Managing Soldier Burden

Wednesday 20 October 2010

This Intelligence Centre seminar will present an investigation of the issues surrounding equipping and supporting the modern dismounted soldier, and the pursuit of solutions to reduce their physical, thermal and power burden.

In Afghanistan’s Helmand province dismounted soldiers are suffering increasing back and leg injuries caused by routinely carrying extraordinary weights of sometimes over 70 kg (150 lb) in punishingly high temperatures and altitudes. The constant incremental acquisition of new pieces of equipment for operational requirements exacerbates the issue, as the additions are usually bought off the shelf from a variety of manufacturers and rarely therefore seamlessly integrate with other systems.

Holistic soldier system ensembles may provide a partial answer, but the conception of the majority of these pre-dates current asymmetric warfare operations. Their development also has so far taken little or no account of the expanded joint-communications, ISTAR, countermine and electronic warfare capabilities which are technical pre-requisites for mission execution and survival in the contemporary battlespace. Nor do they allow for the planning figure of 2.5 litres of water required per hour of patrol time to maintain the efficiency of a dismounted soldier in the heat of an Afghan summer day.

During this online seminar the IDR team will explore international plans and efforts to reduce this burden.

Participate in this online seminar
for just $299 or £199 (+ VAT for UK customers) including archive access to the full presentation and simultaneous audio recording.

Online Seminars are available to Jane’s Intelligence Centre and DS Forecast customers for FREE as part of the subscription package – please speak to your local IHS Jane’s representative for more details or REGISTER via the Client Area (login required).