SEAPOWER Magazine The Official Publication of the Navy League of the United States VOL. 49, NUMBER 7 July 2006

COVER STORY
With more weapons and protective equipment at their disposal than ever before, Marines are now slogging onto the battlefield saddled with upwards of 100 pounds of gear. The weight is so great, some Marines are shedding vital body armor to improve mobility. As the Marine Corps brass demands solutions to the problem, new advances in ergonomics and technologies such as exoskeletons may eventually provide the answers for lightening the loads troops must carry.
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FEATURES

3
Rising to the Challenge
By john a. panneton

30
INTERVIEW: Gen. Michael W. Hagee, Commandant of the Marine Corps
By matt hilburn

34
National Guard Border Deployment May Cost Pentagon $1.2 Billion
By eileen sullivan

38
Coast Guard’s Amver System Offers Global Search-and-Rescue Aid
By matt hilburn

56
In My Own Words
BY DANIEL KRUM, U.S. MASTER CHIEF DAMAGE CONTROLMAN

SPECIAL REPORT: UNMANNED VEHICLES

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Legislators Question Whether There Are Too Many UAVs
by otto kreisher

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The Marine Corps is Taking Steps to Modernize its UAVs
by glenn w. goodman jr.

22
Tactical Control System Undergoing Critical Flight Testing
by glenn w. goodman jr.

26
Navy, Industry Trying Out New Unmanned Surface Vehicles
by richard r. burgess

DEPARTMENTS

3
President's Message

4
Editor's Note

5
Letters

8
Washington Report: Senate, House set to battle over fate of USS John F. Kennedy

41
Program Snapshot

42
The Industrial Base

44
Seapower International

46
Historical Perspective

48
Navy League News

50
Council Digest