Sun glasses?

[ShooterSix]

I notice that every American soldier wears sunglasses. Is this a bug, or is it meant to be? 

[Jotte]

Ballistic eyewear.

[Kieme(ITA)]

It's meant to be. In one of my mods I managed to cut by 50% the probability that a soldier has them on.

[Ivanov]

I notice that every American soldier wears sunglasses. Is this a bug, or is it meant to be? 

I can't imagine US soldiers without the sun glasses and not chewing a gum. I just can't...

[waclaw]

I can't imagine US soldiers without the sun glasses and not chewing a gum. I just can't...

Sunglasses protect, against minor debris, dust, sun, wind which causes eyestrain - and if your eyes are tired, you generally feel tired

 

Edited January 7, 2016 by waclaw

[ShooterSix]

It's meant to be. In one of my mods I managed to cut by 50% the probability that a soldier has them on.

Can you send me the link? 

 

Thanks for the responses guys!

[panzersaurkrautwerfer]

As TJT pointed out they're not strictly sunglasses, they're ballistic eyewear.  As the war in Iraq wore on there was a large number of eye injuries from various traumatic sources. The Army eventually made ballistic eyewear part of the uniform when doing operations in order to cut down on these sort of often medical discharge inducing injuries.  The quoted protection level is against something like a .22 caliber bullet, and they've cut down on the number of blinding injuries sustained through various means.

They are really annoying if you're like me and wear conventional eyeglasses, as you then have small prescription inserts that go into the ballistic eyewear itself which is pretty heavy and wears on your nose.  You also generally only receive one part of the inserts so you're always switching the inserts between the clear and tinted lenses depending on the day.  Also it's considered rude to wear any sort of shades-like thing when talking to Iraqis so you need to carry your normal glasses too if you're planning on doing any sort of interaction with the locals.

[LukeFF]

Even us medic types got in on the act  (Camp New York, Kuwait, February 2004, about ready to move north). As you can see, some still liked to wear the goggles, but I hated those things and never wore them:

I'm third from the left, back row. 

[Oakheart]

I tried uploading my team picture up from 2005 in Haditha with 3/1 where most of us are wearing sunglasses. Marines are issued Ski-goggles and sunglasses from the company ESS, I still have mine.
Wtf is with this 501kb upload? wtf I cropped the f outa the dang picture....oh well.

LukeFF How the heck were you guys able to kill bad guys without an elite tacticool rail system on your A2s?
2004? Pft you guys were stone age.

[LukeFF]

LukeFF How the heck were you guys able to kill bad guys without an elite tacticool rail system on your A2s?
2004? Pft you guys were stone age.

Well, since we were a medical company, we didn't get all the cool stuff (except the battalion Sergeant Major, of course ). The only time I fired my rifle in Iraq was on a range qualification day. Thankfully, our convoys always came and went without any issues.  

And yep, all of our stuff was stone age, that's for sure. Almost all of our rifles and NVGs were hand-me-downs from 3rd ID and dated from the late-80s/early 90s.  

Edited January 7, 2016 by LukeFF

[panzersaurkrautwerfer]

So I guess we're all showing our back when we were cool photos?

Anyway.  Those are the sweet clear versions of the ballistic lenses and the eyeglass insert on my face circa 2010.  They are a nearly inescapable part of being a soldier so long as there's a Sergeant Major somewhere in the AO.  

Although there is a criminal lack of PT belts around these parts.  

[DougPhresh]

The quality of ballistic goggles went up over the past few years, they were nicer to wear in cold weather than B-Dubs.

[Oakheart]

So I guess we're all showing our back when we were cool photos?

Anyway.  Those are the sweet clear versions of the ballistic lenses and the eyeglass insert on my face circa 2010.  They are a nearly inescapable part of being a soldier so long as there's a Sergeant Major somewhere in the AO.  

Although there is a criminal lack of PT belts around these parts.  

my gawd, did I just read company-grade say that they want MORE PT belts?!?! Oh wait....thats pretty snafu.

[ChrisND]

So I guess we're all showing our back when we were cool photos?

Anyway.  Those are the sweet clear versions of the ballistic lenses and the eyeglass insert on my face circa 2010.  They are a nearly inescapable part of being a soldier so long as there's a Sergeant Major somewhere in the AO.  

Although there is a criminal lack of PT belts around these parts.  

What readers will not see in this photo, is how you got run over 5 seconds later because you weren't wearing a PT belt.

[Oakheart]

What readers will not see in this photo, is how you got run over 5 seconds later because you weren't wearing a PT belt.

you forgot to add that only did this incident happened indoors but the poor fool also had his cover on.

[LukeFF]

So I guess we're all showing our back when we were cool photos?

Anyway.  Those are the sweet clear versions of the ballistic lenses and the eyeglass insert on my face circa 2010.  They are a nearly inescapable part of being a soldier so long as there's a Sergeant Major somewhere in the AO.  

Although there is a criminal lack of PT belts around these parts.  

I see you're rocking the Geardo look there.  And what's with the non-regulation haircut! Tsk, tsk!

Edited January 8, 2016 by LukeFF

[VladimirTarasov]

I'm almost inclined to show an army service picture, But sadly I don't remember being issued stylish eye protection shades.  You guys were looking prepared for style and combat!

[panzersaurkrautwerfer]

my gawd, did I just read company-grade say that they want MORE PT belts?!?! Oh wait....thats pretty snafu.

 

I loath the PT belt with a special passion.  If you'd worked a 18-19 hour day, having not had the chance to go retrieve your PT belt from your housing unit, it simply ensured that a Command Sergeant Major with no other apparent work function would locate you to explain that you are personally losing the war on terror and practically turning the junior enlisted into terrorists by your example.  

The Vietnam era had Hueys and Hendrix as touchstones of their time in the suck.  We had T-walls and shiny belts.  Somehow I think we were cheated.

 

What readers will not see in this photo, is how you got run over 5 seconds later because you weren't wearing a PT belt.

I would have survived too if my hands were not in my pockets, and my mustache wasn't policed.  But instead, I fell victim to the only real threats in Baghdad, complacency and defiance of FOB policy.

 

I see you're rocking the Geardo look there.  And what's with the non-regulation haircut! Tsk, tsk!

I was pretty much Rambo special forces.  I knew no laws or regulations.  As a young Captain I was pretty much god and did as I pleased.  

(and in my defense, I'm pretty much wearing the minimum of what was mandated at that point minus gloves, helmet, and my rifle.  I think to be full geardo you need the cool guy stuff from tactical tailor vs just what CIF and RFI threw at you)

 

[gnarly]

 

I loath the PT belt with a special passion. 

 

I had to google this...

 

And now feel suitably educated...

 

[db_zero]

Speaking of ballistic eye wear which imo is a concept a long time in coming, what if any plans or do you do for hearing protection? You have on the hand the need to hear and communicate, but on the other hand being around just normal gunfire without hearing protection will cause significant hearing loss if not eventual deafness. I'm sure being around a 120mm tank cannon must really be loud.

Is it just something like hey you're young, you joined up and that's just a part of what you signed up for? I know companies are working on a viable solution, but I don;t know of anything practical yet.

[Oakheart]

Pelcor along with alot of other companys make electronic ear muffs that amplify minute sounds and block lound sudden sounds. You can hear footsteps a mile away but wont hear gunshots. **** we had those in '05, you can buy them at any wallmart for around $40ish.

[panzersaurkrautwerfer]

We were issued various kinds of earplugs but their actual use varied, I rarely wore mine simply because as an officer-type I had my radio handset glued to the side of my head when I was not-tanking, or trading off being able to hear something out of place for possible hearing damage.  

In regards to tanking, if you're inside the tank it's not a big deal.  You're behind the shockwave, and the headset-helmet rig you wear* is designed to provide a degree of acoustic protection.  If you're outside the tank and not behind it though, it's like, you less "hear" it and more "feel" it which is impressive.  

On the other hand after eight years of active service my hearing is certainly degraded, and every now and then I hear what sounds like distant ringing noises.  I do think what was likely worse for my hearing than the tanking, radios at full volume or gunfire was likely all the living next to generators and the like.

*Commonly called a CVC which is short for Combat Vehicle Crewman.  It refers to the kind of uniform (CVC helmet, CVC coveralls, etc) but contextually usually only the acronym is used ("Hey grab my CVC from the turret" almost certainly means the helmet, while "your CVC is filthy" is likely the coveralls).