Soldier's Load and the Multifunctional Utility / Logistics and Equipment-Transport

Publisher Marketing: The weight of the loads carried by today's dismounted infantrymen has degraded their ability to operate in restricted terrain. This degradation in capability has had a drastic impact on the effectiveness of the Infantry Brigade Combat Teams which were designed to operate in restrictive and severely restrictive terrain. Originally developed as a part of the Future Combat Systems program, the Multifunctional Utility/Logistics and Equipment-Transport is an unmanned ground vehicle designed to carry some of the excess weight of the rifle squad. This research project sought to determine whether or not the Multifunctional Utility/Logistics and Equipment-Transport is a viable mitigation strategy for the Soldier load problem in the Infantry Brigade Combat Team. The study defined the severity of the Soldier load problem as well as the capabilities and limitations of the Multifunctional Utility/Logistics and Equipment-Transport. Given a notional mission in dessert, urban, and mountainous terrain, the Multifunctional Utility/Logistics and Equipment-Transport was assessed against a set of evaluation criteria which included mobility, versatility, and protection. That assessment led to the conclusion that the MULE-T, as it is currently designed, is not a viable mitigation strategy for the Soldier's load problem in the Infantry Brigade Combat Team. Contributor Bio:  McLaughlin, John A For the past 30 years, McLaughlin has been actively engaged in the design, delivery, and evaluation of programs in a variety of settings including federal, state, and local governments, as well as public and not-for-profit organizations. Over the past 10 years, McLaughlin has been responsible for facilitating the strategic planning processes in a variety of settings including public and private schools, as well as state and local governments. McLaughlin has been responsible for designing and implementing training and technical assistance opportunities for managers of federal, state, and local organizations as they migrated to a performance-based organization. He has been a member of several research teams whose work focused on the adoption and dissemination of an outcome-based management approach in a variety of public agencies, including education. McLaughlin was a recognized leader in the use of interagency collaboration as a vehicle for enhancing service delivery to persons with special needs. He has trained local and state interagency teams and has conducted evaluations of interagency collaboratives in a number of states and localities. McLaughlin has designed and implemented training for local teams of stakeholders to evaluate the effectiveness of local special education programs in numerous states. After serving nearly 30 years in higher education, McLaughlin is currently an independent consultant in strategic planning and performance measurement. He is an active member of the American Evaluation Association.