Troop gear costs 100 times more than in WWII

[unhappycamper]

Troop gear costs 100 times more than in WWII
By Pauline Jelinek - The Associated Press
Posted : Tuesday Oct 2, 2007 19:51:53 EDT

WASHINGTON — As official Washington argues over the spiraling price of the war in Iraq, consider this: Outfitting a soldier for battle costs a hundred times more now than it did in World War II. It was $170 then, is about $17,500 now and could be an estimated $28,000 to $60,000 by the middle of the next decade.

“The ground soldier was perceived to be a relatively inexpensive instrument of war” in the past, said Brig. Gen. Mark Brown, head of the Army agency for developing and fielding soldier equipment.

Now, the Pentagon spends tens of billions of dollars annually to protect troops and make them more lethal on the battlefield.

In the 1940s, a GI went to war with little more than a uniform, weapon, helmet, bedroll and canteen. He carried some 35 pounds of gear that cost $170 in 2006 inflation-adjusted dollars, according to Army figures.

That rose to about $1,100 by the 1970s as the military added a flak vest, new weapons and other equipment during the Vietnam War.

Today, troops in Iraq and Afghanistan are outfitted with advanced armor and other protection, including high-tech vests, anti-ballistic eyewear, earplugs and fire-retardant gloves. Night-vision eyewear, thermal weapons sights and other gear makes them more deadly to the adversary.


Rest of article at: http://www.armytimes.com/news/2007/10/ap_armygear_071002/

[Captain Hilts]

1. The army trains its people better now and prizes them more. nt

[NYVet]

2. Are those dollars 1940 dollars or todays dollars?

Because you need to take that into account.

[unhappycamper]

3. Since we're spending the money now, it is most likely today's dollars. n/t