MARK RIPPETOE TO THE RESCUE? The Overloaded Soldier: Why U.S. Infantry Now Carry More Weight Than Ever: Technology was supposed to be the solution. Instead, it added to the problem. “In 2016, the Marine Corps Times reported a new standard for strength and endurance. An average Marine Corps infantry officer should to be physically able to carry 152 lbs. for nine miles. That load might sound extreme, but even official documents describe carrying a 100 lbs. as standard. In the ensuing debate about whether this was realistic, one marine infantryman described carrying more than 200 lbs. during missions in Afghanistan.”

I’ve been doing “farmer’s carries” where I carry more than that — currently 270 lbs — but as a strength exercise, doing it for the length of a basketball court and back. And after a few of these, I’m wiped. Doing it for nine miles with nearly that much is an amazing load, even for people who are, sadly, 1/3 my age. But maybe if soldiers have to carry so much, their conditioning routines should focus more on strength?