Thu 24 Aug 2023, 07:36
Part of this comes down to which army you belong to (this is relevant in regards to climate and terrain) and what role you have in that army.
For example, many European armies issue two water bottles per soldier for daily carry and extras will be issued if needed for a specific mission. Some European armies only issued one water bottle per soldier (Eastern European armies of the Cold War are a good example).
Water is easier to find in Europe so the need to carry lots of water containers isn't as necessary.
In other parts of the world, they carry more water bottles, for example, in Australia, we issue four water bottles per soldier, at least two of which need to be on your webbing/LBE and the rest on your pack. Plus you get issued a water filter and if needed, a larger capacity, collapsible water bag. Potable water is not as easily found in many areas of Australia.
Other arid nations probably follow a similar model, e.g. the South African army issued two water bottles per soldier but if I remember, they were about one and half to two times the capacity of the typical European water bottle.
As for roles, long range patrols, long range recce, long term observation posts and so on sometimes have to carry all their supplies with them so that they do not need to go out hunting for water resupply. They will be issued extra water bottles/carriers to meet this requirement.
Overall, water bottles are a fairly common piece of kit, although I was issued four (standard for the Australian Army), I ended up acquiring several more over the years so that I actually had nine of them at one point.