Software Giant to Help Reduce Soldier Heavy Load

Software Giant to Help Reduce Soldier Heavy Load

Photo illust US DoD

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A new, web-based modeling app developed by Microsoft will allow soldier equipment officials in the US to see how hanging new pieces of kit on close-combat troops could affect a squad’s performance.

John Howell, current lead for the Army’s new Adaptative Squad Architecture effort, said: “For a long, long, long time, we have struggled with the ability to be able to show in a quantitative manner how a new component or an upgraded component will affect the effectiveness of a soldier and squad.” 

The Architectural Assessment Tool is designed to be a collaborative tool for project managers and requirements officials to view digital models of soldiers kitted-out in current-issue gear to form a baseline.

It is the latest attempt by the Army to treat the soldier as a complete system, breaking away from the long practice of developing individual pieces of equipment and fielding them.

Brig. Gen. Anthony Potts, head of Program Executive Office Soldier,  realizes that it’s still up to commanders to decide how much weight their soldiers carry into battle.

“A commander may believe that if we gave him 20% lighter ammunition or 30% lighter ammunition and he feels like the fight he’s going into … means he can take 20 or 30% [more ammo], that’s a commander’s call,” he said.