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A Review of the Soldier's Equipment Burden

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A Review of the Soldier's Equipment Burden UNCLASSIFIED A Review of the Soldier's Equipment Burden Chris Brady, Derrek Lush and Tom Chapman Land Operations Division Defence Science and Technology Organisation DSTO-TN-1051 ABSTRACT The equipment load carried by the Australian Infantryman is so bulky and heavy that it presents a significant burden and impairment to his performance. This report aims to characterise this problem, to assess its impact, and provide recommendations from a range of disciplines. A survey of soldier equipment found it is set up and packed for ease of use, not ergonomic considerations. The load produces discomfort and injury, and reduces soldier and unit agility. All these findings are supported by a review of published literature. The report contains a description of the issues contributing to excessive soldier load, provides project management strategies and the change in the nature of operations, and ends with descriptions of six groups of solutions arrived at from examining the factors that make up the 'soldier equipment burden': load weight, equipment placement, and carriage duration. RELEASE LIMITATION Approved for public release UNCLASSIFIED UNCLASSIFIED Published by Land Operations Division DSTO Defence Science and Technology Organisation PO Box 1500 Edinburgh South Australia 5111 Australia Telephone: (08) 7389 5555 Fax: (08) 7389 6567 © Commonwealth of Australia 2011 AR-015-169 December 2011 APPROVED FOR PUBLIC RELEASE UNCLASSIFIED UNCLASSIFIED A Review of the Soldier's Equipment Burden Executive Summary The equipment load carried by Australian Infantryman is so bulky and heavy that it can present a significant impairment to his performance. Despite all the research to date no single effective solution has arisen. The aims of this three-part report are to characterise the problem, to assess its impact, and to provide recommendations from a range of disciplines to reduce the soldier’s burden. Part One of the report summarises the results of a soldier equipment survey which characterised the soldier’s load by providing a real-world snapshot of the type, weight and manner in which the load was being carried, plus captured recommendations from soldiers on pack and webbing design improvements. It was observed that soldiers ‘live on the outside of their pack’; meaning they pack for need first, ergonomics second. Since many high-need items are also the heaviest it may be necessary to re-consider pack design with these factors in mind. It was reported that the weights carried at the time of the survey are incongruent with the notion of manoeuvre warfare, and soldiers experience discomfort and injury from their Load Carriage Ensemble (LCE) when carrying heavy loads, so the need to reduce the equipment burden should reduce the risk of injury and improve performance. Part Two confirms observations from part one from evidence in the open literature that the problem of soldier load carriage is a combination of reduced soldier and unit agility, increased fatigue, and high injury rates. This section examines the concept of the weight budget and addresses the question how heavy is too heavy? It also contains a description of the issues contributing to the excessive soldier load, including project management strategies and the change in the nature of operations. A usable definition of a Soldier’s Equipment Burden is then outlined; being a combination of load weight, equipment placement and duration of carriage. Part Three describes near-future solutions to the problem of the soldier’s equipment burden, arrived at by addressing weight, placement and duration. There needs to be consideration of what is an acceptable compromise between capability loss and performance improvement. There is a need to adopt a philosophy in the acquisition cycle on reducing equipment weight by at least a few grams per item. Then, when combined (as one soldier said) ‘the kilos will take care of themselves’. Reducing volume and optimising equipment location are as important as reducing weight. To that end the LCE needs to be designed to best blend operational needs with ergonomic considerations; a pack that allows soldiers to quickly access the middle contents would allow heavy items to be packed close to the soldier’s natural centre of mass. The Infantryman, with such a large equipment burden, is in effect disabled compared to his normal functioning. As such the field of assistive technologies may provide solutions to UNCLASSIFIED UNCLASSIFIED aide the soldier in carrying their load, or carrying part of the load for the soldier. This allows the possibility of a soldier having with them all the equipment they need when they need it without having to carry it, or at least shorten the duration of carriage. This will allow the soldier to travel further, faster, and be less fatigued (combat ready) at the end of their patrol. UNCLASSIFIED UNCLASSIFIED Authors Christopher G. Brady Land Operations Division Christopher Gerard Brady finished a bachelor degree in Biological Sciences at the Flinders University in 1991 and completed honours in Psychology in 1992. Chris then worked as a Medical Technican at hospitals in Adelaide and Sydney before joining DSTO in 1998, working as a Human Factors Scientist within the Land Operations Division. Since starting at DSTO Chris has worked mainly in the field of soldier modernisation, being involved in work on night vision goggles, soldier load carriage, and helmet systems. Chris completed a Masters Degree in Cognitive Science from the University of Adelaide in 2001 and in 2003 undertook a Defence Science Fellowship to Defence R&D Canada in Toronto. Chris is currently the Science and Technology Adviser to Project LAND53 NINOX: Night Fighting Equipment Replacement. ____________________ ________________________________________________ Derrek Lush Land Operations Division Major Derrek Lush enlisted into the Australian Army in July 1998 and commenced his general Service officer training at the Royal Military College Duntroon. After graduating to the Royal Australian Infantry Corps in December 1999, his first posting was to the 1st Battalion, the Royal Australian Regiment, and deployed to East Timor as a rifle platoon commander as part of Operation Tanager in 2000/01 before being posted to the School of Infantry in June 2001. During his 2½ years at the school he held appointments within Depot Company as a training platoon commander, Training Support Platoon Commander, and Company 2IC. As a captain he served as the Adjutant of the 10th/27th Battalion, Royal South Australia Regiment, in 2004 before being posted to DSTO Edinburgh in January 2005. He completed the Australian Technical Staff Officers Course in 2007, assuming the position of Staff Officer Weapons within the Capability Development Group. On promotion to Major in 2010 he was posted to the School of Infantry were he is currently serving as the Officer Commanding Soldier Support Wing. UNCLASSIFIED UNCLASSIFIED ____________________ ________________________________________________ Thomas W. Chapman Land Operations Division Thomas Wayne Chapman completed a bachelor degree with honours in Industrial Design at the University of South Australia in 2000. Thomas joined DSTO in 2003, working as a Human Factors researcher within Land Operations Division. Thomas has worked mainly within the field of soldier modernisation with much of his work relating to the study and development of small arms optics. Thomas undertook training in CAD and Metrology in 2009 and 2010 and has been seminal in the establishment of a Human Factors Engineering Capability to develop research evaluation tools for Human Factors support for soldier system integration. ____________________ ________________________________________________ UNCLASSIFIED UNCLASSIFIED DSTO-TN-1051 Contents 1. INTRODUCTION............................................................................................................... 1 1.1 Report Aims ............................................................................................................... 2 1.2 Report Structure ........................................................................................................ 2 2. A SOLDIER EQUIPMENT SURVEY .............................................................................. 3 2.1 Introduction and Objectives................................................................................... 3 2.2 Participant Demographics....................................................................................... 3 2.2.1 Years in service ........................................................................................ 3 2.2.2 Rank........................................................................................................... 4 2.2.3 Main Role.................................................................................................. 5 2.3 Type of Load Carriage Equipment ........................................................................ 5 2.3.1 Type of Pack............................................................................................. 5 2.3.2 Preferred Size of Pack ............................................................................. 7 2.3.3 Type of Webbing ..................................................................................... 7 2.3.4 Discussion................................................................................................. 9 2.4 Load Carriage Ensemble Interface & Discomfort Issues................................. 10 2.4.1 Interface Issues......................................................................................
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