Airborne: A Guided Tour of an Airborne Task Force

by Tom Clancy

  Food and Water. It is an obvious fact that safe supplies of food and water are vital to any sort of military operation in the field. Back in the 18th century, Napoleon was credited with the statement that “an army marches on its stomach,” and he was right. Today, any force that a nation can field will fold up in a matter of days without food, and just hours without fresh water.

  With this in mind, the U.S. Army has come a long way from the “C” and “K” rations of the Second World War. Today, the Army’s standard field/combat rations are called MREs (Meals, Ready to Eat). An MRE is a collection of wet, dry, and freeze-dried food packs, along with eating utensils, condiments, and paper napkins, sealed in an almost indestructible brown plastic pouch. There are twelve different basic MRE menus, one of each packed together in a carton, without much distinction between breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Each MRE weighs about 21b/1kg, contains about three thousand calories (each soldier is allocated four MREs per day), and is nutritionally complete. In fact, if you consume everything in the MREs, which troops rarely do, you will actually gain weight, even with strenuous exercise. MREs have excellent shelf life under even the worst of conditions, but the basic diet is still somewhat bland.

  The following listings of MRE contents should give you some idea of what they are like:• Menu #2: Corned beef hash, freeze-dried pears, crackers, apple jelly, oatmeal cookie bar, powdered fruit drink, powdered cocoa, a plastic spoon, and Accessory Package “C” (freeze-dried coffee, non-dairy creamer, sugar, salt, pepper, chewing gum, hand cleaner, and toilet tissue).

  • Menu #4: Omelet with ham, potatoes au gratin, crackers, cheese spread, oatmeal cookie bar, powdered fruit drink, spoon, and Accessory Package “C.”

  • Menu #7: Beef stew, crackers, peanut butter, cherry nut cake, a miniature bottle of Tabasco sauce (these are particularly coveted by the troops), spoon, and Accessory Package “A” (coffee, creamer, sugar, salt, pepper, chewing gum, matches, hand cleaner, and toilet tissue).

  • Menu #11: A favorite of mine, this is chicken and rice, crackers, cheese spread, chocolate-covered cookie bar, powdered fruit drink, Starburst candy, spoon, and Accessory Package “A.”

  MREs are relatively messy to eat. (A hint: Use your Swiss Army knife or multi-tool to slit the wet-pack bags the long way to reduce the mess.) All the packaging material produces a lot of wet garbage, which is not just an environmental nuisance. It forces paratroops behind enemy lines to carry their trash with them, or risk revealing their path and numbers.

  Along with the basic dozen MRE menus, there are other pre-packaged rations in Army issue today. Since World War II, the Army has tried to supply soldiers of the Jewish faith with approved kosher meals. There also is an increasing requirement to accommodate the religious dietary beliefs of Muslims and strict vegetarians such as Hindus and Buddhists. In late 1993, a new series of ready-to-eat vegetarian MREs based on lentils, rice, beans, and potatoes were produced and issued. Amazingly, they proved highly popular with mainstream soldiers, many of whom found the new rations more tasty and health-conscious than the regular menus. Later, with the coming of widespread relief operations like those in Iraq and Bosnia, the vegetarian MREs found a new and politically useful role. Sealed into bright yellow pouches and airdropped as emergency humanitarian relief rations to refugees, these “politically correct” MREs have proven extremely popular, and politically beneficial. Distributing plenty of such humanitarian rations to civilians caught in the combat zone is a good way to win friends and influence people. The Defense Personnel Support Center, Directorate of Subsistence, in Philadelphia, proudly claims that it can procure humanitarian rations that are “culturally, ethnically, regionally, nutritionally, and religiously acceptable” for any scenario.

  The Army’s next generation of combat chow is called the Family of Operational Rations (FOR), designed to overcome some of the problems of MREs. For field operations, the emphasis is on reduced packaging and weight, with ready-to-eat entrees that can be held in the hand and eaten on the move, like sandwiches or burritos. For a generation raised on a diet of pizza, burritos, and hamburgers, this is far more acceptable than stuff you have to spoon out of a bag. Another ration issue is the matter of troops in barracks. Combat troops deployed to distant contingencies spend much of their time in camp or garrison situations, so the new FOR includes self-heating group meals, packaged with disposable plates and utensils. This has been found to be a great morale booster, certainly compared to spooning stuff out of a plastic bag. Unfortunately, the Army has revealed no plans to develop an air-droppable, laser-guided, self-chilling keg of beer!

  A packaged humanitarian meal ready to eat (MRE, on left), with the contents (right). Millions of these rations have been produced and distributed to refugees in places like Haiti, Rwanda, Bosnia, and northern Iraq.

  JOHN D. GRESHAM

  The other vital area of sustenance is fresh water. As mentioned earlier, personnel exposed to the extreme heat of your average desert in the summer will last just hours if they are not properly resupplied with fluids. To this end, each trooper will carry about 6 quarts/5.7 liters in two canteens, and a pair of flexible bladders in his rucksack. In temperate climates, this is enough for up to three days. In higher heat, though, it may only last a few hours. To augment these limited supplies, many troops are buying their own personal water carriage systems. Called “Camelbacks,” these are flexible bladders that ride between the troopers’ backs and their ALICE rigs. A hose feeds the water to the soldiers, so that they can take a drink whenever possible. Beyond what a single man can carry, the 82nd Airborne Division is set up to receive bulk water supplies via airdrop, as well as creating its own fresh water when reverse-osmosis equipment can be air-delivered into the combat zone. As an interim measure, troopers are frequently supplied with purification chemical tablets to make local water sources potable.

  Putting all of this together means that, in theory, an airborne trooper should carry enough food and water to last three days in the field without resupply. In a pleasant climate, this would mean carrying the aforementioned 6 quarts/5.7 liters of water and a dozen MREs: a total weight of over 361b/16.4 kg! Along with the basic weapons/tool/ammunition/clothing/electronics load, which is already over 50 lb/22.7 kg, this means that a paratrooper’s basic load (before any personal gear) is rapidly approaching 100 lb/45.4 kg. As a result, many soldiers cut the load of MREs in half in the hope of an early resupply. Also, they load up on all the water that they can possibly carry, since they will die of dehydration long before the effects of starvation can take effect. All of this affects the final items that will be going into the soldier’s basic load, his personal equipment.

  Personal Equipment

  Back in the Roman days, an army on the march would halt every afternoon to build a fortified camp for the night. The legionary often had to carry a spade or pickax and a couple of sharpened wooden stakes, along with a thick wool blanket that doubled as a cloak in cold weather. In rainy weather he got wet, unless the ox-drawn baggage wagons made it through the mud with their cargo of heavy leather tents.

  Today, though, things are a bit different. After everything that we have mentioned earlier, it is hard to imagine that there will be room for anything else in a paratrooper’s ALICE pack. However, don’t underestimate the ingenuity of the American airborne troops or, for that matter, the strength of their backs! When fully loaded, a paratroop’s rucksack will be stuffed with rain/cold-weather gear, a change of underwear, fresh socks, the rations and water for at least three days that we mentioned earlier, a first-aid kit, and a few personal items (like a shaving kit and maybe a paperback book to read during the flight to the drop zone). With these and other simple items, you might be surprised just how comfortable paratroopers can make themselves.

  For example, almost every soldier packs a stainless-steel cup and some utensils. Some even bring along tiny portable camp stoves, fueled by small tanks of liquid propane, to heat water for coffee or reconstituting freeze-dried rations. The soldier also ca
rries a tightly rolled sleeping bag and a waterproof “poncho,” a versatile hooded, sleeveless raincoat. For cold weather, there is a blanket-like poncho liner. Many troops also carry a “Space Blanket.” This is a layer of Mylar (aluminum bonded to a thin plastic sheet) with a sturdy quilted cover for use as a ground cloth. Using these things, a trained trooper can usually get a warm night’s sleep in anything except arctic or mountain conditions. Another tiny but important item is a kit of camouflage makeup, or “face paint.” The human eye and brain have evolved to recognize human faces at long range, and the face and hands are normally the only part of the soldier not covered by the BDU. There are about five different colors of face paint, suitable for camouflaging light-skinned or dark-skinned soldiers. The idea is to apply a pattern that breaks up the normal outlines recognizable as a face. You can use a mirror, or have a buddy apply the stuff.

  The soldier’s rucksack will also contain a shaving kit, foot powder, and a couple of clean towels (also colored olive-drab!). There may also be two small plastic vials, issued with the approval of the unit’s medical officer. These are “go” and “stop” pills. This is a controversial subject, but a familiar one to combat veterans. “Go” pills are based on amphetamine, a drug discovered in the 1880s and widely used by the German Army in World War II to keep troops awake and alert for extended periods. “Stop” pills are a fast-acting barbiturate designed to induce rapid sleep. The rationale for using such drugs is obvious. In combat, since airborne troops may have to stay awake and alert for up to seventy-two hours, “go” pills can provide a vital edge. This is because after three days without sleep, even superbly conditioned troops will begin to drop out, hallucinate, or just generally become combat-ineffective. On the flip side, it may also be impossible for troops under combat stress (not to mention jet lag from traveling halfway around the world) to establish normal sleep patterns. Thus the need for the “stop” pills. Such chemicals can help, and in an Army with zero tolerance for drug abuse, there is little danger that they will be used in an inappropriate manner.

  Never travel far without a rope! And one that is long, and strong and light. Such are these. They may be a help in many needs.

  —J.R.R. Tolkien, Lord of the Rings, II:8

  One last item that paratroops always carry is rope, since one of the greatest hazards of parachuting is a tree landing. All jumpers are issued a coil of green nylon rope, just in case they need help getting down from a fouled canopy. Usually airborne troopers carry more rope and cord, just in case. Even if they were raised in the city, most soldiers know enough field craft to bring along plenty of extra line stowed in their rucksack.

  All of this adds up to a load easily approaching 120 lb/54.4 kg. Add it to the 50-lb/22.7-kg weight of the T-10M main/reserve parachute system, and you can see why paratroops have to waddle just to get up the ramps of their drop aircraft. Unfortunately, there is little prospect that the paratroop’s load is going to decrease anytime soon. Despite gradual but impressive improvements in lightweight materials, the Army always finds new ways to load up the paratroops. So much so that today’s troopers jump heavier than their World War II counterparts. The coming of new electronic gadgets that improve the infantry’s combat power and efficiency has added even more weight and complexity to the soldier’s load.

  The approaching 21st century is unlikely to improve the trooper’s lot, since the folks at the Army’s battle labs keep forgetting that men have to carry all this stuff on their backs, not on some lab bench. The best that the troopers of the 82nd can hope for is that the top generals who themselves wear the silver wings will remember what it was like to once lug a soldier’s load around the battlefield, and will keep the “lab weenies” in check.

  Prime Movers: Hummers and Trucks

  For all that we have told you about the strength and endurance of the paratroops, they do not go into battle without some assistance from automotive power. When the 82nd Airborne drops into action, it does so with a relatively large and diverse fleet of wheeled vehicles to provide movement for heavy and support weapons, and to move supplies and troops across the battlefield. The key to this has been the development of several families of wheeled vehicles that can not only survive the rigors of the battlefield environment, but still operate after being parachuted out of a perfectly good airplane! In fact, the first vehicles, usually armed with heavy infantry weapons, will already be in the drop zone before the first paratrooper goes out the door. Later, all kinds of wheeled vehicles will appear in the drop zone, helping to expand the airborne toehold into a full-blown airhead for supporting the division in the field. Let’s take a brief look at some of the major vehicles in this armada.

  M998 High-Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle (HMMWV)

  It was a tall order to replace the Army’s vaunted Jeep. However, the HMMWV, also known as the “Hummer,” has more than filled these large shoes. The M998 series of four-wheel-drive trucks is the bread and butter of the Army’s light-truck fleet. The HMMWV is used for practically every role imaginable for a vehicle, including operating as a troop transport, antitank and surface-to-air missile carrier, and ambulance. Manufactured by the AM General Corporation in South Bend, Indiana, the HMMWV is the most widely used vehicle in the U.S. military.

  The basic model of the M998 is the cargo/troop carrier which can carry up to ten seated troops. The payload for the HMMWV is 2,500 1b/1,134 kg, and the maximum towed load is 3,400 1b/1,542 kg. The Hummer is fitted with a GM V8 6.2-liter engine with diesel fuel injection which produces 150 horsepower driving a three-speed automatic transmission. Many other variants of the Hummer are also in service and greatly contribute to the effectiveness of the 82nd Airborne. These variants include an armament carrier which can be fitted with heavy machine guns or a Mk 19 40mm automatic grenade launcher, a TOW-2 antitank-missile-carrying version, and ambulance variants which can carry four litters or eight ambulatory patients. There are also variants which have been up-armored to provide maximum protection for crew members. These are just a few versions of the HMMWV, and it seems that every time you take another look, AM General has produced a new variant to fill yet another solution.

  As important as the usefulness of the HMMWV vehicle is, it is never going to be an airborne favorite unless it is light and easily transportable. Thus it is a matter of great pride to AM General that with a weight of around 10,000 lb/4,535 kg, the HMMWV can be carried by a single UH- 60L Blackhawk helicopter. Additionally, an Army CH-47 Chinook can carry two of them, and a C-5 Galaxy heavy transport can carry up to fifteen, fully loaded for battle! As an interesting side note which also happens to be of great importance to the 82nd Airborne Division, nearly all models of the Hummer can be deployed by conventional cargo parachutes in order to give the 82nd some help in those “not so friendly” landing zones. This is becoming more important as armed HMMWVs take over more of the direct fire-support missions that had been planned for the now-canceled M-8 Armored Gun System.

  M939 5-Ton Truck

  While the M998 is a good all-around vehicle, it is not heavy enough to fulfill all of the Army’s transport needs. The vehicle one size up from the HMMWV is called the M939, and is often referred to as the Army’s standard 5-ton truck. Technically speaking, the M939 is a 6x6 wheeled tactical cargo vehicle. The newest model now entering service is the M939A2, which has earned an excellent reputation as a replacement to the Army’s legendary “deuce-and-a-half” series of trucks. The first M939s began rolling off the production line in 1982 with tens of thousands being produced. Since that time the M939 has been given two major upgrades and has also been widely exported to America’s allies. The first modification to the M939 was known as the M939A1, but only a limited number of these vehicles were produced compared to the many thousands of other variants. The M939A1 models were fitted with several types of tire modifications. Production, however, soon shifted to a newer model.

  In 1989, the M939A2 began to enter service. One of its best traits is a high-tech central tire-inflation system which
allows the crew to increase or decrease the tire air pressure in order to improve the M939A2’s mobility in soft soil or mud conditions. It’s all as simple as flipping a switch from inside the truck’s cab. Built by BMY Corp. of Marysville, Ohio, the M939A2 has a 240-horsepower Cummings Diesel engine which provides a top road speed of 55 mph/88.5 kph and a range of about 550 miles/880 kilometers. Most importantly, the M939A2 is capable of towing loads in excess of 20,000 lb/9,071 kg. This fact alone makes the M939 very “sexy” to many Army logisticians. To the front-line troops, though, this is their “heavy” prime mover of weapons, equipment, and supplies.

  Heavy Expanded Mobility Tactical Truck

  Not everything that the Army needs to transport weighs seventy tons like an M1A2 Abrams main battle tank. On the other hand, neither can everything in the 82nd’s inventory be transported by 2.5- or 5-ton vehicles like the M998 and M929A2. The Oshkosh Truck Corporation came up with an answer to this medium transport void, and was awarded the contract for the Heavy Expanded Mobility Tactical Truck (HEMTT) family of trucks. This family of vehicles utilizes a common chassis and cab to provide a variety of transport services. This includes everything from fuel distribution to tractor and vehicle wrecker/recovery services.