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bobdina
08-08-2010, 04:28 PM
Combat gear upgrade: New ruck, improved ACUs

By Lance M. Bacon - Staff writer
Posted : Sunday Aug 8, 2010 9:45:11 EDT

Soldiers spoke. The Army listened. And starting in August, troops will deploy with new and improved combat gear.

Lt. Col. Michael Sloane, product manager for Soldier Clothing and Individual Equipment, gave Army Times an exclusive look at the eight-piece ensemble, which will be issued in the MultiCam camouflage pattern starting next month.

Topping the list is a new, medium-sized rucksack. Capacity has been a point of contention for troops who say the assault packs are too small for longer missions and the 72-hour ruck is too big, Sloane said. The new ruck provides a happy medium — with added benefits. Namely, it has a detachable harness that allows paratroopers to access the pack after they are rigged for jumping without compromising pre-jump inspections.

Soldiers will also carry more magazines, but with wider distribution, with the new Tactical Assault Panel. Eight pouches can be configured to carry either 10 M4 magazines or six magazines with other gear such as the Multiband Inter/Intra Team Radio, or MBITR; the Defense Advanced GPS Receiver, or DAGR; or M14 magazines. The panel will replace the Fighting Load Carrier in the rifleman set.

Four sets of the improved Army Combat Uniform will also be issued. What can soldiers expect? No more crumpling collars and less Velcro, Sloane said. Cargo pockets on the trousers will have buttons and the messy “shake and bake” days of treating your own uniforms are over as the uniforms will have permethrine treatments before they are issued.

Rounding out the new issue are:

• New patrol caps.

• Four fire-resistant, stronger combat shirts.

• A new hydration system with four clips to allow attachment to the outside of gear or body armor.

• New external knee/shin pads.

• New first aid kits with accessories.

The new gear will be issued to the two brigade combat teams deploying to Afghanistan each month beginning in August, Sloane said.

In addition, a phased approach for troops with at least 120 days left in theater will begin in December and is expected to last no more than eight months.
New duffel bag, boots

Other improvements are in the works. A stronger duffel bag with better access will be unveiled in November.

Three new boots also are being evaluated as the Army seeks to improve footwear in Afghanistan’s rugged terrain. Soldiers could see the lighter, stronger boots by early next year.

The soldier-driven changes were largely birthed in post-combat reports, in which vets told leadership about the gear they disliked or lacked. Army Times, through in-theater interviews and e-mails sent by readers, found that many deploying soldiers fork out hundreds of dollars for better gear.

“There is so much better stuff out there, a lot of guys will go out and buy different things they need,” said Spc. Casey Edwards, who spent about $500 preparing for his last deployment with the 3rd BCT, 82nd Airborne Division in Iraq.

As it turns out, the post-combat reports and Army Times findings run almost parallel, and the most common items on the soldiers’ hit lists are part of the new combat distro. For example, many soldiers said they wanted single magazine pouches so they can spread the load. Simply put, mobility equals survivability. The Tactical Assault Panel is the result.

Soldiers such as 1st Lt. Eric R. Nilsen, a platoon leader with the 249th Quartermaster Company (Airborne), said the assault packs “are too small … and don't sit well on the shoulders for extended periods of time.” The medium ruck is the result.

While soldiers such as Edwards may not be challenged on the stance that there is commercial gear that is “better quality and lasts longer,” not all complaints and requests will result in change because the Army has defined rules when it comes to shopping for gear. It can even be said that the Army has its hands tied, to a degree.

For starters, Congress through the Berry Amendment has said the military can’t buy any item that doesn’t say “Made in the U.S.A.” — even if less expensive or better quality products exist.

The Army also buys in bulk — to the tune of 1.1 million items for soldiers and a few hundred thousand spares. The gear it buys must meet a variety of needs in a world’s worth of environments. So socks or boots that may be perfect in the ’Stan may not be ideal in South America. As such, Sloane said his team must consider all circumstances and choose the gear that best meets the vast needs of the service and soldier. Ultimately, personal preference will sometimes take a back seat to the greater good.

And the Army doesn’t have a blank check. On the contrary, it must balance its budgets at a time when defense dollars are diminishing by the billions. Therefore, a credible enhancement to one piece of gear may be delayed while a critical change to another takes place, said Sloane, a Ranger with heavy and light time and four deployments under his belt.

Soldiers such as Maj. Brian Perazone are likely to keep shopping for commercial items. A veteran of Bosnia, Iraq and Afghanistan, Perazone said he purchases his own gear because “it’s better made than issue and I can modify and change what I want when I want to suit my needs in the field.”

For the M9 he buys commercial magazines with a parkerized finish for smoother feeding. For the M4 he buys PMAGs, short for polymer magazines — synthetic 30-round magazines he calls “indestructible and smooth feeding.” He also buys specific magazine pouches, holsters, slings and dot sights that allow for longer-range precision and longer eye relief.

And while Nilsen may find the medium ruck to his liking, he will likely be left to continue buying the Surefire helmet and LED (light emitting diode) flashlights he prefers over the Energizer helmet light.

Still, the process is working, Sloane said. He pointed to the new intermediate ruck as proof, which went from “idea” to “issued” in about nine months. The quick turnaround has pushed industry to its limits, he said, but the crews “are working around the clock to get it done.”

“We are light-years ahead of where we were 10 years ago,” he said.

For the soldier who feels he is better off with a commercial item, Spc. Kyle Fox offers these words of wisdom: Try it before you buy it.

“I only buy from reputable dealers and make it a point to put hands on the gear before I purchase it,” said Fox, of the 401st Transportation Company of Battle Creek, Mich.

Sloane also cautions that such gear is not tested and certified to Army standards, and may come up short when you need it the most.

“We have the best-trained soldiers in the world, and we are working hard to ensure they are the best equipped, as well,” Sloane said. “There is always room for improvement, and we’re always working to improve things for them.”

http://www.armytimes.com/news/2010/08/army_combatgear_080810w/