November 29, 2007: The German army recently developed a set of high-tech gear for its infantry. When the troops finally got a chance to try the stuff out, the equipment developers were dismayed to discover that the soldiers found the new "Infantryman of the Future" gear more of a hindrance than a help. That's surprising, since the German program, like many similar ones in other NATO countries, are based after a nearly twenty year old American Land Warrior program.

In the 1990s, the American Land Warrior concept was more than ambitious, it was revolutionary, so to speak. But that version had a science fiction air about it, and was not expected to appear for two decades or more. The brass eventually got more realistic, especially after September 11, 2001. That, plus the unexpectedly rapid appearance of new computer and communications technologies, caused them to reduce the weight and complexity of the original Land Warrior design. At the same time, this made it possible for the first version of Land Warrior to undergo field testing much sooner and, even though that resulted in the cancellation of Land Warrior, many of the individual components continue to be developed. Eventually the troops will have wearable computers, wi-fi capability, and all manner of neat stuff. Eventually.

Late last year a battalion of U.S. infantry tested the current Land Warrior gear. Many of the troops involved were combat veterans, and their opinions indicated that some of the stuff was worth carrying around the battlefield, and some wasn't. But once the stuff got to Iraq, for testing by a few hundred troops, it was a different story. When people are trying to kill you, all help is appreciated, and evaluated differently.

German soldiers commented that they could do a lot better with some commercial gear. This made it clear that the German army brass were out of touch with what was really going on in the world. German soldiers knew more about what the Americans were doing in this department, than the army bureaucrats in charge of the "Infantryman of the Future" program. Many of the young troops, as well as NCOs and officers, understand English, and were able to get into the message boards and email lists U.S. troops were using to discuss their experiences with Land Warrior.

What's really disappointing is that the German "Infantryman of the Future" developers did not correct some of the obvious flaws with their system. Just having a few troops involved with the development process, to give some realistic feedback on prototypes, would have saved everyone a lot of embarrassment. The German system, which would cost about $30,000 per soldier, simply doesn't work, and should never have gotten outside the lab.