Special Operations Forces operators have their own needs, depending on the type of mission, they form their own basic combat load. It all depends on the situation, and most warfighters whose primary weapon is an assault rifle will carry more than seven, if not on their immediate person at least in a pack or in a nearby vehicle, but the basic combat load is one in the rifle and six more at the ready.
And even some infantry personnel have a primary weapon that doesn’t use magazines at all, so machine gunners, for example, won’t carry any. Some will carry a lot more than the minimum seven rifle magazines, as well as pistol magazines if they carry a sidearm. Some “front line” combat soldiers won’t carry any magazines on their person, since they’re busy operating tanks, howitzers, or aircraft. Basic Combat Load: Portuguese soldier with FN SCAR-L (Photo: Portuguese Army)Īside from that, the answer is it depends. The basic combat load for a modern infantry soldier who might reasonably expect to be aggressively engaging the enemy about six magazines plus one loaded in the weapon is fairly normal but that could easily double depending on what other equipment needed to be carried.
5 Different armies – different rules Basic Combat Load
