Loaded march

A loaded march is a relatively fast march over distance carrying a load. It is both a common military exercise and a civilian activity.

A loaded march is known as a forced foot march in the US Army. Less formally, it is a ruck march in the US Army, a tab in British Army slang and a yomp in Royal Marines slang.

As a civilian exercise, loaded marching comes under the category of 'hiking', although this includes activities not vigorous enough to be compared to loaded marching. Civilian activities analogous to loaded marches are quite popular in New Zealand, where they are organised by "tramping clubs".

In many countries, the ability to complete loaded marches is a core military skill, especially for infantry and special forces. Loaded marching is particularly important in Britain, where all soldiers must complete annual loaded march tests.

In certain climates, the use of loaded marches is limited, since they would result in high casualty rates through heat exhaustion.

According to Vegetius, during the four-month initial training of a Roman legionary, loaded marches were taught before recruits ever handled a weapon; since any formation would be split up by stragglers at the back or soldiers trundling along at differing speeds. Standards varied over time, but normally recruits were first required to complete 20 Roman miles (29.62 km or 18.405 modern miles) with 20.5 kg in five summer hours, which was known as "the regular step" or "military pace". (The Romans divided daylight time into twelve equal hours. Depending on the exact day of the year and the latitude, the length of a "summer hour" would vary. Five summer hours is therefore not exact, but could indicate a time of approximately six modern hours.) They then progressed to the "faster step" or "full pace" and were required to complete 24 Roman miles (35.544 km or 22.086 modern miles) in five summer hours loaded with 20.5 kilograms (45 lb). Training also included some forced marches of 20–30 miles, often followed by the construction of basic defences for an overnight position.

In some cases, each member of a Roman unit marched with a sudis (stake), to aid the construction of defences.

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