A typical range detail for a company sized element, using the provided spoon style loaders or loading the rounds individually from the stripper clips, generally consists of 6 soldiers preparing and loading magazines. A proficient soldier can load 30 rounds in 1-2 minutes for a limited period of time before becoming fatigued. A 6-soldier crew without the Mech-loader available is able to load for approximately 30-60 minutes before becoming fatigued and either slowing their pace, needing to be swapped out, or both. This detail is able to load up to 7200 rounds per hour without subtracting time for dunnage, opening cans, the quantity of magazines a unit possesses, etc. When they finish loading at this pace, soldiers' hands typically have abrasions and are fatigued and sore, which subsequently negatively affects their shooting performance. Since a typical unit does not have enough magazines for all of the ammo to be loaded at once, a 4-6 soldier crew must remain ready and loading as magazines become available throughout the day.

Using the Mech-loader, a single soldier can load 90-120 rounds per minute for an extended period of time without becoming fatigued.

With two Mech-loaders available, a two-soldier crew is able to load over 14,000 rounds per hour without subtracting time for dunnage, opening cans, the quantity of magazines a unit possesses, etc. Upon completion of this--output is roughly two times what a six-soldier crew can accomplish with 1/3 the manpower. loading, the soldiers do not experience the negative physical effects that the crew without the loader's experiences. Since a typical unit does not have enough magazines for all of the ammo to be loaded at once, one-two soldier crew is able to remain ready and loading as magazines become available throughout the day.

Recommendation: Propose procurement of 2 mountable magazine loaders per M4 range at NG installations with 3-5 of the mobile units available for draw at range control for LFX ranges without an ammo shed.