Yeah, the GI buttons on our jungles were too thick. You want to be intimate with mother earth when bullets are incoming. Just move your gear outboard so you can get flat (smaller waists make this difficult). We wore Tshirts and FLACK vest in RVN (open...not zipped) where possible. We wore belts with canteens, jungle pouch, etc. and carried most 20 rd mags loaded in seven cell bandoliers. I agree, if the MC goes back to jungle fighting, it will look like the Pacific or VN all over again. Good topic.

Brent knows his stuff. He ran my LTC class. On a different day he improved my wife's rifle shooting many fold with simple tips.

My father was in Vietnam and his whole platoon (most of the coy) never wore armor for their whole deployment. It was too hot and heavy! Sometimes they wore helmets if they were expecting 😂 A get its 50yrs ago but theres still a lesson there

Also. I fully believe as Brent was mentioning. Chest rig. Armor and belt. Chest rig has mags water med comms maps/land nav, ect. All the patrol stuff. But maybe an older style one belt with suspenders like we’re seeing in Ukraine could do what a chest rig does. plate carrier set up light. Mags, med, coms and stuff that goes boom. Stuff you might need in the city where you need the armor. Belt. As stated rifle mag 2 pistol mags , med, water, dump pouch, pistol. Knife? If you carry fixed and not on your carrier? Great info. It’s amazing what happens when we do what makes sense.

Awesome talk! Brent is good people

LBE and small assault bag. Sustainment is my Motto. But environment and task will have a factor in choosing

My first time using an IMTV I almost became a heat casualty. Luckily, my section chief noticed I wasn't moving as fast as usual and had me sit down and sip water. (Training environment of course.)

You're the first person that I have ever known who liked the LBV-88.

Long Live the Republic 🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸 God Bless America 🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸

Love and use ALICE LBE (belt and harness) as basic 'go to' gear. IMO allows for greatest mobility, breathability and substantial load carry. It's also affordable quality. I use a padded MOLLE belt sleeve for use over the ALICE G.I. belt for attaching MOLLE gear - mag pouches, pistol, IFAK, two canteens, waist pack, etc. Add your rifle and a small ruck or assault pack and you have a substantial and mobile patrolling/fighting loadout. I don't use one (toying with an FLC set up) but I can see the advantage of a chest rig in CQB and urban environments but as Matt and Brent eluded to - they seemed to have been born out of modern mobile armored vehicle operations. I keep a 'slick' minimalist plate carrier on hand that I can wear with the belt/harness - it has it's place - but I prefer the 'Jack be nimble - Jack be quick' style. I utilize backpack 'size' for mission specific requirements.

I just traded my vietnam web gear with the metal buckle and BAR pouches wich I set up in 1977 or so this year for some more modern gear. The FLC the TAP and the Airforce H-HARNESS SFLCS wich is my favorite so far at this point. It's close to my vietnam set up pluss a full palls back set up. If I want to go that route. The FLC can fit like a glove wich is so nice for running and jumping like my old set up after all these yrs is form fitted to my body. Pluss they both can open in the front.

If I'm packing more weight it's ammo and water not plates but I'm ranch dweller might be 7 houses in 10 mile grid around me and I know of at least 12 deer stands and twice as many blinds between me and the closest town If things get bad I can load the Polaris down and drop off a ammo can at each deer stand I'm lacking drones at the moment but from the info I'm getting it's going to be mostly bio so all my years of prepping might be for not

Afghan vet: i have much love for the plate carrier.

Brent0331...REAL!!! This other guy...not so much folks

I live in Florida and I use the old web gear from 1960's to 2000's. It's realy humid down here so wearing plate carrier here in summer is a no go. So use jungle.

I live in Deep South Georgia…plates ain’t happening 😂 between the swamps,river crossings and heat and humidity you’d be taken out by the environment long before an enemy. My environment is similar to Vietnam so I wear old school Alice gear mobility and heat dissipation are life savers here.

Yeah ive been purchasing FLC, and LBV gear, as of late in M81 for my area, but I still have my full plate carrier, and or go fast gear, of Sentry plate carrier, no side plates, and battle belt, for the purpose of contact.

M-16A1...the best rifle I have ever used. LBE...remember the LRRP's in Vietnam carried EVERYTHING.

Those marines in vietnam did with there body armor. Its how much you want to stop that golden bullet 😮

As a one who imagines himself more a civilian, minuteman, I have my rifle ready and a Hazard 4 Kato bag with spare mags, IFAK, etc. Pick up rifle and grab the bag and out the door in 10 seconds. Kato can be secured with secondary strap for a more backpack like feel. Nothing on the chest to interfere with shoulder transitions or getting intimate with the earth.

Super cool content. Suscribed.

Borneo sas drop rig and a jungle ruck.

I love you Brent!! 💞

I wonder how many times a plate carrier stopped a bullet? Just wondering if there was some kind of record.

I think a lot of the opinions expressed here are dated based on specific gear issued around specific times (like Brent mentioning he did not use armor for some missions circa 20 years ago). Rifle rated body armor can be as light at 3 lbs per plate (UHMWPE). I have dug several trenches with these plates and can say it was not detrimental, at least no more so than just using a chest rig with mags. If weight is your biggest excuse to not use armor in the modern context, you are simply not fully up to speed with modern armor offerings.

If I had to choose between body armor and being ambidextrous, I'd take ambi for "optimal use of cover".

Sig: Hold my beer; here’s a M5 .277 Fury for bulk and weight, but at least you can shoot 1,300 meters… not that the average Grunt will do, smh

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🇺🇸👍🇺🇸🇺🇸👍👍

If I go with a belt set up with suspension, do I keep the back clear for a ruck, or use a smaller pack? What was the military's solution to this?

For the average Joe, having everything you see KZfaq content creators carry is generally overkill. It’s also not cost effective. Knowing how to operate efficiently, based on training available in courses such as One Shepard will pay greater dividends. Don’t operate around your equipment, make your equipment operate around your circumstance. The fact is, if the balloon goes up, most citizen militias will perform partisan style hit and run or scouting duties. Just because big army does it, doesn’t mean it’s good for everyone.

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