When a Marine is manning a forward outpost during a chilly, driving rain, he is concerned about being warm and dry. Forget the sophisticated war-fighting technology he has available--staying snug is his first priority. In that respect, warriors have not changed over the centuries. The Marine Corps believes that a comfortable warfighter has a much better chance of hitting an enemy target with his first missile. This bottom-line philosophy has recently resulted in improved clothing and equipment (outfitting) for field Marines. But such advances are only the beginning. "Wait until 2025," the Corps says. 

"Today's Marine is outfitted better than any other warrior in the world, including the U.S. soldier," said Lt. Col. Mark G. Zimmerman, the deputy program manager for Marine/NBC (nuclear, biological & chemical) combat support and logistics equipment at the Marine Corps Systems Command (SYSCOM) in Quantico, Va. 

Since 1991, Marines have received new boots, field packs, socks, gloves, GORE-TEX parkas/trousers, sleeping bags, underwear, cold-weather gear, tents, and body armor. They soon will receive better helmets, combined desert/jungle boots, reversible camouflage utilities, bayonets, canteens, antiexposure suits, and other personal-wear items. 

"Technology is finally enabling us to achieve a vision many Marines have had a long time," said Brig. Gen. James M. Feigley, SYSCOM commander. He credits better acquisition methods, the explosive growth of the U.S. outdoor recreation industry, and increased Congressional (as well as high-level Marine Corps) interest for the recent outfitting improvements. "Marines should have the finest equipment in the world. What is on their backs is just as important as the most expensive high technology and weapons we develop. They are the ones who get it done." 

A Lesser Load of Litter 

Feigley says that a warm and comfortable Marine is more vigilant, aggressive, and confident. The key ingredient to a Marine's mobility--and ultimate survival--is the weight of the gear he or she carries. This is nothing new. Over the centuries the world's battlefields have had one thing in common--litter. Warriors discard what they don't need to live and fight. In World War II, Korea, and Vietnam, Marines often dropped their packs before assaulting enemy positions. 

"People perform better with lighter loads," said Cmdr. Marlene De Maio, a Navy surgeon who advises SYSCOM on health and safety matters. 

The Corps is trying to find the ideal weight threshold for a combat Marine. As technology produces lighter fabrics and materials, the Corps strives to shave ounces off future weapons, field clothing, and equipment items. Today, although the individual Marine's combat load is dropping, it is still above the 55 to 60 pounds desired for the pre-assault phase when Marines approach an enemy position. (The weight goal for the assault itself is 48 pounds--that total includes weapons, ammunition, body armor, clothing, food, water, and other items needed to win.) "To prevent adding more weight to a Marine, we account for every hundredth of an ounce when we evaluate new items," said Zimmerman. 

"If Marines are properly supplied when and where they need it on the battlefield, they don't have to carry it with them," said Feigley. 

One reason combat Marines are often overloaded is because they do not trust the supply system. But the Corps has high hopes for a new precision or "trust" logistics concept that will resupply Marines in a timely, reliable fashion and reduce the individual's combat load at the same time. 

Fibers vs. Fragments 

Today's equipment also is being modularized to enable Marines to readily shed unneeded gear. For example, the Corps' new Interceptor body armor incorporates an outer protective vest fitted with pockets for removable plates. The popular new MOLLE (modular lightweight loadbearing equipment) pack is built with components that come off the frame and can be dropped. (Marine planners also are evaluating ways to collect and return such gear after the battle, an age-old and costly problem.) 

SYSCOM already is looking at better ways to outfit the Marine warfighters of 2025. Working closely with the Marine Corps Warfighting Laboratory, SYSCOM officials say, anything is possible and nothing will be ruled out. (The Army's futuristic "Land Warrior" program is working under a similar philosophy.) 

Someday, Marines with heads-up displays, night-vision capability, and integrated high-tech communications and weapons systems may be able to see and shoot around corners and behind them. The ground troops of the future might even be wearing lightweight uniforms made of incredibly strong fibers that protect against bullets, fragments, and radiation, as well as chemical and biological agents. The uniforms might also generate a "chameleon" effect to enable the wearer to blend in with the surrounding terrain. 

"We are not ready to outfit them like Starship Troopers yet. Marines are practical, and we will commit to advanced technologies [only] when they make sense," said Feigley. "We are not driven by technology--we are going to exploit it." 

SYSCOM's Baseline Integrated Infantry Combat System (BIICS) focuses on the Corps' near-term needs in determining the ideal outfitting standards of a Marine rifle squad to help it perform better by 2005. The question asked is a simple one: Will today's clothing and gear help Marines put rounds down-range and win? Weight will always be a key factor, but clothing and other personal items also cannot be too hot, impede vision, or restrict movement (by getting caught up in a window, for example). BIICS also is examining such options as: (a) reducing weight by having various squad members carry different types of gear; and (b) easing back strain by putting more of the load on the legs. 

Deceptors and Interceptors 

Of its 40 current outfitting programs--which were allocated $50.7 million in fiscal year 1999 appropriations--body armor is SYSCOM's top priority. The stir caused by the bombings of two U.S. embassies in Africa in 1998 enabled the Corps to more quickly field 4,000 Deceptor concealable vests to Marine security guards in U.S. embassies and military police. The Deceptor, purchased in the open market, can stop a 9mm pistol round and is widely used within the U.S. law-enforcement community. 

The new Interceptor body armor, another exciting innovation, should save even more lives by stopping both fragments and small arms fire up to and including 7.62mm rounds. It consists of an outer tactical vest that by itself can check a 9mm round; when two ceramic plates are inserted into the vest, the Interceptor protects against everything else up to the 7.62 round. The combined weight of the Interceptor, including groin and neck flaps, is 16 pounds; that is 6.2 pounds heavier than the Corps' current body armor, but seven pounds lighter than comparable body armor worn by U.S. Army Rangers. The Interceptor is rapidly being fielded to Marine combat units, including the forward-deployed Marine Expeditionary Units. 

"The Interceptor is unique because it stops both bullets and shrapnel," said Zimmerman. "As life-cycle managers, improving our products is part of our acquisition strategy. We want to get the gear out there quickly and improve it." 

Although future outfitting items will not change as rapidly as today's computers, there is no such thing as a "final product," Marine acquisition officials say, and the days of stocking warehouses with 30-year-old personal-equipment items are over. While the Interceptor is being fielded to Marine combat arms units, SYSCOM is trying to find even better body armor. Someday, the command says, industry will produce body armor plates (or their equivalent) weighing one pound or less. "Improving products means we will have multiple versions in the supply system, but we have to accept that," said Zimmerman. "While the initial item will be very good, the later versions will be better." 

It is fair to say that, until the 1990s, outfitting the individual Marine was not a high enough priority. Although there were some improvements, most post-WWII Marines spent their careers wearing Iwo Jima-era field gear. "Those were the days when a Marine's load was so heavy he couldn't stand up straight," recalls Feigley. "They were humped over." 

A Helpful Push From Congress 

The situation started improving in 1991 when Congress passed the Marine and Soldier's Protective Act to encourage the development of outfitting items that would improve the individual "ground-pounder's" chances of survival (and success in combat as well). At the same time, the Department of Defense eased the obstacles to small acquisition programs and encouraged the services to buy directly from U.S. industry, which has been producing high-quality outdoor recreation items for some time. "Marines were looking at L.L. Bean and other outdoor catalogs, wondering why they can't get items that are both better and cheaper," Zimmerman recalls. 

New products really started flowing when then-commandant Gen. Charles C. Krulak successfully pleaded with Congress, shortly after he assumed office in 1995, to improve the lot of his Marines in the field. Krulak was "fed up" with the old items his Marines were wearing. "He kicked the system and fought for it on the Hill," said Zimmerman. 

Krulak's aggressiveness, Congressional empathy for U.S. ground troops in general, and the streamlined Marine acquisition system combined to give the Marine Corps the lead role in developing most of the key outfitting items for Marines and soldiers. The Army and Marines work closely on such matters, of course. Nonetheless, this is an ironic turnabout, considering the fact that during much of the Cold War Marines depended on hand-me-downs from Army warehouses. 

Feigley is in the process of creating a cadre of professional acquisition officers from Marine infantry and other combat specialties and is looking for volunteers who will serve in acquisition billets on alternate tours of duty. They may even be assigned to SYSCOM's own outfitting office, called "Team Marine"--the very name of which symbolizes how far the Corps has come in the acquisition business. 

By staying abreast of developments in the textile and outdoor-recreation industries, SYSCOM's lean acquisition office is able to tell companies what it wants them to produce--but refrains from telling them how to do it. Team Marine gets results, the office has found, by emphasizing "best value" while producing well-tested items quickly and with surprisingly little bureaucratic input. 

Perhaps the best evidence of how well Team Marine is doing its job: When a leading Army acquisition officer recently was asked who has done the most for the individual soldier, he answered, "Marine generals. Because they have gone to the Hill and fought for this stuff."