I recently participated in an online contest/challenge that was put on by the Youtube personality Brent0331. You can watch his challenge here. The first 15 minutes are all about the prizes https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZO-2InQBgEY
The main gist of the competition is the issuing of a warning order for a three day combat patrol, with contestants being asked to submit a video PCI, or Pre Combat Inspection, of the gear, clothes, and equipment they would carry. The PCI is a routine in which your patrol leader, or fire team leader, goes over your gear and equipment before a mission, to assure everything is in working order; and that you have all the tools and equipment to complete the mission. I am not unaccustomed to the PCI; at One Shepherd we practice it before every mission. However, it is a long time since I have had my gear inspected by a stranger. It made me think about how I would look at my load, if I knew nothing about the person carrying it.
It’s not hard to find recommended packing lists for a long range patrol, and if everyone simply followed the list, this contest would not be interesting at all; but there some things you must have for every mission, other things you should carry for a specific mission, and even more that you can carry “just in case”. The art of packing for any given mission lies in deciding what is truly necessary, and how much you are willing to leave behind. Some will insist that the bayonet is indispensable, while another will not dare to step off without a hatchet, but will choose to leave behind his sleeping bag, preferring to shiver rolled up in a poncho. When you have to pack in “everything you need on your back”, you simply can’t take everything you would like to have. Conventional wisdom is that a reasonable load is one third of a person’s body weight. It’s actually a rare occurrence for infantrymen to carry such a light load, especially as new technology provides them with more gadgets to bring. My load for this contest was 120 pounds, nearly double the 68 that I should have been carrying. If I were the patrol leader, and a new guy showed up with a 90 pound ruck, and a 30 pound combat load (as I had), I would definitely have made him reduce the weight of his ruck.
I have seen too many guys attempt to carry too much weight. They bring everything they might possibly need, and two miles in they are completely smoked; yet there are a few guys who actually do run insanely heavy loads, routinely and successfully. One fellow I’ll call Joe runs a large ALLIC ruck that he had modified to make it even larger. It makes my back sore to even look at his ruck. Yet, he handles it well, and I have to say that there have been many times that I have been happy to see him pull some amazing and obscure piece of gear out of that ruck, like Mary Poppins.
On the other hand, if somebody my size showed up with a 20 pound ruck and ten pound fighting load, I would seriously question his preparedness. It is nearly impossible to get a load down that light without leaving behind lots of essential items. These are the guys that become hypothermic in the first rain shower. Still some people can, and do, run a load this light. One guy I’ll call Alex does this. I have known him to step off for a three day mission without bringing a ruck at all. The few items he brought were all contained in his battle rattle.
While I usually don’t run quite as heavy a load as I did for the contest, my load was pushed up by my decision to carry a 30 caliber rifle, and by the mission- essential items that Brent specified in the contest rules. These things added a full 30 pounds to my overall load. Yet, there were other areas where I was running light. I packed very little in the way of medical supplies, bringing only a basic first aid kit and a tourniquet. I was also light on water, bringing only one quart on my battle rattle and two more in my ruck.
I have been patrol leader for both Joe and Alex, and they have both, at various times, been my patrol leader. Never have any of us busted the others for our differing ideas about loads, even though they represent very different philosophies. In truth, we have been operating by “Big Boy Rules”. Sometimes that phrase is used to mean: “Big boys don’t have to follow rules”, but in its best sense, and the sense we are using it in here, it means we trust each other’s judgement and experience. I know that each of these guys know their limits, and neither of them will do anything to jeopardize themselves, their buddies, or the mission, and they know the same about me. We are all big boys, we can be trusted to make responsible decisions.
Yet, if a knowledgeable stranger were to PCI each of us, Joe would be busted for being too heavy, and bringing unnecessary gear; Alex would be told to bring a ruck, and fill it with all of the essential gear he chose to leave behind; and I would be busted for being too heavy, and still not managing to bring enough water. In general, these reprimands would be most right and proper. Most people have unrealistic ideas about their needs and capabilities in the field, and until they have proven themselves, they should follow the advice of the patrol leader, who is responsible for the completion of the mission.
As I write this, the contest has not yet been judged. I am curious to see the commentary that Brent and the other judges record. If I were the judge, my entry would not be one of the top four, yet I would still carry that load on the patrol he outlined.
You can watch my entry here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x8DQCaLs6KE
And my son’s entry here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wRQcl0HlO5U
american fyrd 