Sent from my evil, baby seal-clubbing cellphone.

jimmyz
11-03-2015, 11:47 PM
Marines are for walking. Army is for telling where the Marines where to walk.

I smiled

Cthulhu
11-04-2015, 01:18 AM
No doubt why they are researching robotic exoskeletons for soldiers.
They already have the tech to do it. The only hang up is the power generation for a battery.

They need to get past the hang up for the need of a battery and just strap on a small hydrogen engine with a battery reserve. We have tanks and humvees that burn fuel, so what if an individual man does?

Hydrogen is a fantastic medium power as well. Because such an engine could easily be used indoors.

Sent from my evil, baby seal-clubbing cellphone.

Tahuyaman
12-17-2015, 07:10 PM
I'm still laughing at the guy who thought a 40lb load was heavy.

Tahuyaman
12-17-2015, 07:11 PM
Marines are for walking. Army is for telling where the Marines where to walk.


In Reality it's just the opposite. The Army's job is to conduct sustained combat operations. Not so in the Marine Corps.

nathanbforrest45
12-29-2015, 01:42 PM
Marines are for walking. Army is for telling where the Marines where to walk.


And the Navy is for taking the Marines where they should be walking!!

M A R I N E stands for My Ass Rides In Navy Equipment!!

CreepyOldDude
01-15-2016, 02:14 PM
I honestly can't give you the accurate weight of our packs since we were training but not in combat. Yesterday I hefted a WW2 German helmet and they were super heavy though with a very good harness in them.

We carried a minimum of 85 pounds in Vietnam. That didn't include the flak vest, because most of us didn't wear them, because of the heat and high humidity. Basically, you carried anything you could. Most of us had between 15 and 18 loaded mags, along with at least two frag grenades, two smoke grenades, one claymore mine, 1.5 gallons of water, helmet, boots, entrenching tool, mess kit, c-rats, poncho and liner, machete, knife, M60 ammo (everyone carried at least one can, so the squirt gun wouldn't run dry), chlorine tablets, plus stuff that was divided up, like a pickaxe, LAW, stuff like that.

CreepyOldDude
01-15-2016, 02:18 PM
I was in during 62-4 and thought the pack on my back was called a pack. A friend of mine is an expert on military garb, including uniforms.

We called it a ruck when I was in.

Cthulhu
01-16-2016, 12:23 PM
We carried a minimum of 85 pounds in Vietnam. That didn't include the flak vest, because most of us didn't wear them, because of the heat and high humidity. Basically, you carried anything you could. Most of us had between 15 and 18 loaded mags, along with at least two frag grenades, two smoke grenades, one claymore mine, 1.5 gallons of water, helmet, boots, entrenching tool, mess kit, c-rats, poncho and liner, machete, knife, M60 ammo (everyone carried at least one can, so the squirt gun wouldn't run dry), chlorine tablets, plus stuff that was divided up, like a pickaxe, LAW, stuff like that.
This is why these vets have thrashed joints.

Sent from my evil, baby seal-clubbing cellphone.

CreepyOldDude
01-19-2016, 11:36 AM
This is why these vets have thrashed joints.

Sent from my evil, baby seal-clubbing cellphone.

Quite possibly. I expect it's a contributing factor to my getting osteoarthritis in my knees in my late 50s.

Tahuyaman
01-19-2016, 11:51 PM
If you are a Radio Telephone Operator (RTO) in a light infantry platoon, you are carrying a minimum of 70 lbs of equipment before you get to the required packing list for all soldiers. If an RTO sits down at a break in movement, he needs help to stand up.