The Things they Carried, not only the title of Tim O’Briens book but also something that he pays close attention to in the beginning of the story. He goes on and on about the things that the soldiers carry whether it is something of necessity or intangible. He uses these things as a way to introduce the characters and kind of get a feel about what they are about.
For instance, “As a medic, Rat Kiley carried a canvas satchel filled with morphine and plasma and malaria tablets and surgical tape and comic books and all the things a medic must carry, including M & M’s for especially bad wounds, for a total weight of nearly 20 pounds.”
Each member had a different weight to carry seeing as how they all had very different jobs, but as a soldier you carried everything that you owned amounting at least to 50 pounds. They carry other things as well.
“They carried all the emotional baggage of men who might die. Grief, terror, love, longing- these were intangibles, but the intangibles had their own mass and specific gravity, they had tangible weight” (21).
Although soldiers today carry these same emotional burdens their physical loads seem to be getting lighter with new technology. This new technology includes a robotic exoskeleton that helps them carry more weight. It was developed by Lockheed Martin and allows soldiers to carry up 200 pounds for greater amounts of time and less effort. The exoskeleton is made up of battery powered titanium “legs” that attach to the soldiers legs. The micro-computer ensures that the “legs” move in sync with the human body.
The army is also making great improvements to soldiers’ combat apparel mostly trying to lighten the load, especially for those who are going to Afghanistan. Combat gear has recently been made fire resistant. The helmet used now is three pounds, at least a half pound lighter than what it had been in the past. It protects better against bullets and covers the neck.
A lighter load does not mean a lighter conscious though it may help in the trek. I think what was true in Vietnam will always be true about war and that is with “all the mysteries and unknowns, there was at least one single abiding certainty that they would never be at a loss for things to carry” (16).
Fox News, New Robotic Exoskeleton Helps Soldiers Carry More Weight, March 11, 2009
USA Today, Tom VandenBrook, Army gear gets tailored for Afghan mission, March 31, 2009
This is an interesting topic and one I have considered before. Is technology making war more effective? Of course, new technology is making war more deadly and, I think something even more important, new technology is making war more detached than ever before. It seems as though wars fought today are not fought on the front lines. People fly over their enemies or press buttons from miles away, soldiers are not engaged with their enemy as they used to be in wars of the past. I think a detachment from war is a dangerous thing. Maybe if we revert to fighting on horseback with swords and shields fewer innocent people would be killed.
[...] Carry – Liz [...]