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Posted: 6/29/2007 2:52:37 AM EDT
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Here's my rig. Spec-Ops molle vest with mostly RFI issue mag pouches. http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c1/cjs_19kilo/GEAR.jpg?t=1183113742 Here's whats inside http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c1/cjs_19kilo/IMG_0039.jpg?t=1183114339 |
very cool|
Wow guys. All I can say myself is thanks for all the support. It should be noted that many of the ideas I get for what gear to use and how to use it come from this very thread. Now back to the gear itself... I'm constantly changing my setup based on the job I'm doing and I like to try out a lot of new stuff. In the past decade, the Army has greatly improved the gear it's been issuing to us. When I first came in I didn't even know what MOLLE was. It was "Big Jake", LBV, and Brain Bucket. That said, I'm single at the moment and making enough money over here that I can try out new stuff. I've got an emptied care package box full of unused pouches and leg rigs from Tactical Tailor to T.A.G. If you want to talk about what's issued, let's see...I'd say about a little more than half. I was even issued a Blackhawk Omega IV holster but I ditched it (into the gear box) in favor of a SPEC-OPS brand Vapor holster. I really like the Kydex insert and the MOLLE lets me decide how much extra I want to cary on the holster and where. Originally, I had mixed results with this holster as it kept dragging my rigger's belt down and my ACU trousers with it. I ended up buying a Tactical Tailor pistol belt to mount it on and that has solved the problem. Now what I love about the MOLLE vest here is that it offers more MOLLE coverage than any other I've seen. A problem with the vest is that it can be difficult to zip up if you've got a sh**load of mags and frags up front. What I had to do is sacrifice some quick release clips from some unused gear and zip-tie them in place to use instead of the zipper. Works great now...if only I worked for SPEC-OPS, I could square them away on this. The double frag pouch and the pouch with the smoke grenade/Rem-oil are also SPEC-OPS. The Camelbak pouch in the rear is a Blackhawk MOLLE in OD Green. All other pouches were issued through RFI. You might be asking why I'm so into SPEC-OPS. Simple, it's what they sell at the PX. I'm much more likely to buy gear if I can actually put my hands on it than if I can only view images of it on a website. Is there better stuff out there? Probably, but I'd have to compare and ultimately wait for it to ship to me once I made a decision. The Silver Trident was a splurge but what the hell? It is the best knife I've ever owned. The Daniel Defence sling mount lets me rig up my sling where I want it. Speaking of that, up until a week ago I had a Vickers sling from Blue Force Gear until I destroyed it (don't ask). I've got another en route as I was very fond of it. Right now I'm religated to using an issued M-4 sling and a franken-wolf hook apperatus...works allright, but I'm still not a big fan. The new sling can't arrive soon enough. I've got three ARs and an M1A back home and am a HUGE fan of LaRue mounts. This one here is mine and I'm trying to keep it in decent shape for the return home. I don't have to try too hard though, those folks down in Texas know how to make quality stuff. The CAA grip is PX-purchased, can't say I like the standard M-16/M4 grip very much. When my unit issued me the LMT stock before we deployed I almost sh** my pants. IMHO there is not a better stock out there for the type of work I do, that is equal parts dismount and HMMWV mounted in 80% urban area. I just wouldn't feel as confident using the VLTOR as a blunt instrument as my Crane is occasionally used ;) I'm pretty satisfied with the current rig as it stands. I am waiting on a new BDS leg rig though. I finally found one that is exactly what I'm looking for, but it's backordered so it's going to be a little wait. http://www.rstacticalgear.com/prod_images_large/frontyLG1.jpg I'll stop by with more pics soon, thanks for the support! SGT Schmidt MOS 11K Dismount Tanker |
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Kind of you to take the time to share. Stay safe, and THANK YOU! [email protected] |
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nice rig. Thanks for your service. Its nice to read about what works and what doesn't with the current crop of gear on the market. I personally use spec ops here at home which i have found to be outstanding. Of course my use is not as hard as yours( thanks god i'm not in the same shape i use to be ). If there is a piece of gear you can't get or are having a hard time finding inside the wire drop me a line brother. J |
| holy fuck! i have to know........do you wear all of the improvements for the IBA too? i know that shits heavy! when i was downrange i just wore my basic vest 6 mags for my m4 3 mags for my m9 a multi pouch with some things in it and my camera. i liked to be able to move, are you always dismount? and any idea what it ALL weighs? i was and still am of the mind set that movement is more important than a ton of gear and armor. of course im sure we have very different jobs! anyway, be safe! |
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We do at least two purely dismounted patrols a week. The rest of our patrols are Humvee-mounted, however we spend much or most of the time out of the trucks anyways. We also do a lot of covert OPs and SKTs where we have a limited number of guys occupying a position for any number of hours. I'd love to get into the details, but opsec is an issue . Here's what I am willing to talk about: When we do SKTs, you pretty much have to bring anything you might possibly need to defend your position until friendlies can be called in to save your ass. We usually exfil from the SKT positions on foot. Six mags just wouldn't be enough to give me a warm-fuzzy if we get ambushed on site or en route to the pick-up. If I didn't have the 203, I'd probably carry at least twelve rifle mags instead of nine. Sometimes we start during daylight and work well into the night, and vice versa. You have to be able to stow your NVGs and IR strobe on your person. The Camelbak is self-explanatory. Depending on the length of the op we all may bring 3-day assault packs with an MRE or two, water, even more ammo, signal/smoke, trauma kits, batteries, etc. What's great about the MOLLE vest I use is if the situation ever gets bad enough, I can just dump the vest and beat feet. Probably won't ever need to do that, since in a firefight, my rig will only get lighter as I expend ammo. I guess you could say my philosophy is that of "it is better to have something and never need it than to need something and never have it". Even saying that, I've used everything I wear before in combat so I'm already glad I carry it. SGT Schmidt MOS 11K Dismount Tanker |
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