This channel will function as an extension of my Instagram pages, @blakewater0326 and @maneuvertrainingsolutionsllc (company page). Links to those pages are in the channel banner, please check them out and give a follow for content on kit, leadership, fieldcraft, marksmanship & manual of arms, and more.
As far as who I am: retired Force Recon Marine and combat veteran of 20 years of service in the United States Marine Corps. I started as a Marine Infantryman and then took selection for 1st Force Recon after 2 deployments to Iraq. I have since, in those 17 years deployed to Iraq, across southeast Asia, eastern Europe, and points in between.
Since retiring from the Marine Corps I have been working as an instructor for marksmanship and CQB for select members of the USCG, as a Primary Instructor for Orion Training Group, and teaching locally in NC through my company.
I believe firmly in the US Constitution and our unalienable rights.
This is the best damn video I’ve seen on the topic, well done!!! Also, you are one of the very, very few who have mentioned anything about carrying water, well done
Poncho and poncho liner are the "sleep system". Sleeping bags as a default are for recreational camping; when weight and space are at a premium you pack what you need. I'll have to do another video specifically on that topic, though I've covered it over on Instagram a handful of times. This load out is for the weather you see me in, so it's way too warm for a bag anyways. And as a genera rule, you don't climb inside a sleeping bag on reconnaissance tasks because you have to be ready to get up and go at a moments notice. Obviously weather dictates, and when the temperature drops low enough, bags come out. Though even in freezing temperatures there are workarounds.
@Blakewater, I've been wearing Bianchi OWB Leather holster and double mag pouches for 40+ years. Never had a problem with it softening nor collapsing. Bianchi is some of the best leather in the industry. I've NEVER liked IWB and, personally find it useless. My shirts cover no problem and they don't print, but I don't wear skin tight clothing. Just not comfortable for me.
@@TACTICALNOMAD IWB keeps the blaster tighter to you and does reduce printing. This is an undeniable fact, regardless of opinion. What it does change, is of course one would need to size up their pants a bit to accommodate. For overweight people IWB is less comfortable, so for those folks OWB may be the way they have to go until they can slim down. IWB also keeps the blaster more hidden as you move around, because the shirt lifting doesn’t reveal a holster; only more of your trousers/ shorts. Rigid holsters make more sense and hold up longer. There are plenty of examples out there of people negligently discharging their firearm into themselves because their holster collapsed or an external pressure was able to move the trigger during a tussle or sometimes simply leaning into something. No, leather is not an automatic “you’ll shoot your eye out”, however, it isn’t the smartest overall. You use leather, and that’s your choice. I won’t, nor will I recommend it over rigid materials such as kydex.
This guy looks exactly what I would think a recon guy would look like. Straight out of a movie. Thanks for the great info the TAPS rig is coming back nowadays in a big way.
I think dump pouches don't make sense in most scenarios, but they have some uses. In my dumb opinion, they are quite handy for a guerrilla or partisan fighter who cannot depend on getting more mags any time soon - or even go back to the ambush site to get them (assuming they ambushed conventional forces). Another thought, you can use the dump pouch for as a guerrilla/partisan... pickup dumping. You have a chance to grab mags, intel documents, anything of value and you don't have time to stick around or come back later - it makes a good emergency stash pouch for found items. But yeah, in a decently supplied conventional military they probably aren't needed much - totally agree.
1. Outstanding instruction 2. I love the extreme professionalism and calm demeanor. You're very humble and obviously a highly capable warrior. Good job, Leatherneck. 3. I deeply respect the lack of swearing. As you can imagine, many of us (former) warriors are training up our children to walk the narrow path. Love the clean language.
Many years ago, when I made it into the battalion sniper platoon our Chief Scout interrupted a session of mission briefing practice by writing on the chalk board, "STOP THE FUCKING". Clearly, we had overdrawn on our allotment of daily fucks. Or maybe I could say that after all these years I have not more fucks to give? Some dad humor for the day. Thanks for reaching out with your feedback, it's appreciated.
Good video, thanks. As the comms guy I have radios, drones, some batteries, antennas, etc. I'm usually rocking a Camelback 2-day pack w the padded waist strap because as you note, that stuff all needs some pouches and you don't want it to get crushed!
I’m still running a dump pouch. Prepper/survivalist types (most folks on here) will have more utility for this than someone in the military who has a constant re-supply.
That is a fallacious argument, to imply that those in the military aren’t retaining their equipment and simply being gifted new things over and over again. At no point is it encouraged to not retain magazines and equipment. What is encouraged is doing so properly, and thus negating the dump pouch. The very notion that a dump pouch somehow constitutes your logistical system is a dangerous level of cognitive dissonance.
Excellent, excellent video. This has helped me understand where I am in my build. Could you do a video on the use of a FLC vest and when something like that would be used? Include the pros and cons, and perhaps what situation would warrant its use over say a micro rig, plate carrier, and a larger load?
Several Major Points you missed. 1. Your. Making an assessment based on one solitary Job and duty. 2. The dump pouch is also used for SSE or in SHTF collecting up useful 'loot' in gamer talk. (Ammo, Smoke, Maps, Notepads, Etc) 3. You were In a Marine unit with tons of logistics supplies and an unending supply of Mags if you lost them. In SHTF what you got is what you got. No Supply Sgt to hand you a dozen new ones, or order new mags from Amazon or gun stores. So you better retain as many as you can and battlefield pick up any extras.
1. I am not basing this of one job or duty, I am basing this on being a gunfighter who understands manual of arms and how to manage their equipment. These are concepts that transcend billet or MOS. 2. At no point have I ever encouraged not retaining magazines. This is a straw man argument, and one of the most common attempts to contradict. What is stated in the video is that retention does not require the dump ouch. And if you had served any length of time, especially in combat, you would be familiar with the laughable fallible logistic system. I have been without water, without food; I have not been in positions to simply replace the magazines I deployed with. I in fact have at times not even had enough ammunition to support full combat operations, though ammo was the one thing the Corps seemed capable of burdening me with. And as for the "SHTF" claim: back pack. Have a pack, and fill that with your spoils. Same for site exploitation, which is another claim which belies a lack of knowledge and experience on the subject.
@Blakewater0326 Thanks for response. Well having served over 35 years (just retired) in Army with almost 2 dozen Combat Deployments in Iraq, Afghanistan and other locations as a CT advisor, with SMU's, and also dozens of gunfights under my belt, I found that: True the logistics is never always on point, but in GWOT there were usually extra Mags at the truck, COP, FOB, or Resupply Drop. (Unless on RECCE, LRRP, long patrols, etc) (If your only packing 3-4 mags that's a self Inflicted wound) During a firefight, or lull, picking up mags and inserting them in a different position in often collapsible pouches is slow and cumbersome and not usually a lot of Battledrill/Muscle memory exercise time spent on, especially usually needing two hands. (It can be a blindfolded drill like reloads, and in SHTF or on a LRRP/RECCE team may need to be) Sometimes you just need to gather your shit and get the hell off the X or objective ASAP. And a foldable collapsible Dump pouch is fast, easy to do justbthat. And it can also be used to throw extra mags, Frags, smoke, belts, charges into for an objective or redistribute to others low or need. Most folks don't carry a pack on objectives, and definitely not everyone. (I always had a small collapsible plate pack (charges, mags, breach tools, etc) Designated SSE bags are of course a thing, especially if that's a huge part of Op. Like u said the corps could always find more ammo, as did the Army and teams. A luxury in a true SHTF scenario that will unlikely stay true. I guess at the end of the day, it's all personal choice and mission dependent METT-T driven. Most of the Fighters in Ukraine fighting full on conventional war find them indispensable, and not just trying to copy "operators" they see in media or TV. Like some guys online think because ST6 or CAG carried 3-4 mags on quick in/out capture/kill ops where helo'd in/out, any long term patrol, MTC or a long Term National SHTF scenario, what you carry is what you have for long haul, and while heavy (You and I both know ammo and water are the bulk of weight) You never know when or if can be resupplied. So a dump pouch is a personal kit choice based on the shooters experience and mission. I hate Text/Comments because it removes tone and inflection. My comment was not meant to be smart ass in any way. Just let viewers/readers expand their factors to decide. We all have our opinions and preferences. Thanks for yours! Always open to new perspectives!
@@wolfpack2486 you mention a good point and common excuse: poor training. It takes so very little effort to train for retention, yet when we fall short we blame our training and refuse to see where we simply failed ourselves; it is easier to blame someone else, especially when its "them". Yes, some mag pouches are not as easy as others, and to that my response is: source better equipment; you have pockets and potentially (if not wearing armor) the front of your jacket/ field shirt/ combat shirt. I'm also not saying people should eject mags to the ground and THEN collect them, rather be proactive in their reloads by exchanging mags and immediately retaining without having them fall away. Should one run to lock-back while bounding it is still possible to exchange the mags without ejecting the empty to the ground (time, distance, and cover being considered). I am also not advocating for the small loadouts we see so commonly from troops conducting direct action or working with PF. The load out should be appropriate for the mission and with the consideration that one fight will often lead to more. Considering all aspects of support, fires, and troops available as well as the enemy situation. A dump pouch is not preparation. It is the lack therein, as rather than train, rather than objectively analyze the environment, and rather than build tribe and community, rather than becoming active in local politics to make our voices heard and take the power that we the people are supposed to have; people buy kit and blasters and bullets. People stockpile various things and say they're ready for the imaginary worst case scenario. We can do better.
I used to stash a small assault pack, camelbak hawg was my go to for a long time, on the top of my ruck like that. Loaded up for the ambush or assault or whatever we were doing so I could drop ruck, grab the assault pack and go.
I am not an "operator" nor have I served in any military branch, I was a correctional officer a long time ago, I just want to be as ready as i can be in case of any shtf, I live by myself in a rural part of East Texas soI also don't see myself as clearing structures in a city looking for baddies. That being said. I just attached a very light weight mesh dump pouch up front and low on my tap. I don't see it as any kind of carrier foy any items, I see it only as an emergency place to drop in an empty magazine or pick up item if i need to for expediency that I'm not likely to be able to return in order to pick it up later, and anything would be properly indexed into my load out as soon as practical. Hopefully all I ever do is larp and a lil bit of training. Thanks for your insight into this topic.
Hope you see this and provide suggestion if possible.. So I invested in one of Mystery Ranch Rucksack.. about $1300 and definitely worth it… my only problem is… during my ruck runs it feels like my left shoulder tends to bear most of the weight… my right shoulder is total fine and I try to adjust it where my right shoulder would take the weight.. but my left shoulder seems to be in the most pain during my ruck runs.. is it because my hips straps aren’t tight enough ? Should I be carrying the weight on all my hips or 50/50 spread between hips and shoulders? Even when I take my shirt off.. I can see a huge red line on my left shoulder from my ruck runs.. while my right shoulder is fine.. if you can suggest assistance or do I just need to suck it up ? Thanks. Forgot to add and I do have the light items on bottom and heavy on top.
Sounds like maybe an issue in weight balance with the packed items, so double check that. Reset all the straps on the pack, and size it back up. When you don the pack, tighten your hip belt up first, and then the shoulder straps. Make sure the load driver straps aren't set disproportionally.
I'm an infantryman in the 82nd Airborne, and I'd love to hear your thoughts on how you'd set up your plate carrier for a Rifleman in a line company. Thanks for your time!
12 quarts was the standard for 96 hour sustainment. That alone is about 24lbs, and with the rest of sustainment items and mission essential a ruck will weight 80-100lbs. I’ve had rucks up to 120lbs.
We all feel it coming. Maybe not tomorrow, maybe not in a month, but relatively soon we will all be forced to dig very deep to see what we're capable of when defending our family and our extended family, our race.
Yea I'm not good at this social media thing. I prioritize Instagram and have been trying to put up small bits on X/ Twitter, as well as manage Patreon which I haven't done great at keeping up with. When I can get the time to get with my cinematographer we're going to film for about two days straight so I can then deliver bi-monthly content for a few months. Eventually I'll get the rhythm down. Until then, you can find me on IG.
