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I would like everyone to take a close look at Lt. Dudley in the foreground (first big picture middle of the article). Can you imagine moving long distances or

I would like everyone to take a close look at Lt. Dudley in the foreground (first big picture middle of the article). Can you imagine moving long distances or fighting for your life on uneven terrain with all of that stuff dangling off of you and weighing you down? Also notice that the soldiers behind him have full cargo pockets on their pants. It's interesting to notice the interplay of how new technology enables the soldier to carry more gadgets and tools, but simultaneously makes the old gadgets lighter. A typical soldier has more in his first aid pouch (one of those dangling tan things with a zipper) than the platoon medic did in WWII. His rifle is lighter, but it also has an advanced optic and a laser visible through his NVG's. He's carrying a vest with a "bullet proof" plate (very heavy) but under it is a shirt made of light durable technical fabric that wicks moisture away from his skin. I'm convinced there will never be a day when the infantryman isn't carrying too much weight. There is a limit to how much weight a fit infantryman can carry and still be able to fight and they will always have us carrying stuff up to that limit.

avs733 9y ago
When I did some work with the defense industry, I was told many soldiers carried more weight in batteries than in ammo nowadays
- clarkmoody 9y ago
  Huge argument in favor of interoperability of subsystems: if all the gadgets could recharge one another or had a common battery type, then your spares could be split among gadgets. Bonus points if other bits of hardware could be shared. Extra bonus points for software interoperability (long shot).
  - ryanx435 9y ago
    They do have the same battery, the bb2590. It's completely standardized for all modern military equipment. The problem is that if you are going on a week long mission you need enough batteries to last a week plus extra in case something goes wrong. Source: I'm a veteran.
PKop 9y ago
As a SAW gunner in Afghanistan on my last deployment, my combat load minus body weight was > 90lbs. This was for double digit (at least) hours long missions many times per week in mountains around +/-10K ft. Brutal.. lol The accumulated weight of every little required item needed on missions.. a perpetual source of annoyance.
- solotronics 9y ago
  If you don't mind me asking have you experienced any discrimination in tech because of your background or politics? I have friends that served and one of them moved to Dallas from S.V. because the politics there were hostile to vets. Thank you!
  - ryanmarsh 9y ago
    I would say my experience has been the reverse. In Texas you can pretty much assume most folks support the troops and veterans. The only "discrimination" I've received as a vet was in SV. I don't know if you'd call it discrimination though, mainly just people disgusted with me (or horrified?) for fighting in "Bush's war". I had a woman just flat out turn on her heels and walk away from me upon mention of my service (I forget how it was related to the conversation). We were having a professional conversation at a conference. I've gotten looks of disgust from students (I teach various programming classes) when I tie something back to a lesson I learned in the military. Whatever. That stuff doesn't affect me. It's more a reflection on them than it is me.
    - Jtsummers 9y ago
      I think you and solotronics are in agreement. > one of them moved to Dallas from S.V. [emphasis added]
      - Rhinobird 9y ago
        Where is S.V.?
ken 9y ago
This reminds me of the situation with software. When writing a program today, I've got dozens of great tools that I didn't have 10 or 20 years ago, but the flip side is that I've got to learn and use all these new tools. You could always limit yourself to the old ways, if weight/complexity were your only criterion, but the world moves on, and we're (apparently) not yet hitting the point where piling on more technology doesn't provide an overwhelming advantage.
everdev 9y ago
That day will arrive if running becomes more important than the weight of the gear. But, for right now, fighting seems more stationary than ever so mobility isn't as important as medic supplies, communication and weapons. And if there's an empty pocket on the vest, there's a huge military budget that wants to fill it.
tw04 9y ago
>I'm convinced there will never be a day when the infantryman isn't carrying too much weight. There is a limit to how much weight a fit infantryman can carry and still be able to fight and they will always have us carrying stuff up to that limit. That day will be when we have sustainable mechanized body armor. When the suit can carry more than the man wearing it, the man is no longer the bottleneck. The question will be whether we just send drones at that point.
- deleted 9y ago
  [deleted]
- 089723645897236 9y ago
  They will send drones. But they'll also send people in suits too. By the time iron man suits are ubiquitous, the battle space will be 99% drone anyway. But people still need to be there sometimes. So they'll have suits.
skookumchuck 9y ago
The typical soldier's kit has been 70 lbs going back to Roman times.
tyingq 9y ago
The Vietnam era PRC77 for comparison: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/AN/PRC-77_Portable_Transceiver https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/AN/PRC-77_Portable_Transceiv...

avs733 9y ago

When I did some work with the defense industry, I was told many soldiers carried more weight in batteries than in ammo nowadays

clarkmoody 9y ago
Huge argument in favor of interoperability of subsystems: if all the gadgets could recharge one another or had a common battery type, then your spares could be split among gadgets. Bonus points if other bits of hardware could be shared. Extra bonus points for software interoperability (long shot).
- ryanx435 9y ago
  They do have the same battery, the bb2590. It's completely standardized for all modern military equipment. The problem is that if you are going on a week long mission you need enough batteries to last a week plus extra in case something goes wrong. Source: I'm a veteran.

PKop 9y ago

As a SAW gunner in Afghanistan on my last deployment, my combat load minus body weight was > 90lbs. This was for double digit (at least) hours long missions many times per week in mountains around +/-10K ft. Brutal.. lol The accumulated weight of every little required item needed on missions.. a perpetual source of annoyance.

solotronics 9y ago
If you don't mind me asking have you experienced any discrimination in tech because of your background or politics? I have friends that served and one of them moved to Dallas from S.V. because the politics there were hostile to vets. Thank you!
- ryanmarsh 9y ago
  I would say my experience has been the reverse. In Texas you can pretty much assume most folks support the troops and veterans. The only "discrimination" I've received as a vet was in SV. I don't know if you'd call it discrimination though, mainly just people disgusted with me (or horrified?) for fighting in "Bush's war". I had a woman just flat out turn on her heels and walk away from me upon mention of my service (I forget how it was related to the conversation). We were having a professional conversation at a conference. I've gotten looks of disgust from students (I teach various programming classes) when I tie something back to a lesson I learned in the military. Whatever. That stuff doesn't affect me. It's more a reflection on them than it is me.
  - Jtsummers 9y ago
    I think you and solotronics are in agreement. > one of them moved to Dallas from S.V. [emphasis added]
    - Rhinobird 9y ago
      Where is S.V.?

ken 9y ago

This reminds me of the situation with software. When writing a program today, I've got dozens of great tools that I didn't have 10 or 20 years ago, but the flip side is that I've got to learn and use all these new tools. You could always limit yourself to the old ways, if weight/complexity were your only criterion, but the world moves on, and we're (apparently) not yet hitting the point where piling on more technology doesn't provide an overwhelming advantage.

everdev 9y ago

That day will arrive if running becomes more important than the weight of the gear. But, for right now, fighting seems more stationary than ever so mobility isn't as important as medic supplies, communication and weapons. And if there's an empty pocket on the vest, there's a huge military budget that wants to fill it.

tw04 9y ago

>I'm convinced there will never be a day when the infantryman isn't carrying too much weight. There is a limit to how much weight a fit infantryman can carry and still be able to fight and they will always have us carrying stuff up to that limit. That day will be when we have sustainable mechanized body armor. When the suit can carry more than the man wearing it, the man is no longer the bottleneck. The question will be whether we just send drones at that point.

deleted 9y ago
[deleted]
089723645897236 9y ago
They will send drones. But they'll also send people in suits too. By the time iron man suits are ubiquitous, the battle space will be 99% drone anyway. But people still need to be there sometimes. So they'll have suits.

skookumchuck 9y ago

The typical soldier's kit has been 70 lbs going back to Roman times.

tyingq 9y ago

The Vietnam era PRC77 for comparison: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/AN/PRC-77_Portable_Transceiver https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/AN/PRC-77_Portable_Transceiv...