Researchers tackle troops' physical, cognitive challenges.

• Author: Tadjdeh, Yasmin

In order for troops to fight to the best of their ability experts say the military must lighten their backpacks, reduce "information overload" and improve their physical fitness.

"Load and bulk impacts our soldier's mobility, their survivability and effectiveness in their ability to make contact with the enemy and maintain contact with the enemy" said Pat Berger, deputy capability manager for the soldier at U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command (TRADOC).

Troops during World War I carried about 65 pounds of gear made of materials such as wood, leather and canvas, Berger said. But today--even with contemporary materials--modern foot soldiers' loads are twice as heavy at 130 pounds.

"The Army has struggled with soldier load issues since well before World War I," he said at the Soldier and Marine Modernization conference in Arlington, Va.

TRADOC is currently looking at a number of solutions to help get the pounds off soldiers' backs, such as reducing material weight and improving individual and squad load distribution. More frequent and reliable resupply processes are also needed, said Berger.

"The Army must maintain [a] minimum load that makes the soldier mission effective, and we must enable the soldiers to be as lethal and survivable as possible while remaining agile and active," he said.

Future adversaries may become more sophisticated, further necessitating the need to have troops be as burden-free as possible, he said.

"Our soldiers have operated and will continue to operate in a complex environment both now and in the future," said Berger. "We know the threat is very adaptive and the future is becoming more technological and complex."

Patrick McGrath, a science-and-engineering technical advisor at the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), said one solution for reducing weight is more energy-efficient batteries. A solid oxide fuel cell may be one way to reduce the battery burden.

The fuel cell, which has been tested by DARPA for various missions--including increasing flight time for small unmanned aerial vehicles--would be an ideal way to charge portable electronics, he said.

"We are looking not just at the promise of fuel cells that people have been talking about for decades, but getting fuel cells into real missions and accomplishing things in the field," said McGrath at the meeting.

The solid oxide fuel cell is a cross between an engine and a battery. The electro-chemical device does not burn energy, but rather uses a...