It’s interesting how the standard equipment that a soldier carries has changed over the years. When we visited the National D-Day Museum in New Orleans in 2005, there was an exhibit that showed all of the gear issued to the army soldier. I pointed out to my sons the fact that packs of cigarettes were standard issue to the GI…
Now some 60 years later cigarettes, of course, are considered the nemesis of a well-equiped soldier. The current soldier is now loaded-down with all sorts of electronic gear… Interestingly, I was reading a recent issue of National Defense magazine where the issue of batteries was discussed. Evidently, an infantry platoon of 40 soldiers on a 72-hour mission requires about 65 batteries per man!
How would you like to have that Ray-o-Vac (or EverReady) contract with the DoD?