Battle Rattle: The Stuff a Soldier Carries

by Hans Halberstadt, Eric Graves (Foreword), Stephen Hilliard (Afterword)

The slosh of water in a canteen, the rustle of a uniform, the jangle of extra clips of ammo, all the clinks and clanks of jostling packs of equipment—this is the soundtrack that accompanies fully loaded soldiers humping through the bush to their next assignment. Battle rattle is the stuff a soldier carries to get through the day, from mission-specific gear to general supplies. In short, what the soldiers on the ground affectionately call “our crap.” This book takes a close look at the commercial revolution in military clothing, packs, and equipment—soldiers buying from civilian companies instead of settling for government issue, customizing their gear to perfectly fit their needs and preferences. From boots and gloves to helmets and eyewear, from ponchos and packs to knives and rifles, Battle Rattle shows what the modern warfighter is using to fight the fight.

127 pages, Hardcover

First published December 15, 2006

About the author

I trained to be a documentary filmmaker and worked in that industry for about fifteen years before getting involved with book projects. The basic techniques involved in designing a film project apply just as well to non-fiction books so the transition was easy. The books turned out to be more fun, more filled with adventure, and more profitable than the film work so I gradually took on books rather than films.

Although I hear a lot of people complain about the difficulty of getting a book contract, that has never been my experience right from the start. And I never have "writer's block" or any of the other typical complaints of our peculiar breed. Telling stories has always been fun for me and I will explain how and why in a blog on this site.

Reviews

[Jeff Barber · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lots of neat information on military equipment. The author is familiar enough with the military lifestyle to give reasons for most of the equipment that is or is no longer carried.
The anecdotes about how he made use of the equipment in the field was also really cool to read. Worth at least a checkout at the local library.