MOLLE Disease: Too Much Gear

It’s taken decades, but the CDC has finally recognized the threat posed by zombies.

This event led me to consider another often-ignored ailment: MOLLE disease. There are many symptoms of this disease, and in fact, it’s been around for a long time, but the introduction of MOLLE webbing has made the problems more obvious. It’s even been mentioned by the excellent USMC-related web comic, Terminal Lance.

Whether MOLLE is involved or not, the issue boils down to this: too much stuff. Sometimes, a lot of stuff is needed; other times, that stuff will go by unused.

One of the biggest offenders when it comes to this is the US military itself. Designing packs that can carry 120lbs of gear, requiring that grunts carry everything they can with them into the field, and in some units, even forcing them to organize their gear in an identical manner, as opposed to what works best for the individual Soldier or Marine. The military has known for a long time that musculoskeletal injuries are a leading cause of servicemembers being unable to perform their assigned tasks.

Ten years ago, an Army Science Board study even recommended that an individual soldier carry no more than 50lbs of gear. That hasn’t happened. According to this 2007 report, the average individual Marine combat load varies from 97 to 135 pounds. The old rule of keeping carried weight below one third of body weight would lead us to believe that the lightest Marine weighs in at just under 300 pounds.

Because MOLLE webbing allows unprecedented customization of gear, some think that unused MOLLE space is a big no-no; they figure that if they have an extra pouch, they can attach it there to carry something. On a higher gear-acquisition level, the “customization” potential of MOLLE fools decision makers into thinking that everything they buy is going to become one big system, rather than dozens or hundreds of individual pieces of gear that happen to have the option of being securely attached to one another in any desired location.

I fell victim to this when I first deployed. I couldn’t begin to list everything I carried, but take this as an example: I carried ten of the then-new HK magazines for my M4. Unloaded, these magazines weigh 8.9 ounces apiece, or more than 5 pounds total – just for the magazines themselves! Add almost another pound each for 30 rounds of Mk262 or M855 ammunition…you see the problem. Later in the tour, I dropped some stuff, but much weight remained: for extended dismounted patrols, my personal gear load varied from 80 to 100lbs.

It is my opinion that, despite its own studies which reveal mountains of evidence against such practices, the military as a system is in denial about the negative effects that result from “too much gear.” It’s still stuck in “Well, what if you happen to need this?” mode, rather than “What do you really need?” mode.

Law enforcement officers are unfortunately saddled with many of these same issues – being required to carry a lot of gear that they may or may not use. On the civilian side, issues are similar, although everything becomes optional. Having more gear is always a good thing, it seems, even if most of that gear is of little use. This problem is exacerbated because, outside of a square range where gear is brought by vehicle, most of this equipment is rarely carried for long.

Environmental conditions are a major factor, as well. Several months ago, I covered 12 miles while carrying 75lbs of gear. This was on a cool evening, but I still wasn’t able to move as fast as I would have with less stuff. As temperatures rise, I have no option but to shed gear until I am carrying 20lbs at most during the day. As this happens, I consider the possibility that perhaps the other 55lbs of gear wasn’t as necessary as I first thought.

The same goes for the weight of the gear itself. Unnecessarily heavy rifles or radios are an obvious problem, but what about the weight of the pack on your shoulders? I have an HSGI T.R.A.S.H. pack, which uses an ALICE frame and is constructed entirely of 1000D Cordura. Empty, it weighs over twelve pounds. As a result, it’s rarely used on longer hiking trips. For those, I use ~2lb Kelty, North Face, or Gregory packs, which are often more than sufficient.

One must start with absolutely essential gear – a rifle, for example, or water. Work from there in order to choose what to bring, and how much. If you don’t have a truly valid reason to lug a lot of something around, ditch it, or carry less of it. Chances are that you’ll be able to do whatever you set out to accomplish just as well, and you might even be able to do it faster and with less wear and tear on your body.