According to the Jane's Defense website, due to frequent participation in the war on terrorism, the cost of individual equipment for the US military has tripled since 2000. The cost of equipment for a U.S. soldier, including night vision equipment, was about $7,083 in 2000 and has jumped to nearly $26,000 today.
U.S. individual soldier equipment now covers four major aspects: personal protection, survival support, weapons and equipment, and night vision equipment. Take a U.S. Army rifleman's load as an example. In addition to individual weapons, he usually wears three-proof clothing, gloves, and masks against nuclear, biological and chemical weapons, as well as a standard bulletproof vest, a telescope/scope for individual soldiers, and a night rifle. He also needs to carry a sling-type carrying device on his shoulder. The back frame is made of aluminum alloy and contains bullets, kettles, GPS, PDAs, reconnaissance equipment, biological and chemical weapons detectors, medical first aid kits, etc., and even There are also spare underwear. Counting down, there are no less than a hundred types of equipment hung on the back of a soldier. It is difficult to describe it as "armed to the teeth".
According to the current 1996 version of the U.S. military’s individual carrying weight standards, the U.S. individual soldier’s carrying capacity has doubled compared with that during World War II. Many individual equipment of the US military have multiple functions. The Kevlar helmets worn by the US military not only resist bullets and shrapnel attacks, but also become the "second brain" of the soldiers. The helmet currently worn by U.S. Marines in Iraq accommodates a miniature radio device, a microphone and a pair of headphones, allowing soldiers to communicate with their comrades and commanders. A radar device on the top of the helmet will report the soldier's exact location. The military boots worn by American soldiers are also extraordinary. The desert combat boots equipped by the US military in Iraq contain 15 new inventions and new processes. They are not only strong in absorbing sweat, but also have good breathability. Even the nail arrays set up by the anti-American armed forces in Iraq are not affected. I can’t get this pair of desert combat boots from the US military. Even the anti-diarrhea underpants produced by the American company Johnson & Johnson for the U.S. military are also useful. Since the sand in the Iraqi desert is as fine as talcum powder, U.S. soldiers stationed in Iraq wear anti-diarrheal underwear over the muzzle of their guns to prevent these tiny gravels from clogging the barrels.
In addition, American soldiers entering the information age are covered with various sensing devices. Motorola provided a microcomputer to U.S. soldiers, and actually installed a small mouse on the belt of the military uniform. In this way, technologies such as computers and communications will become the most common weapons worn by soldiers on their waists, backs, shoulders and heads. These equipment directly link soldiers with superior command and communication systems