Stress injuries rising due to combat loads

[unhappycamper]

Stress injuries rising due to combat loads
By Richard Lardner - The Associated Press
Posted : Wednesday Mar 11, 2009 18:17:37 EDT

WASHINGTON — An increasing number of soldiers are being sidelined with muscle and bone injuries caused by carrying combat loads weighing as much as 130 pounds, a senior Army official said Wednesday.

Research is being done to determine how many troops are affected by weight-related stress fractures, sprains and other orthopedic problems that prevent them from shipping out with their units, said Gen. Peter Chiarelli, the Army’s vice chief of staff.

The numbers are likely to keep going up as more soldiers are sent to Afghanistan, where the terrain, elevation and road conditions are much more challenging than in Iraq, Chiarelli said during a hearing by the House appropriations defense subcommittee.

The wear-and-tear injuries have not affected the Army’s ability to field effective combat units, he said. But Chiarelli and other service officials want to reverse the trend by lightening the load troops carry.

That means buying less heavy and more comfortable body armor, lighter weapons and ammunition, and unmanned vehicles that can carry supplies into combat zones.

Rest of article at: http://armytimes.com/news/2009/03/ap_stress_injuries_031109/%2e

[greenkal]

1. Funny how you never hear these sort of stories...

from the other side. Not once have I read something from a North Korean, NVA, Iraqi, or Afghan that complained about their loadout. The author of The Shorttimers has it correct. They're simply tougher than our military, and that's why we'll always lose.