Land warrior: dominating dismounted operations

Infantry Magazine, May-June, 2008 by W.W. Prior

The combination of situational awareness, imagery, dynamic graphics and communications at our fingertips is an incredible advantage to Manchu leaders on the streets and in the palm groves of Iraq. Land Warrior gives us the tools to make better, faster, more informed decisions and communicate those decisions to subordinates--it helps us achieve information superiority. Furthermore, since subordinate leaders have access to the same information as commanders, they are better able to exercise disciplined initiative to seize or create an opportunity. These advantages allow us to establish a tempo during dismounted operations that the enemy cannot hope to match. Land Warrior makes 4-9 Infantry a more capable and lethal organization.

In the present era of persistent, asymmetric conflict, the importance of U.S. dismounted military capability--the infantry function--has reached the point of dominance. Land Warrior is one tool that can and does change the terms of dismounted combat giving U.S. infantry a decided edge. Naturally, then, I propose that the U.S. Army and Marine Corps continue to field Land Warrior and that we continue to seek improvements to the system.

Like any other piece of Soldier gear, Land Warrior can get better. Any addition to the infantry Soldier's load comes at a price, and the price for Land Warrior is steep. At about 12 pounds in its current configuration, the first and foremost improvement to Land Warrior must be to decrease its weight. Infantrymen in Iraq carry all of the things that infantrymen have carried for many years including ammunition, water, helmets, etc ... Relatively new to U.S. forces, modern body armor has dramatically increased Soldier load and Land Warrior ups the ante further. As a personal example, 1 weigh about 185 pounds in my shorts but tip the scales at about 265 pounds in full kit. And, as a battalion commander, I never carry a sledge hammer, a shotgun, or an FM radio. I have no doubt that some of my Soldiers carry fighting loads close to 100 pounds at times. Like body armor, Land Warrior provides such an advantage that it is worth it. Also like body armor, we must find ways to decrease its weight so that Soldiers are physically able to exploit the advantage that it provides during sustained combat operations.

The next upgrade should be in battery size and life. Full-sized Land Warrior batteries are heavy and bulky--about the size and weight of two full 30-round magazines of 5.56 mm ammunition. Soldiers must carry at least one and often carry a spare on them. The batteries normally last about six to eight hours during continuous operations. I will not revisit weight issues addressed above, but the requirement to change batteries can also become problematic during long duration dismounted operations. As a Stryker force, recharge and storage capability on our vehicles mitigates this problem. But we need smaller, longer lasting power supplies (batteries or otherwise), and this need will become more acute if units without ready access to chargers intend to use Land Warrior regularly.