My gear

[Apocalypse 31]

Getting ready to go to Iraq within the next few weeks. Got my initial issue today and started toying with my layout. After literally hours of refitting and moving things around I came up with this.

3x 3-mag pouches (9 mags total plus one in the weapon)

3x small utility pouches (plugger, tape, 550 cord, D-rings)

1 large utility pouch (map case, eye pro)

1 geek pouch with attached L.e.d (digi cam, note cards, map pens, pens, sharpies)

and cant forget about the desert tan combat Ka-bar

Keep in mind, I'm a lefty so I have all my mag cases on one side of the rig.

[ April 02, 2007, 09:12 PM: Message edited by: LT Mike ]

[YankeeDog]

Interesting! Thanks for sharing. I'm guessing the devs will find this useful, as well.

Stay safe. My thoughts and prayers are with you and your unit.

Cheers,

YD

[PLM2]

I havnt recieved that level of issue yet but I find a lot of people tend to buy some of their own stuff. For instance a special holder for a small non-issue flashlight.

Was the ka-bar actually issued or did you buy it? I thought about buying one because its relatively cheap (at least from AAFES) but it would count as a "personally owned weapon" being over 3 inches and I'd have to register it and couldnt keep it in barracks.

[Apocalypse 31]

I bought most of the stuff on there...Actually all of it except the 2 small utility pouches

[Battlefront.com]

Was the ka-bar actually issued or did you buy it? I thought about buying one because its relatively cheap (at least from AAFES) but it would count as a "personally owned weapon" being over 3 inches and I'd have to register it and couldnt keep it in barracks.

Yeah, because you might hurt yourself with that! Of course you're given firearms, grenades, AP mines, big sticks that make a bigger boom, etc. and you ride around in multi ton vehicle moving around in the dark on uncertain terrain at speeds that are in excess of conditions. But who ever said the Army was logical?

Thanks for the pic LT Mike! Keep them safe because 1 week in Iraq and you won't likely recognize it by sight any longer

Steve

[Apocalypse 31]

The actual blade isnt wider than 3". Should be good to go with that. I'm definitely not registering it.

[Imperial Grunt]

LT Mike, after you set your gear, just practise reloading mags without looking down, in the prone, sitting in a vehicle, etc and see if it works. If you dont need something, then ****-can it. And make sure all of your guys do the same thing. No one wants to look for something on their gear during a gunfight..or be unable to get to it quickly. You might want to re-locate the K-Bar. If you cannot get it out quickly and smoothly, then its almost worthless.

A rule of thumb that we used was that everyone could personalize their gear with the exception of the IFAK (Individual First Aid Kit), everyone had to have it in the same place so that it was easy to find each other's IFAK in the dark without using a light. Never had to do that, but I think it was a good rule.

After your first firefight, you will probably rearrange some stuff. Its a continual process really.

Some personal gear I used alot:

1) My Garmin GPS- worth its weight in gold

2) 10 power pocket binos to look at things and people

3) Camel back with pouches (I dont recommend getting a giant one, just a medium sized one) A camel back with pouches to carry extra stuff is great to have. The issue one just carries water. I had all kinds of stuff in mine, from emergency chow and bug juice to mission essential gear such as a strobe light, extra NVG batteries, digital camera, etc...

4) Good digital camera. Great for documenting things and pictures can say a thousand words. Document things your unit does, accidents (such as a HMMWV crash into a civ veh), collateral damage, etc... when possible and it may save your ass, and the collective asses of your unit. Also adds alot to SitReps. Dont take glory pics and post on some stupid website!

Be safe and take care of your guys. And GET SOME!

[Wisbech_lad]

So, where do you put the Hershey bars...?

[c3k]

Dude, that's one very small groin guard.

Do well and bring 'em back!

Regards,

Ken

[Apocalypse 31]

Originally posted by Imperial Grunt:

LT Mike, after you set your gear, just practise reloading mags without looking down, in the prone, sitting in a vehicle, etc and see if it works. If you dont need something, then ****-can it. And make sure all of your guys do the same thing. No one wants to look for something on their gear during a gunfight..or be unable to get to it quickly. You might want to re-locate the K-Bar. If you cannot get it out quickly and smoothly, then its almost worthless.

A rule of thumb that we used was that everyone could personalize their gear with the exception of the IFAK (Individual First Aid Kit), everyone had to have it in the same place so that it was easy to find each other's IFAK in the dark without using a light. Never had to do that, but I think it was a good rule.

After your first firefight, you will probably rearrange some stuff. Its a continual process really.

Some personal gear I used alot:

1) My Garmin GPS- worth its weight in gold

2) 10 power pocket binos to look at things and people

3) Camel back with pouches (I dont recommend getting a giant one, just a medium sized one) A camel back with pouches to carry extra stuff is great to have. The issue one just carries water. I had all kinds of stuff in mine, from emergency chow and bug juice to mission essential gear such as a strobe light, extra NVG batteries, digital camera, etc...

4) Good digital camera. Great for documenting things and pictures can say a thousand words. Document things your unit does, accidents (such as a HMMWV crash into a civ veh), collateral damage, etc... when possible and it may save your ass, and the collective asses of your unit. Also adds alot to SitReps. Dont take glory pics and post on some stupid website!

Be safe and take care of your guys. And GET SOME!

Already on it, brother. Been practicing, and getting comfortable in it. I find it odd that I've never had persistant feelings in an IBA. Each one I put on is completely different. This one, thank god, is comfortable. And the neck guard isnt bad.

And yes, I agree, the personal GPS is gold. I have a Magellin that I'm pretty happy with, also room for a digi in my geek pouch.

I'll have to make room for an Mbitr.

[ April 03, 2007, 07:22 AM: Message edited by: LT Mike ]

[Michael Dorosh]

It's cute that you named it after your girlfriend.

There has been a lot of debate over the issued TV (Tactical Vest) here in Canada - it is non-modular and has only 4 magazine pouches. It does, however, have a slot for the pen-sized Mag-Lite as mentioned above.

Knives are becoming a bone of contention now that firearms have been weeded out of North American society to a large degree. Our city police have stated they are disturbed by a growing number of stabbings. Where there's a will, there's a way. I was chewed out once for putting a bayonet into my desk drawer before going on an exercise - I already had one issued and mounted on my web gear, but weapons issue included EIS so they gave me a second one. I was told that it is considered a weapon and therefore can't be left unsecured.

When we go to do public displays (for recruiting or public relations), there is a CF-wide order than bayonets are not to be worn on the tactical vest. Guess someone is worried about having them taken from us or somefink.

[Imperial Grunt]

Originally posted by Wisbech_lad:

So, where do you put the Hershey bars...?

Actually I did carry candy to give to kids. But only when we were getting ready to move out, otherwise a kid swarm would develop nearly instantaneously.

No chocolate, melts too easily and I didn't want to get photographed throughing brown goo at Iraqi kids, that might be percieved poorly.

[Splinty]

Hi LT, I'm an E6 currently in Baghdad now. First off what's your MOS? If you're mech or armor you're going to want to strip that vest, because once you get your side-plates and DAPs (shoulder protectors) you're going to add about 25 lbs. of weight to lug around, plus you need to be able to get the heck out of that track in a hurry.

If not, get rid of the big knife and replace it with a Leatherman or a folding blade work knife. All it's going to get you is hassled by higher. Next move all your ammo pouches to the front, bottom center of your vest. The same side plates I mentioned earlier will get in the way of them. Also be prepared to drop one of your 3 mag pouches. Besides the 25 lbs. of additional armor your basic load of ammo adds about 15 to 20 more lbs. of weight and there isn't much room for more. Also if you're coming to Baghdad, don't bother with the Garmin, they're not worth a crap here. You get almost no signal at all and your PLGR or DGR works better. Last if you're in a HummV unit don't worry about attaching the Camelback, you can carry plenty of water in your cooler in your vehicle and you won't often be far enough from it to worry about carrying water with you.

Good Luck sir, and if you come to Camp Rustamiyah look up SSG Callan in the 46 MP CO.

[Battlefront.com]

Hey Splinty,

Were you the guy that commented about ammo load in one thread? Someone said something about carying enough ammo to fight against a battalion sized force, single handedly, and someone said "yeah, I did that for a while until I learned how f'n heavy all that ammo was". If that wasn't you, it was someone else wise beyond his years

Funny story about a friend of mine in the Naval Reserves. When he was stuck in Bahrain during the initial phase of OIF they were issued with M16s when they went certain places on duty. He was astonished that they only gave them 2 mags each. When asked why that was their commander told them "because you're not infantry. 2 mags is enough to get yourself out of trouble but not quite enough to get yourself into it." The idea was, I guess, that 1st mag was enough to get yourself out of the immediate problem, the 2nd mag was there to ensure you could execute a withdrawal without having to yell "bang-bang. I got you!!"

Steve

[flamingknives]

I can only assume that, in the US Army, a knife secured upside-down to your webbing/vest isn't the hopeless faux pas that it appears to be in the British armed forces.

Also personal security isn't given quite the same priority (name tags on t'internet) I suppose you never had the IRA to deal with, so it makes sense.

Are shiny things on kit bad?

[Yardstick]

The Rambo knife is cute

[Yardstick]

9 mags, all on the same side of your body? That's gonna f**K up your shoulder after a couple hours. You might want to distribute your load better, and invest in a Garmin etrex. It gets a grid quicker than a PLGR or DAGR. Last thing, get a camelbak. Water in your cooler is worthless when your truck is on fire. If you plan on dismounting at all, you need water, period. Just my 2 cents. All that said, good luck PL!

[ April 03, 2007, 05:24 PM: Message edited by: Angryson ]

[PLM2]

I'm pretty sure everyone getting deployed gets issued a camelbak. Im just on readiness and i got issued one already.

I'm not so sure about the knife myself either anymore, it is pretty big. Its not like you're going to have to use it to defend yourself, I wouldnt plan on it, I'm just guessing though. I find a gerber tends to be more useful in getting various things done. Although you might wanna attach it with 550 cord to yourself so you dont lose it.

[Apocalypse 31]

I'm carrying a Leatherman as well. Just want the knife b/c its a Ka-Bar and is tradition.

Yes, we're issued a camelback. Always been a fan of that.

Also went ahead and moved my magazines toward the center of my gear.

I've carried lots of ammo before and it just didnt seem like a huge difference in weight for me. I dunno. I'm a freakin mule. I'll pay for it when I'm 40. haha

[Battlefront.com]

Flamingknives,

Also personal security isn't given quite the same priority (name tags on t'internet) I suppose you never had the IRA to deal with, so it makes sense.

You Brits usually don't have name tags at all, while us Yanks have them stuck on EVERYTHING (including the back of the head). We also don't blank them out when pictures are put out in public. It's kinda funny when someone recognizes a buddy like that. Happened here a few times and I saw a pic of a Canadian Major at Tora Bora who is a friend of mine the same way. Small world and all of that!

Steve

[Wisbech_lad]

Patti? They are sending aged rock-stars out to fight now? OMGWASS.

Good to hear about the candy, IG. My mother was liberated from a Japanese camp by GI's, and still remembers the candy & Hershey bars! Glad to see you are keeping up the tradition.

[Michael Dorosh]

Originally posted by Battlefront.com:

Flamingknives,

Happened here a few times and I saw a pic of a Canadian Major at Tora Bora who is a friend of mine the same way. Small world and all of that!

But how many CAMPBELLS are in the world, really? Far too many if you ask me. Ne Obliviscarus.

[Battlefront.com]

Yeah, but the one I am friends with happened to be at Tora Bora and looked just like the one in the picture. But then again, all you Canadians look alike

Steve

[civdiv]

You might consider a drop pouch to stash used magazines in (Not empty ones). I used two mag pouches plus the mag in my rifle (7 mags). I hung one on either side, with the drop pouch (a SAW pouch) more towards the middle and slightly to the right (I'm a lefty). If I expended more than a few rounds from a mag, anytime there was a lull I dropped the partial mag in the drop pouch and reloaded with a fresh mag. The drop pouch was handy so if I expended all my full mags I could go straight to the drop pouch in front of me and grab a partially filled mag. Anytime there was a major lull I redistributed rounds between the mags in my drop pouch and put the filled magazines back in my mag pouches (right one first as it's easier to get to). Plus I had 200 loose rounds w/ a stripper clip in my raid bag or camelback. If I had solid down time I'd have a buddy grab a box or two from the loose rounds and load up all around. 200 extra rounds is easy to carry if it is centered on your back and fairly high up.

I also made a 'plug' with some MRE cardboard wrapped in 100 mph tape. I wired that into the left shoulder of my body armor to give me a 'pocket' for the butt stock of my weapon. Previous to doing that I had major problems getting my butt stock to seat due to the concave SAPI plates.

MBITER I carried in my chest rig with the antenna folded over so it didn't even stick up above my shoulder. It still worked fine. Boom mike mounted on right so I could still shoot, PTT on my right belt.

Ammo pouch placement is sort of to the wearer's preference. With a chest rig I don't mind them being in my middle as I don't feel it when I hit the deck. If I have to mount them low due to my gear I prefer to the sides as it hurts when you land of them and they are low. But anytime you land on them you risk denting them.

You might also grab some XF-7 from MD Labs. It's a dry lube and much better than CLP or LSA or anything else I've come across.

As for knives I bought a huge Busse combat knife and then didn't even bring it. I just couldn't see myself stabbing someone with an expensive knife like that, I'd rather use my old Kabar that I use for throwing. Oh, the Kabar is an AWESOME throwing knife. Some people prefer fixed blade, some prefer folding or autos. I ended up carrying a Microtech Scarab auto. Great knife there but around $400. I also had an old CRKT M-16. If you carry a folder make sure you can open it easily and quickly with one hand. I prefer a smaller (less than 3 inch blade) for general utility work (could be a Gerber or a Leatherman), and a bigger killing knife. Never had to stab anyone but better to have and not need than to need and have not.

On my belt I also had my 1st aid kit, an extra utility pouch (second SAW pouch IIRC) for glasses, camera, carmex, sun screen, power bars, etc, and a frag pouch for my compass.

Just my $.02.

civdiv

[civdiv]

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