US Army fast-tracks latest kit for troops

摘要

With more than 68,000 US combat soldiers equipped to date, the US Army has standardised a revised equipment list for its Rapid Field-ing Initiative (RFI) intended to improve the performance of soldiers on operations in Afghanistan and Iraq. Initiated in mid-2002 based on combat lessons learned in Afghanistan during Operation 'Enduring Freedom', the RFI is designed to provide soldiers with state-of-the-art individual and small unit equipment to enhance their battlefield lethality, mobility and survivability. According to RFI planners in the office of Program Executive Office for Soldier (PEO Soldier), the initiative modernises the soldiers in a systematic and integrated manner "according to the principles of the 'Soldier as a System' philosophy".