Evening star., 1923-11-14
Striving to Tighten Burden
Borne by american Doughboy
War Officials Seek Way to Lessen Weight
of Equipment Carried by Soldier
When in Marching Order.

Consider the poor doughboy! The
load he carries and the more load he
carries when he is going into action.
The doughboy is getting lots Of
consideration right now, for down
| at the infantry bureau of the War
, Department and at the Infantry
Service School in Fort Benning, Ga,
| brilliant minds are turning over in
their minds ways and means TO
| tighten by seventeen pounds the bur-
/ den the infantryman must carry on
his feet.
The officers who have these things
in charge are facing these facts:
The quality of the doughboy's
| equipment must be kept up to the
present standard.
The same things he has carried for
years In the past must still DC MS
| for the asking: yet
| His load must be lightened.
World War Experience.
During the world war the Ameri-
| can infantryman carried. when in
| heavy marching order. seventy-seven
! pounds of various commodities, rang
| ing all the way from blankets to
bacon. This is about ten to twelve
|
| the soldier of any other nation.
! Now the proposition under consid-
! GRAFTON is to bring that load down to
| sixty pounds, reduction of seven
teen pounds, which must be done by
reducing the number of articles he
/ carries or reducing the weight of
| the articles. 1t already has been de-
J cided that his extra shoes will be
! taken from his pack and carried In
the train. His blankets. which dur
| ;pev hA aiT haA fixyn
i the future will be three pounds.
/, Lated, his underwear and extra
socks. three and a half pounds, also
may be transferred to the tram, and
| his food ration may be reduced from
| two and a half pounds to pound
| The weight of the sheltar tent half
! cannot be reduced. it is felt now,
| without impairing the quality of the
| article. The American shelter tent
| half weighs two pounds and half
and is considered the finest in the
| world. The blanket, which will be
! cut from five pounds to three pounds,
probably will be changed from COM
position OF wool and cotton to all wool.
| So Tent Poles a Necessity.
: The weight of the collapsible tent
poles and tent pegs also carried in the
pack obviously, cannot be reduced,
and it is felt that they will be utterly
useless unless they can be carried
along with the shelter tent haIf, as
they always have been.
Then comes consideration of the
| other articles he must carry in addi-
ton to his pack. His rife, for in
| stance. cannct be reduced m weight.
for it already is as light as il can be
made commensurate with efficiency.
and the American Army rifle. the
Springfield, is the most efficient
army rife in the world.
It almost is a certainty that the
mess equipment will go into the train
as soon as the experts have figured
out a space in the wagons for them.
The canteen, however, must remain
suspended at the belt, just where il
always has been. and it cannot be
lightened and still possess its capac-
ity and durability.
An effective saving in weight may
be made, however, in the amount of
ammunition. The cartridge belt car
ries 100 rounds, or 20 slips of five
cartridges each. 1t may be decided,
according to the infantry experts, to
cut this amount in half. with a clip
in every alternate pocket of the belt,
except when the soldier is loaded up
for combat service. Then he is required
to. not only have the belt filled but to
carry extra bandoliers. each with 100
| rounds slung across his shoulders.
Pioneering Equipment.
Pioneering equipment, such as
spades, axes, hatchets and the lik-.
i will not be altered. but will not be
carried any more by the individual