The U.S. military does not believe its soldiers, sailors,
airmen, and marines should be engaged in combat with adversaries
on a “level playing field.” Our combat individuals enter
engagements to win. To that end, the United States has used its
technical prowess and industrial capability to develop decisive
weapons that overmatch those of potential enemies. In its
current engagement—what has been identified as an “era of
persistent conflict”— the nation’s most important weapon is the
dismounted soldier operating in small units. Today’s soldier
must be prepared to contend with both regular and irregular
adversaries. Results in Iraq and Afghanistan show that, while
the U.S. soldier is a formidable fighter, the contemporary suite
of equipment and support does not afford the same high degree of
overmatch capability exhibited by large weapons platforms—yet it
is the soldier who ultimately will play the decisive role in
restoring stability. This National Research Council (NRC) report
establishes the technical requir