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Modern Tactical BackPack-How has it changed over time?

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Modern Tactical BackPack-How has it changed over time?

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When you're planning to camp or hike outdoors, it's important that you bring all your survival essentials inside your tactical backpack. That may include your food, water, and first aid supplies. Another tip in learning how to pack a tactical backpack is to consider your comfort level.

You want to bring everything you need, but you also don't want the backpack to hurt your back. The backpack should be a good balance between comfort and significance. Below, let me show you what to pack in your tactical backpack and how to do it properly.

First, What Is A Tactical Backpack

A tactical backpack is a durable bag ideal for long-distance hiking and towing plenty of gear to a rural campsite area. These backpacks are usually made of high-end fabrics, like ballistic nylon, to withstand long-term wear. They have high-tensile strength so that you can stuff the bag to the stretching point and use it in any weather conditions.

Another highlight feature of this type of tactical bag is its militaristic feel and appearance. The appearance looks like MOLLE webbing, which is commonly used by the military. The colors are commonly black, OD green, and desert tan.

One purpose of a tactical backpack is to bring all the stuff that you need for camping or other adventures. When buying a tactical backpack, look for a bladder compartment to make room for your water. The exterior MOLLE webbing usually has storage sections for knives and other small gear for easy access.

What Things To Pack In A Tactical Backpack

Your tactical backpack should contain all the items that you'll need for hiking or camping. Here are some basic items that you shouldn't forget to stuff in your tactical backpack.

First Aid Kit: Safety is your first priority in whatever you do, especially if you'll be in a remote area far away from hospitals or emergency rooms. A first aid kit comes in handy when you get burns, bee stings, or other common accidents. You can make your own first-aid kit consisting of insect sprays and hydrogen peroxide or buy a tactical first aid pouch.

Food: To remove the burden of cooking, you can bring on-the-go meals and snacks. These may include sandwiches, granola bars, and jerky. Unlike fresh fruits, which can get rotten easily, consider bringing dried fruits and nuts.

Water: The rule of thumb is to bring one liter of water per two hours of hiking. During camping, you should consume at least two liters of water per day.

Personal Hygiene Products: Even in the wilderness, you should stay as clean as possible. Bring the essentials, like a toothbrush, toothpaste, and biodegradable soap. For women, consider bringing a pee rag to use after urinating.

Tools: You'll need a multi-purpose knife to prepare food, build a fire, and manage other cutting tasks. If your backpack has a loop at the very bottom, you can carry an ax to clear away the brush and set up the tent. These tools can also be used for defense, along with pepper sprays and stun guns.

Tent: For shelter, you'll need a reliable tent. Choose a durable tent that's weather-resistant, so it can protect you from rain and snowstorms. The size depends on how many people will use it. If you're alone, an 18-square foot tent might be enough.

Clothing And Bedding: The rule of thumb is to bring one long-sleeve shirt, one pair of pants, and two T-shirts. Consider taking a pair of shorts with a built-in brief along, so you can wear them while washing your pants. To sleep better at night, bring a sleeping bag or sleeping pad.

Lighting Essentials: You'll need a lighter or a match to start the fire. So you can have light at night, bring a flashlight or a lightweight lantern with long battery life.

Smartphone: For communication purposes, you'll need your smartphone. Some models even have a built-in magnetic compass for navigation. Consider bringing a spare battery or a power bank to extend the battery's life.

The strategy to pack a tactical backpack is to build a pyramid. Place heavy items on the lowest, then followed by the medium-weight items in the middle and light items above. Fortunately, there are outside compartments designed in a tactical backpack to fit in small items, like flashlights, knives, and a first aid kit.

At the bottom of the backpack, place the heavy items, like your sleeping bag, clothes, as well as the heaviest pieces of tools and hygiene items. The heavy items go at the bottom to maintain fair weight distribution. If your bag comes with an external frame, secure your tent with the loops and straps provided.

In the middle part, keep the things that are medium-weight, like your food and underwear. If there's still room, place your water and flashlights.

On top will be the most lightweight things, like your match and smartphone. Outside, you can attach your multipurpose knife, first aid kit, and other essentials suitable for webbing platforms.

Now that you know how to pack a tactical backpack, you can hike and camp in the wilderness without any problems.

Remember to stuff your bag with enough gear to last you for at least 72 hours or longer if you're planning to go somewhere else. You should include all the basic gear mentioned above, plus other things you deemed necessary.

How about you? Tell us how you pack your tactical backpack and share it with us below. Please share this article if you like it.

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How to Pack a Tactical Backpack | Thesoldiersproject

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When you're planning to camp or hike outdoors, it's important that you bring all your survival essentials inside your tactical backpack. That may include your food, water, and first aid supplies. Another tip in learning how to pack a tactical backpack is to consider your comfort level.

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Military packs and load carriage have come a long way since the one-strap haversacks of the Civil War allowed a soldier to lug rations and personal possessions onto the battlefield. These early carry solutions involved linen and canvas bags designed for over-the-shoulder carry, gradually morphing into a more complex arrangement of flaps and straps in the World Wars - and leading to the polymer frame, Cordura fabric workhorses in action today.

Through well over a century of innovation, development and patents, two constants endure. First, military packs have borrowed heavily from civilian design elements through the rucksack and aluminum grade frames. Second, civilian pack options for hunting, everyday carry and urban lifestyle pursuits have expanded greatly through the influence of military load-bearing technology like waist belt and MOLLE webbing.

These touch points are often subtle or hidden, lost in the corner of a Wikipedia article or an obscure military journal. However, a closer look at the intersection of civilian and military design efforts reveals four significant moments, bringing us to both the most modern battlefield packs - and the bags kids are rocking as they roll up to the skatepark. As a veteran and current Foreign Service Officer who has researched this history extensively, here's what I've seen.

1. It all started with a canvas knapsack.

Union soldiers began the Civil War with a knapsack of canvas - painted black in an attempt to add water resistance - which they wore on their back via two shoulder straps. The ungainly trunk held clothing and tentage, while a considerably smaller haversack constructed of painted canvas and a cloth lining carried the meager rations of the era, a few personal items and additional ammunition not otherwise worn on a cartridge belt.

Civil War Trunk

This format continued into the twentieth century with only minor modifications, until the U.S. Army Infantry Equipment Board met at the military equipment manufacturing center of Rock Island Arsenal in 1909 and conducted a review of the equipment a soldier was required to carry into battle. By 1910, a new set of specifications was agreed upon that took the U.S. into the Great War and the slaughterhouse of trench warfare, barbed wire and gas attacks.

The olive drab canvas haversack that resulted from these standards allowed for an entrenching tool, mess kit with cutlery, blanket, clothing and tentage to be carried within the folds of the materials. An update to this arrangement was developed in 1928 but would not see production until America's entry into World War II. Even with this update, these haversacks did not function like a modern backpack and were not favored by the troops. They were essentially heavy canvas burritos the soldiers wrapped around their gear and clipped into web belts.

The World War II Haversack

The military continued on the path of development and created two functional load carrying items, which possessed the sort of dimensions and form we might see in a modern backpack. One was the Bag, Canvas, Field, M1936 (yes, the military has this way of being excessively descriptive), an update to a previous bag initially issued to mounted troops and officers. At approximately 10 liters, it eventually saw widespread distribution to mechanized and airborne troops, and became prized for its modest yet functional organization and ease of carry via a set of suspenders or single strap.

2. The good ol' canvas pack gets an external frame upgrade.

The first noticeable moment of civilian influence on military design came in the form of the 1941 rucksack. Constructed of duck canvas over a rattan or thick gauge steel wire frame and designed for troops who specialized in mountain warfare, this rucksack consisted of a large main pouch with flap and three external pockets. It has obvious Nordic DNA from Ole F. Bergan's 1910 invention throughout the bag, frame and shoulder straps, and was certainly not a spontaneous design emanating from the mind of an Army Quartermaster (the guy responsible for issuing equipment).

1941 Mountain Rucksack (courtesy of JW Hale)

The War Department asked the National Ski Association to evaluate the 1941 rucksack, and its Winter Equipment Committee offered 12 recommendations, resulting in a tubular steel frame, a new method of attaching shoulder straps to the rucksack directly and small yet functional improvements which were incorporated into newer versions. The frame and "belly band" waist strap aimed to minimize sway under load, and the entire system marked a dramatic improvement over the ungainly haversack systems provided to the average infantryman.

The U.S. military continued to use external frame packs through the Korean and Vietnam Wars, transitioning the pack material from canvas to nylon - an attempt to minimize the retention of water and resultant dry rot - and shifting the frame to tubular aluminum. It is during this period we see the second touch point between the two dimensions of packs.

Dick and Nena Kelty would revolutionize the civilian hiking world during this era with a home-built pack created in 1952. Their design utilized aircraft-grade aluminum for the frame, surplus parachute fabric for the bag and a hip belt and padded shoulder straps composed of other materials left over from WWII. The circa 1985 Kelty backpack pictured here follows the lines of that original trailblazer.

Mid-1980s Kelty backpack, courtesy of Andrew Sporrer

Packs would continue to evolve over the next 60 years at a blistering pace, finding use atop Mount Everest and other dizzying elevations as they took on taller, narrower alpine profiles. Military packs of that era culminated with the iconic All-Purpose, Lightweight, Individual, Combat Equipment (ALICE) Field Pack adopted in 1973.

The external frame design retained many elements of the previous generation of rucksacks and remains what many consider the gold standard of combat packs. It weathered on through Operations Urgent Fury (1983 Grenada), Just Cause (1989 Panama), Desert Storm (1991 liberation of Kuwait) and well into the late 1990s. I would deploy with an ALICE pack into Mogadishu, Somalia in 1994 and employed the design until I joined my first light armored reconnaissance (LAR) unit in 2002.

GIs with ALICE packs

While the hiking and mountaineering market continued to move into ultra-light fabrics and frame materials, the military mostly meandered along with its own specifications for equipment, focusing on durability and functionality at the expense of motility. Sporadic attempts to replace ALICE packs resulted in numerous experimentation periods and limited fielding of several internal frame packs like the 420 denier nylon cloth LOCO and the camouflaged CPF-90, created by backpacking industry leader Lowe Alpine Systems.

3. Civilian packs inspire massive military upgrades

By the '90s, we were beginning to wave goodbye to the days of packs designed by Army civilians and engineers and mass-produced by contract vendors. Instead, the military began establishing performance requirements before seeking proposal specimens from the industry for test, evaluation and selection. This third intersection of civilian and military pack design was an exciting time for the troops who got the chance to use these packs.

However, they were never fully integrated into use with general purpose forces due to their height and the resulting difficulty of use with helmets and body armor. Although these packs excelled at holding a lot of gear, a universal combat pack replacement for ALICE would not arrive until the late '90s.

When the United States Army's Natick Soldier Research, Development and Engineering Center patented a grid of one-inch webbing, attached to a base fabric at one-inch intervals, it forever changed the way soldiers carry their equipment, ammunition and provisions to war. This grid, labeled the Pouch Attachment Ladder System (PALS), became the cornerstone of the Modular Lightweight Load-carrying Equipment (MOLLE) system introduced in 1997. PALS allows the user to attach a variety of pouches to base items such as a pack, body armor or an ammunition vest via a strap system laced into the PALS grid. Over time, the term PALS has fallen out of favor and most folks simply refer to the webbing as MOLLE.

Pack with MOLLE webbing, courtesy of Pu Koh

Post 9/11, the Army and Marine Corps began to field suites of MOLLE equipment to service members headed to combat in Afghanistan and Iraq. The system's top-loading rucksack was covered with webbing and could be quickly reconfigured to mission requirements, but the molded polymer frames frequently broke under normal combat conditions and the zippers were easily fouled by debris. The LAR company that I commanded during the 2003 invasion of Iraq experienced a 40 percent rate of frame failure. We essentially had to go to war with a pack that the Corps was already working to replace because of its flaws.

The Marine Corps ventured away from following the Army's lead in field equipment procurement and asked the industry to design a new suite to replace MOLLE in 2002. Arc'teryx designed an alpine-style, top-loading pack that supported the load through an internal frame of aluminum stays and load stabilizers. It won the competition against a Gregory Mountain Industries submission and was mass-produced by Propper International as the main component of the Improved Load Bearing Equipment (ILBE) system.

USMC ILBE, courtesy of Marine Corps Systems Command

I would return in Iraq in 2008 with an ILBE and then to Afghanistan in 2010 - and could appreciate the fulfillment of the various performance specifications outlined by the Marine Corps. It was heavier than an ALICE pack, but it could accommodate mortar ammunition inside pockets and had side access features. In a classic example of terrible systems integration, Arc'Teryx provided exactly what the design contract called for but the ILBE pack failed to fully integrate with the body armor systems issued to the troops at that time. A new search for a sustainment pack commenced in the late 2000s and resulted in a new collection of load-carrying items designed by Eagle Industries.

While the military struggled for over a decade with issued field gear, a burgeoning industry of MOLLE-compatible products exploded literally overnight as troops sought out tactical load-carrying equipment that performed better than the articles manufactured by lowest bidders. This period saw the rise of 25- to 40-liter "3-day" or "assault" packs from Camelbak, Mystery Ranch and dozens of other companies, along with an assortment of organizer pockets, general purpose pouches and other accessories which could be used during combat operations. I would deploy to Iraq and Afghanistan with a privately-purchased, Lightfighter Tactical, Inc. pack, because it simply performed better than my Marine Corps-issued patrol pack at that time.

The author's own Lightfighter pack

4. MOLLE becomes the standard in the military - and the design spreads into our everyday bags.

Current options are literally endless, and MOLLE compatibility has even seeped into a range of military-inspired backpacks, messenger satchels and sling packs which were never intended to be taken into battle. This phase of pack design represents the fourth and final touch point along a civilian and military through-line that grows more blurred over time.

I went looking for the moment of this design spark in late 2016. My search began at a tactical discussion forum, gathering bits and pieces from a thread about a remarkable backpack that had debuted several years earlier. A member of the forum spoke of a friend who had been on the pack's design team, and the search eventually shifted to Facebook, where I met a Nike designer who worked on a different design team from 2003 to 2016 but knew the people involved in the pack's release in 2007. He, in turn, referred me to soft goods designer Thomas Bell, as well as the director of the company's archives at Nike DNA.

When I communicated with Bell, he spoke about his design philosophy and details of the Nike skateboard (SB) pack and its shoe, hat and camera accessory cases that were initially offered at product launch. He found inspiration in the "form-follows-function design principles of military products," and the original SB pack certainly raised eyebrows in the tactical arena when it first arrived. It remains a hip, urban realm pack and it is amusing to watch video reviews. Across some 30 minutes of reviews from multiple vloggers, none of them even mention the PALS grid or the possibility of expanding the pack's carry capacity with a MOLLE-compatible pouch or two.

Nike SB's military-inspired pack

For the unfamiliar observer, the true capability of the PALS webbing on Nike SB packs has faded from memory, becoming nothing more than a decorative element on this trailblazing backpack designed to hold a laptop, miscellaneous tech gear, clothing and a skateboard.

As a design element, a swath of PALS webbing on a lifestyle pack has actually become commonplace, with Greenroom136, Timbuk2, Equilibrium USG and several other manufacturers offering a range of packs that could mate with a MOLLE-compatible accessory if the owner so desired. You could argue that they are not crossover packs, as soldiers are not likely to dash into a firefight with Nike packs on their back. But I have no doubt that the civilian and military sectors will continue to borrow load-carry innovations from each other for the next 150 years.

The author wishes to acknowledge the U.S. Army Military Center of Military History for material referenced in the article, as well as the assistance of Pu Koh, JW Hale, Andrew Sporrer and Juan Gonzalez at WWII Impressions, Inc.

Note: Purchasing products through our links may earn us a portion of the sale, which supports our editorial team's mission. Learn more here.

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From Haversacks to Skate Bags: The Secret History Of Military Packs

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Military packs and load carriage have come a long way since the one-strap haversacks of the Civil War allowed a soldier to lug rations and personal possessions onto the battlefield.

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Soldiers carry a lot of weight when they're ruck marching or in the fighting battle. Soldiers carry different items at different times depending on whether they're training or in the battle field.

There 2 most noteworthy weight loads soldiers have to carry in their backpack (or rucksack)

The fighting load is when the soldier is deep in the battle ground and is in the most fight-ready position. They can carry up to 68.9 pounds at this stage, here's a full list of the specific items they carry at this stage.

The Approach March Load is where the weight load becomes heavier. This is where when the soldier is in direct contact with the enemy. The priority here is for the soldier to have enough supplies to last them until the next delivery of supplies comes through. At this point, soldiers can carry up to 96.8 pounds, here's a full list of items carried during the approach march load.

All of the weight carried in a soldiers back is set by the army commanders and their subordinate leaders based on what they deem most appropriate based on their circumstances ( source).

With that said, lets jump into the main items soldiers have to carry in their backpacks.

1- Army Combat Uniform

The Army Combat Uniform (ACU) was first announced in 2004 that had some upgrades with shoulder pockets affixed with hook-and-loop "Velcro" fasteners, chest-worn rank insignia, and a new collar ( source).

The ACU consists of
Blouse
The blouse, another name for jacket, is used for more than just looks. It has hook-and-loop attachments to strap on things like name tapes, shoulder patches and tabs, and U.S flag patches to help make the soldiers more recognizable.
Trousers
The ACU trousers are designed with lots of features to keep the soldier well equipped. They're worn with two-inch nylon web belt. They also include:

Velcro pouches for knee pad inserts

2 forward-tilted thigh storage pockets

2 calf storage pockets

For soldiers issued to be deployed in Iraq or Afghanistan, their pants are flame resistant as well.
Helmet
Soldiers must wear helmets to protect their heads during combat. They also help to camouflage a soldier.
T-shirt
Soldiers wear moisture wicking shirts to keep them as cool as possible during marches or combat.

Soldiers are issued military boots that are ar 670-1 compliant, but they are allowed to wear commercial army boots as long as they are ar 670-1 compliant (must be 8 to 10 inches in height, made of tan rough side out cattle hide leather with a plain toe and tan rubber outsoles, and be without zippers, metal cleats, or side tabs ( source).

Here's a full list of the best boots for rucking if you're interested!

Learn more about AR670-1 regulations and check out other AR670-1 boots.

2- Field Load Carrier

Soldiers wear Field Load Carriers to to carry magazines and ease the carrying of smaller sized equipment.

3- Knee Pads

Soldiers' knees take a beating when they are in the firing position for extended periods of time.

4- Magazine (Ammunition)

This is an obvious one, but soldiers carry ammunition for the fight. Soldiers carry at least seven 30-round magazines for an M4 rifle ( source). Sometimes, they'll carry a Unit Basic Load which consists of 210 rounds and 7 magazines ( source).

5- Advanced Target Pointer Illuminator Aiming Light

The Advanced Target Pointer Illuminator Aiming Light is attached to the guns like tactical rifles. It shoots out a lazer to help with a soldiers aim when shooting. It's useful for aiming during day and night.

6- AN/PAS-13(V)1 (LWTS)

The LWTS is a weapon mounted thermal sight device. It allows soldiers to observe their target through longwave infrared. It's purpose is to allow soldiers to identify and aim at their target through tough conditiond like rain, smoke, light snow and dark lighting conditions ( source).

7- Night Vision Goggles

As the name suggests, night vision goggles aid the soldiers ability to see better at night or in dark conditions. They're typically mounted on their helmets.

8- Bullet Proof Vests

While you would assume they're wearing this all the time, in non serious circumstances where there is no need for it, they've got to keep it with them. Therefore putting them in their rucksacks.

9- Quart Canteens

Quart Canteens is what soldiers use as their main source of hydration.
Learn more about how many calories are in an MRE.
10- Meals ready to eat (MREs)

MREs are lightweight packages meals that are easy to make or are already ready to eat. Their purpose is to feed the soldiers for when organized food facilities are not available.

11- Compass

Soldiers use a compass to follow a plan set by their commanders that typically involves moving in different locations. A map and a compass is all they need to navigate.

12 - Bayonet (Knife)

Bayonets are designed to fit on the end of weapons allowing it to be used as a spear. It's a multipurpose knife that can be used to cut different things from MRE's to cutting ropes.

13- First Aid Kits

Each soldier is given first aid kits that soldiers typically carry in their backpacks. Their purpose is clear but in case you haven't guessed it yet, they're used to treat wounds immediately for when a soldier is hurt or sustains an injury.

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What Does a Soldier Carry In His Backpack Going Into Battle? | Ruck For Miles

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Soldiers carry a lot of weight when they're ruck marching or in the fighting battle. Soldiers carry different items at different times depending on whether they're training or in the battle field. There 2 most noteworthy weight loads soldiers have to carry in their backpack (or rucksack) The fighting load is when the soldier is deep in the battle ground and is in the most fight-ready position.

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As the saying goes, an army marches on its stomach, relying on good and plentiful food to fuel its ability to fight.

For contemporary U.S. armed forces in combat, that usually means Meals, Ready-to-Eat, or MREs. U.S. armed forces switched to MREs in the early 1980s, replacing the much-derided canned rations that had sustained troops from WWII through most of the Vietnam war. In September 2018, specially engineered pizza that can last three years was added to 24 available MRE options, as part of a larger strategy to improve morale (and avoid something called "menu fatigue").

Throughout history, feeding troops has been a challenge for all of the greatest fighting forces, from the Roman legions to the hordes of Genghis Khan to Napoleon's chasseurs. Here's how they did it:

The Roman Legions

Roman armies hunted everything that was available, archaeological remains of wild animals show, says Thomas R. Martin, a professor in Classics at College of the Holy Cross. From the limited evidence of what the administration in Rome provided the soldiers, he adds, the most important source of calories were carbohydrates: barley or wheat. One source says soldiers were given one pound of meat daily. "For an army you have to kill 120 sheep a day just for the meat ration. Or 60 hogs," says Martin.

Whatever the exact amount, it would not be enough to sustain a Roman soldier, who was "a mule more than anything else," says Martin. They carried very heavy gear, on bad roads, and that's when they were not expending calories fighting. With their food they were given wine-a diluted version of what we're used to-or something closer to vinegar that would help reduce bacteria in their drinking water. For their supply of fat, Roman troops, unsurprisingly, looked to olive oil.
READ MORE: 8 Reasons Why Rome Fell
Crusaders

During the Crusades, the average Christian soldier in a siege would have some dried meat and grain to make things like porridge. But this was food they would have brought with them, supplemented with fruits and vegetables or cheese purchased locally. During the First Crusade, soldiers would have provided their own food stores, which they would have mortgaged their property or sold possessions to buy. Later, during crusades like those in the 14th century, called by Pope Innocent III, deals were made with the Venetian fleet and merchants to keep soldiers supplied.

During battles, "if crusaders got to the Muslim camp they would stop fighting and start eating. And it would cost them the battle. It happened twice at the siege of Acre," says John Hosler, associate professor of military history at the U.S. Army Command & General Staff College, a medievalist military expert and author of The Siege of Acre, 1189-1191. At one point in the Third Crusade, an observer noted several kitchens in the sultan Saladin's camp, with up to nine cauldrons each. Those cauldrons were substantial-Hosler points out you could fit four cows' heads in each. The Christian invaders had nothing comparable.
READ MORE: Why Muslims See the Crusades So Differently from Christians
Genghis Khan's Mongol Warriors

The Mongol diet "was not gourmet," says Morris Rossabi, a historian and author of The Mongols and Global History. In the early 13th century, when Genghis Khan was conquering swaths of Asia (mostly in the territory we'd now call China), his horde wasn't able to carry much. Warriors were supplied by their own households, and as territories were conquered, the Mongols came in contact with foodstuffs like wine. (Their homegrown brand of liquor was fermented mare's milk called airag, or kumis.)

The Mongolian lands were not particularly arable, nor did the Mongols stay in one place for a long time, so fruits and vegetables weren't staples. The Mongols brought their herds of cows and sheep with them on campaigns. When herds were unavailable, the horsemen would hunt (dogs, marmots and rabbits) or subsist on dried milk curd, cured meat and both fresh and fermented mare's milk.
READ MORE: 10 Things You May Not Know About Genghis Khan
The Ottoman Empire: The Janissaries

At the height of its power, in the late 17th century, the Ottoman Empire was a massive horseshoe around the Mediterranean, including huge swaths of North Africa, the Middle East, modern-day Turkey and Eastern Europe. The Janissaries, elite foot soldiers and bodyguards to the empire's sultan, are considered Europe's first modern standing army.

Janissaries ate well, according to research by Virginia H. Aksan, professor emeritus of McMaster University and a leading scholar of the Ottoman Empire. The soldiers were fueled, she writes, with "fresh baked bread, biscuit when bread was unavailable; a daily meat ration (lamb and mutton) of approximately 200 grams; honey, coffee, rice, bulgur and barley for the horses."

Above all, the biscuit appears to have held primacy in sustaining the soldiers. One observer noted 105 ovens in Istanbul that were solely dedicated to biscuit-baking for the military. Another wrote angrily about biscuit bakers hoarding excess flour for profit and replacing it with dirt, resulting in the death of many soldiers.

Continental Troops in the American Revolution

George Washington -along with his quartermaster and commissary general-had major problems feeding the Continental army. Congress lacked taxing authority and thereby lacked the funds to purchase supplies. It was a problem compounded by transportation and other supply issues. The result, according to Joseph Glatthaar, a professor of history at University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, was that soldiers would often go days without a ration. "You'd get a little flour and maybe some meat and often the meat is pretty bad," he says.

In 1775, Congress determined a uniform ration that included one pound of beef (or three-quarters of a pound of pork or one pound of salted fish), and one pound of flour or bread per day; three pounds of peas or beans per week, one pint of milk per day, one pint of rice per week, one quart of spruce beer or cider per day, and a little molasses. (Later vinegar was added.) Because army leaders were rarely able to deliver, soldiers would beg from civilians and supplement with whatever animals they could find. Congress pressured Washington to seize food-paid for with low value paper currency (effectively an IOU)-but General Washington worried the practice would alienate the colonials.
CHECK OUT: An Interactive Map of George Washington's Key Battles
Napoleon's Army

"On campaign, Napoleon 's soldiers spent most of their time desperately hungry," says Charles Esdaile, professor of history at University of Liverpool. When all was going to plan, French rations included 24 ounces of bread, a half-pound of meat, an ounce of rice or two ounces of dried beans or peas or lentils, a quart of wine, a gill (roughly a quarter pint) of brandy and a half gill of vinegar. (French measurements are slightly different, so these amounts are approximate.) When bread was unavailable, rough little doughboys would be made from flour, salt and water, baked in the fire, or mixed with stew.

What helped sustain French troops was that European agriculture had switched toward things like the potatoes and corn, which one can eat almost right out of the ground. "French loaves come in long sticks; baguettes," says Esdaile. "The story is that the baguette was developed so that French soldiers could carry their bread in the legs of their trousers."
READ MORE: Why Napoleon's Invasion of Russia Was the Beginning of the End
The Civil War: Union Troops

The Union Army in the American Civil War had a standard ration: roughly three-quarters of a pound of meat, a pound of flour or cornmeal, some kind of vegetable and vinegar and molasses. "If you received the standard ration, it would be substantial," says Glatthaar. "Over time that did not become practical; they began issuing hardtack biscuits called salt cakes, as well as salted meat and dehydrated vegetables." These were made with flour and water and then dried so they'd last longer.

During campaigns, especially as the Union soldiers moved South, seasonal fruits and vegetables, like apples and sweet potatoes, could be pillaged from orchards and farms. Additionally, soldiers would receive care packages from home, as the Union postal system was fairly reliable throughout the war. As for water, both the Union and Confederate armies could easily rely on lakes and streams, as water sources were rarely contaminated.
READ MORE: Desecrated Vegetables: The Hardships of Civil War Eating
World War II: The G.I.

For U.S. Troops, there were two major types of rations during the World War II: the C-Ration (for combat troops) and the K-Ration (less bulky and initially developed for airborne regiments and messengers). "A version of the C-Ration had six containers in one crate, and what's in a C-ration is going to vary," says Glatthaar. "You're going to have a main course-like franks and beans-some cigarettes, some canned fruit, some chewing gum, chocolate bars, some instant coffee, some toilet paper. There's some processed cheese and some biscuits, but really they're crackers. And you also get a matchbook."

Rations, designed to provide three meals-and approximately 3,600 calories-each, were almost universally unpopular. Later, soldiers would get powdered drinks like lemonade and buillion, and eventually sweetened cocoa. K-Rations would have three "meals": a breakfast, lunch and dinner with four ounces of meat and/or eggs, cheese spread, "biscuits," candy, gum, salt tablets and a sugary drink. There were also cigarettes, a wooden spoon and toilet paper.
READ MORE: How Hershey's Chocolate Helped Power Allied Troops During WWII
Vietnam: From MCI to MRE

From 1958 to 1981, U.S. rations known as the Meal, Combat, Individual or MCI, were eventually replaced with Meal, Ready-to-Eat (MRE). In Vietnam, these were distributed to combat soldiers in a cardboard box, which contained 1,200 calories through a can of meat (like ham and lima beans, or turkey loaf), a can of "bread" which could be crackers or hardtack or cookies, and a can of dessert, like applesauce, sliced peaches or pound cake.

A full ration could be bulky, so troops often disassembled it, taking what they needed on patrol by placing the cans into socks which they could tie to their packs. In his book, Vietnam: An Epic Tragedy 1945-1975, Max Hastings explains how meals were cooked by punching holes in a ration tin and using a C4 explosive to heat it. Hastings also writes about the pills that troops consumed daily, including a malaria tablet, salt pills that could be sucked on, as well as Lomotil tablets, taken four times per day to control diarrhea brought on by the Halazone troops used to purify their water.
READ MORE: GIs' Drug Use Soared in Vietnam-With Their Commanders' Help Watch full episodes of Eating History online now and tune in for all-new episodes Wednesdays at 10/9c.

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Soldiers' Rations Through History: From Live Hogs to Indestructible MREs

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As the saying goes, an army marches on its stomach, relying on good and plentiful food to fuel its ability to fight. For contemporary U.S. armed forces in combat, that usually means Meals, Ready-to-Eat, or MREs. U.S. armed forces switched to MREs in the early 1980s, replacing the much-derided canned rations that had sustained troops from WWII through most of the Vietnam war.

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The Civil War was a time of great social and political upheaval. It was also a time of great technological change. Inventors and military men devised new types of weapons, such as the repeating rifle and the submarine, that forever changed the way that wars were fought. Even more important were the technologies that did not specifically have to do with the war, like the railroad and the telegraph. Innovations like these did not just change the way people fought wars-they also changed the way people lived.

New Kinds of Weapons

Before the Civil War, infantry soldiers typically carried muskets that held just one bullet at a time. The range of these muskets was about 250 yards. However, a soldier trying to aim and shoot with any accuracy would have to stand much closer to his target, since the weapon's "effective range" was only about 80 yards. Therefore, armies typically fought battles at a relatively close range.

Did you know? The rifle-musket and the Minié bullet are thought to account for around 90 percent ofCivil Warcasualties.

Rifles, by contrast, had a much greater range than muskets did-a rifle could shoot a bullet up to 1,000 yards-and were more accurate. However, until the 1850s it was nearly impossible to use these guns in battle because, since a rifle's bullet had roughly the same diameter as its barrel, they took too long to load. (Soldiers sometimes had to pound the bullet into the barrel with a mallet.)

In 1848, a French army officer named Claude Minié invented a cone-shaped lead bullet with a diameter smaller than that of the rifle barrel. Soldiers could load these "Minié balls" quickly, without the aid of ramrods or mallets. Rifles with Minié bullets were more accurate, and therefore deadlier, than muskets were, which forced infantries to change the way they fought: Even troops who were far from the line of fire had to protect themselves by building elaborate trenches and other fortifications.

"Repeaters"

Rifles with Minié bullets were easy and quick to load, but soldiers still had to pause and reload after each shot. This was inefficient and dangerous. By 1863, however, there was another option: so-called repeating rifles, or weapons that could fire more than one bullet before needing a reload. The most famous of these guns, the Spencer carbine, could fire seven shots in 30 seconds.

Like many other Civil War technologies, these weapons were available to Northern troops but not Southern ones: Southern factories had neither the equipment nor the know-how to produce them. "I think the Johnnys [Confederate soldiers] are getting rattled; they are afraid of our repeating rifles," one Union soldier wrote. "They say we are not fair, that we have guns that we load up on Sunday and shoot all the rest of the week."

Balloons and Submarines

Other newfangled weapons took to the air-for example, Union spies floated above Confederate encampments and battle lines in hydrogen-filled passenger balloons, sending reconnaissance information back to their commanders via telegraph-and to the sea. "Iron-clad" warships prowled up and down the coast, maintaining a Union blockade of Confederate ports.

For their part, Confederate sailors tried to sink these ironclads with submarines. The first of these, the Confederate C.S.S. Hunley, was a metal tube that was 40 feet long, 4 feet across, and held an 8-man crew. In 1864, the Hunley sank the Union blockade ship Housatonic off the coast of Charleston but was itself wrecked in the process.

The Railroad

More important than these advanced weapons were larger-scale technological innovations such as the railroad. Once again, the Union had the advantage. When the war began, there were 22,000 miles of railroad track in the North and just 9,000 in the South, and the North had almost all of the nation's track and locomotive factories. Furthermore, Northern tracks tended to be "standard gauge," which meant that any train car could ride on any track. Southern tracks, by contrast, were not standardized, so people and goods frequently had to switch cars as they traveled-an expensive and inefficient system.

Union officials used railroads to move troops and supplies from one place to another. They also used thousands of soldiers to keep tracks and trains safe from Confederate attack.

The Telegraph

Abraham Lincoln was the first president who was able to communicate on the spot with his officers on the battlefield. The White House telegraph office enabled him to monitor battlefield reports, lead real-time strategy meetings and deliver orders to his men. Here, as well, the Confederate army was at a disadvantage: They lacked the technological and industrial ability to conduct such a large-scale communication campaign.

In 1861, the Union Army established the U.S. Military Telegraph Corps, led by a young railroad man named Andrew Carnegie. The next year alone, the U.S.M.T.C. trained 1,200 operators, strung 4,000 miles of telegraph wire and sent more than a million messages to and from the battlefield.

Civil War Photography

The Civil War was the first war to be documented through the lens of a camera. However, the era's photographic process was far too elaborate for candid pictures. Taking and developing photos using the so-called "wet-plate" process was a meticulous, multi-step procedure that required more than one "camera operator" and lots of chemicals and equipment. As a result, the images of the Civil War are not action snapshots: They are portraits and landscapes. It was not until the 20th century that photographers were able to take non-posed pictures on the battlefield.

Technological innovation had an enormous impact on the way people fought the Civil War and on the way they remember it. Many of these inventions have played important roles in military and civilian life ever since.

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Civil War Technology - Weapons, Military, Advancements | HISTORY

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While the American Civil War saw the use of new weapons like the repeating rifle, other technological innovations from the era also impacted the fighting.

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Only a tiny fraction of any soldier's time was spent in front line combat. Instead, the vast majority of his existence revolved around the monotonous routines of camp life, which presented its own set of struggles and hardships.

Once in the ranks, military life turned out to be far different than what the majority of Civil War soldiers had expected. Patriotic zeal blinded most of these volunteers to the realities and hardships they were signing up to experience. The passage of several generations had muted the country's memory of the deprivations of the American Revolution. Few had participated in the war with Mexico, which left a popular legacy of glorious victory. Certainly, argued the conventional wisdom, this sectional crisis would be resolved in a few short, painless months.

Volunteers viewed the battlefield as a great stage upon which they would either "secure their liberty" or "save the Union." While they acknowledged that losses would occur, no one envisioned their potential demise in any but heroic circumstances, but four years of the daily struggle to survive in military camps would prove otherwise. Twice as many Civil War soldiers succumbed to death from disease as from bullets, shells and bayonets. By varying estimates, between 400,000 and 500,000 soldiers lost their lives on this less gallant of stages. What was the basis of this noncombat struggle, and how did the common soldier cope?

During the fair-weather campaign season, soldiers could expect to be engaged in battle one day out of 30. Their remaining days were filled with almost interminable drilling, punctuated with spells of entertainment in the form of music, cards and other forms of gambling. The arrival of newspapers or mail from home - whether letters or a care package - in camp was always cause for celebration. Despite such diversions, much time was still left for exposure to the noncombatant foes of poor shelter, unhealthy food, and a lack of hygiene, resulting in waves of sickness and disease.

After the first months of the war, the shelter half, or "dog tent," became the most practical means of overnight shelter. While portable and lightweight, shelter halves provided minimal protection for their two inhabitants. Sgt. Austin C. Stearns of the 13th Massachusetts described his shelter as "simply a piece of cloth about six feet square with a row of buttons and button holes on three sides; two men pitched together by buttoning their pieces together and getting two sticks with a crotch at one end and one to go across at the top and then placing their cloth over it and pinning it down tight." To protect the soldier from the damp ground, a tarred or rubberized blanket could be used. A stout wool blanket kept the chill off. Unfortunately, many soldiers discarded these heavy items on a long march or when entering combat, and lived (or died) to regret it when the weather changed. As the war moved forward, an exhausted soldier often merely lay on his blanket at night in an effort to simplify his life and maximize periods of rest. Such protracted exposure to the elements boded ill for his life expectancy.

Rations on the march varied from plentiful to scarce. On paper, the Union army enjoyed the best rations of any army in history up to that time, but logistical difficulties inherent in feeding armies of tens of thousands resulted in occasional shortages. The Confederacy, while fighting on predominately "home turf," often found it difficult to consistently deliver full rations to its troops on the march, largely due to procurement and transportation problems.

The full Union marching ration consisted of one pound of hard bread (the infamous hardtack), three-quarters of a pound of salted pork or one-and-a-quarter pound of fresh meat, along with coffee, sugar and salt allotments. At the beginning of the war, the Confederacy adopted the Union ration, but reduced it by 1862. Fresh meat and coffee became increasingly scarce. As fresh fruits and vegetables disappeared from military diets, soldiers' immune systems deteriorated and vitamin deficiency diseases such as scurvy proliferated. The Union army responded by issuing desiccated vegetables. As described by Corp. Joseph Van Nest of the 101st Ohio, these delicacies consisted of "a combination of corn husks, tomato skins, carrots and other kinds of vegetables too numerous to mention." This bounty had been dried and compressed into a sheet or block and, when boiled, expanded to many times its previous size. While denigrated as "desecrated vegetables" by the boys in blue, they consumed them with alacrity as a variation in an otherwise bland diet. Unfortunately, unbeknownst to the culinary science of the era, most of the needed vitamins disappeared during processing.

Confederate soldiers usually had to forage for fresh vegetables. During the deprivations of the 1864 Atlanta Campaign, one Johnny Reb wrote, "Our men get a vegetable diet by cooking up polk, potato tops, May pop vines, kurlip weed, lambs quarter, thistle and a hundred kind of weeds I always thought poison. I thought it trash...but the boys call it 'long forage'..." On the march, "foraging" - a convenient euphemism for theft - would be employed by both sides in an attempt to improve the daily diet. Despite orders to the contrary, some Confederates liberally practiced this thievery during their forays into the North and even when marching and camping in friendly territory.

The commissary took a back seat on the march to the needs of the ordinance department, but still trumped the quartermaster, whose top priority was to provide forage for draft animals, not replacing uniform components. Threadbare patriots consequently appeared, particularly in the Confederate armies, and the "battlefield requisition" became a prime means of supply for the South. As Sgt. John Worsham noted at the end of the war:
"Nearly all equipment in the Army of Northern Virginia were articles captured from the Yankees.... Most of the blankets were those marked 'US," and also the rubber blankets or cloths. The very clothing that the men wore was mostly captured, for we were allowed to wear their pants, underclothing and overcoats. As for myself, I purchased only one hat, one pair of shoes, and one jacket after 1861."
Soldiers North and South also shared in the infestation of body lice in their clothing and bedding. Due to constant outdoor living, often under poor sanitary conditions, the "grey back vermin" became a visible manifestation of all of the invisible bacteria and germs whose presence was unknown to mid-19th-century science.

The seasonal movement to permanent winter camps would simultaneously improve and harm the physical condition of the Civil War soldier. While the men remained in one place, the supply chain of wagons and railroads caught up to their daily needs. Union logisticians employed their superior resources in overcoming commissary and quartermaster problems, but the Confederates also managed to supply their men in winter camp under more challenging conditions.

Periodic shortages did exist, but were vividly remembered by the Southerners. Both sides shared the difficulties that emerged from remaining in one place for an extended period of time. The majority of soldiers, being from rural backgrounds, had not been exposed to such a wide cross section of the human population and its communicable diseases. When accumulated in camps of tens of thousands, soldiers without natural immunities would succumb to the likes of measles and chickenpox. Those same large numbers, residing in one spot for more than a month, caused horrendous situations in relation to sanitation. The use of "sink pits" as latrine mechanisms ultimately led to the presence of human fecal bacteria in the water supply. That water supply, in many instances, did not need much help in the area of contamination. Swift running, clear water would be the exception more often than the rule. These conditions created the greatest killer of the war: amoebic and bacterial dysentery.

Whimsically called a case of the "quickstep," dysentery did more damage than the infernal killing creations of man. The creation of penicillin and other antibiotics was still decades away, leaving medical staffs of the Civil War few tools to combat the war's greatest killer. By the end of the war, the Union Sanitary and Christian Commissions made great strides in improving camp hygiene and clean water. The Confederacy had nothing on such a scale, although experience also improved camp conditions for the boys in gray.

After four long years of war, the military encampments had taken their toll. Although the 2:1 rate of death from disease over combat may seem alarming to us today, it represented a significant improvement from earlier conflicts, like the American Revolution and Napoleonic Wars, when that number was closer to 5:1. Not until World War II did the number of battle casualties approach the losses from disease.

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Only a tiny fraction of any Civil War soldierâ€™s time was spent in front line combat. Instead, the vast majority of his existence revolved around the monotonous routines of camp life, which presented its own set of struggles and hardships.

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From rags to spit-and-polish boots, from scratchy blue wool to the new operational camouflage pattern, from tricorn hat to helmet, the Army uniform has changed drastically through the years.

In honor of the US Army's birthday in 2015, and the launch of the Operational Camouflage Pattern, soldiers takes a look at the evolution of battle dress from the Revolution through today.

Editor's note: Most of the historical information in this blog is from the US Army Center of Military History, as are all of the paintings. Multicam and operational camouflage information is from Army News Service stories. Unless otherwise noted, all photos are courtesy of the US Army Heritage and Education Center. Photos are also identified by photographer when possible.

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The US Army is 243 years old - here's what its soldiers have worn into battle in every war since the American Revolution

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From rags to spit-and-polish boots, from scratchy blue wool to the new operational camouflage pattern, from tricorn hat to helmet, the Army uniform has changed drastically through the years. In honor of the US Army's birthday in 2015, and the launch of the Operational Camouflage Pattern, soldiers takes a look at the evolution of battle dress from the Revolution through today.