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The All-Purpose Lightweight Individual Carrying Equipment, or ALICE, was introduced into United States Army service in 1974 to replace the M-1956 Load-Carrying Equipment and M-1967 Modernized Load-Carrying Equipment . more...

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History

Nylon's light weight and durable qualities lead the United States Army to consider the M-1967 Modernized Load-Carrying Equipment for United States Army-wide adoption. A study was undertaken in the early 1970s to identify any shortcomings and to propose improvements for a new load-carrying equipment system to replace the M-1956 LCE and M-1967 MLCE. The new system was developed by the United States Army Materiel Command and extensively tested at the United States Army Infantry School, Fort Benning, Georgia.

While this new load-carrying system was being tested and developed it was initially given the prototype designation M-1972 Individual Load-Carrying Equipment but once finalized it was designated the All-Purpose Lightweight Individual Carrying Equipment or ALICE system . The system was adopted in 1974, and issue began the following year, though the small arms ammunition cases were released in late 1973 since no other 30-round ammunition magazine small arms ammunition cases were available in quantity. The designation LC-1 or LC-2 is used to additionally identify component items.

The ALICE system retains the concept of separate fighting and existence loads that was refined in the mid-1950s during the development of the M-1956 LCE. The most important point in the fighting and existence loads concept is that an infantry rifleman should carry only the items necessary to complete the immediate mission at hand. The load an infantry rifleman carries should not include any other item that can be carried another way. Because the type of mission, terrain, and environmental conditions will influence the clothing and individual equipment requirements, the unit commander may prescribe to the infantry rifleman the essential items. The prime purpose of the fighting and existence loads concept is to lighten an infantry rifleman's load.

The typical individual fighting load is made up of essential items of clothing, individual equipment, small arms, and small arms ammunition that are carried by, and are essential to, the effectiveness of the combat infantry rifleman and the accomplishment of the immediate mission of the unit when the infantry rifleman is on foot. Normally these items are carried on the individual equipment belt and individual equipment belt suspenders.

The typical individual existence load consists of items other than those in the individual fighting load which are required to sustain or protect the infantry rifleman, which may be necessary for the infantry rifleman's increased personal and environmental protection, and which the infantry rifleman normally would not carry. When possible, the individual existence load items are transported by means other than man-carry. Otherwise both the fighting and existence loads are carried by the infantry rifleman. Individual existence load items are usually carried in the field pack.

Read more at Wikipedia.org