Fifteen minutes to bug out

Fifteen minutes. That's how long I've watched someone take to bug out.

Before anyone starts: yes, you wear your warm kit. It's near freezing out there. Static, without it, you'll go hypothermic. That's not the argument.

The argument is what happens when you have to move

A bug-out isn't just getting up and running. You're leaving a defensive position you chose, on ground you know, for unknown ground with unknown threats, while being pursued, often dismounted. You could be moving for hours. Nothing gets left behind, which means nothing gets rushed. You and your buddy take turns, one on the gun, one packing, because you're 50/50 the entire time.

Now do all that in your warm kit. Heavy pack, hard exertion, no airflow. The heat has nowhere to go. You sweat through everything you own, and you're already rationed to a litre a day that also has to cook, clean and shave. Once your warm layers are wet, they've stopped being warm layers. You've traded one cold night for a soaked one, and you've slowed the whole section down doing it.

Warm kit is for when you're static

The moment you're moving, it comes off.

Which is where the gear actually matters. You can't go faster by cutting corners. You can't leave anything, you can't skip the check, you can't move before your buddy's ready. Every step is mandatory. The only variable you control is how long each piece takes to come off and go away.

MACWO comes off without taking your boots off. It packs down small and it's warm.

The rest is discipline

You can't buy that. Know where your mags are. Know where your radio is. Have your own kit sorted so you've got hands free to sort someone else's.

There's always one bloke the whole platoon is waiting on. Don't be him.