In the Army Infantry I've always preferred wearing the "Field" top with the Combat pants. The Combat pants having built in knee pads that don't shift around and the Field top having more pockets and protection than a Combat shirt
I totally agree with the concept of the field/combat uniform still being totally serviceable. Holes and tears are not good to go. One thing ive done to mitigate a failure in the field is put an additional patch on places i expect more wear and tear (like the knees and the crotch) so if a tear does happen there are more layers that ha e maintained their integrity. Ive also heard of people sewing on large patches of their seabags onto the front of their uniforms.
I was told as a young private, 23 years ago, that you have to be a good garrison soldier to be a good field soldier. In other words keep your gear servicable and clean.
FInd book "jungle snafus and remidieds by kerry. last printed in 94 I think. WELL WORTH read. especially bug protection. try merirno wool skivies, YES in the jungle and desert.
The Marine Corps flight suit era was legit. I was lucky enough to be a part of it in a weapons company from 2007-2008 in the Haditha AO but they were starting to issue the FROG gear to our relief as we were leaving Iraq. Also I can tell you were/are a Marine E5 or above based upon the cadence of your profanity and lack of patience with ratty ass cammies. But you are right that mosquitoes, ticks, and chiggers will exploit holes in cammies. Learned that lesson the hard way.
Lots of great points. I have to disagree about the skivy shirts. Merino wool shirts are the best they keep you cool in the heat and warm in the cold. They don't hold onto moisture. Plus they are natural so they burn just like cotton. Yeah they are expensive but totally worth it I have the same shirts I wore 10 years ago but now I wear them hunting instead of in combat. I had a lot of guys who didn't wear skivy shits and got rashs and other skin problems from they blouse rubbing them under their gear. I also wore merino wool underwater and socks. We got issued darn tough socks which are amazing.
Paul E Ison I had met when I was 17 at a retirement home in Florida and I got the last picture and signed from him when he passed away a few months later . I talked to him about that picture and what he was doing and he said he took out a machine gun nest because it had the Marines pinned down and as that picture was being taken he was being shot at by the machine gun . He took out two machine gun nests that day.
On the Army side, the field OCPs (the “Multicam” field uniform) that I started with is an okay uniform. Tough, but doesn’t breathe all that well. And the zipper pockets on the sleeves are prone to breaking, but at least it’s quieter than the velcro pockets on the UCP tops. A few years ago, they came out with the hot weather version which is phenomenal. Very light, very breathable, and pretty tough. They ditch the zipper pockets for buttons, which I prefer. The only problem they have is that they get sun-bleached over time, except for the reinforced knees, elbows and crotch, so if you wear them a long time, it’s almost fucking white everywhere except those spots. The reinforcement points are ripstop, but they finally shit the bed on one of my pants that I had to retire after regular use for about 3 years. Definitely worth the money I spent on them. They also issued us FRACUs, which is the same cut as the standard OCP. The FRACU pants seem to rip pretty easily, and when they do, they open up real fucking fast and are beyond patching. I never wore them much after that. And as with all things military issued, the combat uniform left a bit to be desired. The combat pants were actually pretty good: flame retardant, accepted soft knee pads like what Crye makes, and tough as shit. Their one hangup is that they’re a bit warm. The combat shirt, however, just sucks in moisture and fails to breathe at all. I stopped using them in favor of the summer top, and the other pants I had when I was overseas, minus the FRACUs.
I know this might be a minor remark but do keep in mind that where the Marines are looking to deploy next, being SE Asia and the Pacific, the Chinese still do practice use with flame throwers, In addition with squad level automatic grenade launchers (I believe this is the PLANMC). These weapons in mind, in combination with the hot and humid climate, I think the combat uniform looks really nice, as you'll want that flame retardency. At the same time if the uniform gets caught on anything in the jungle (because of course it will) it's gonna get a bit shred up. Edit: didn't finish the video before this comment. I wonder if there are frog base layers you can wear under your utility?
I have a set of Crye Precision, its definitely a lot more durable than the FROGs. Its also got rip stop in it which is nice. No digital camo famo patterns though.
didn't know that frog pants were kinda fragile,specially when they feel so sturdy,another thing i didnt know was that cotton was organically flame resistant,i actually tough it was the other way around,i normally tend to avoid it because is a little bit uncomfortable,catches a lot of sweat and takes forever to dry,i hate it lmao,both types of uniform are great regardless
Beyond Clothing makes an “Equatorial” field blouse garment, for just such an occasion. Not in our pattern, unfortunately. I dig a German BW style Smock (Leo Kohler) or Brit smock (Artis, Keela), for weather other than summer/equatorial/ black flag WBGTI conditions. Obviously not Berry Amendment compliant, not in MARPAT, not in compliance with MCO’s.
Never done it personally, the uniforms are treated with permethrin from the factory and they don’t glow, this is the exact same stuff so I assume it isn’t going to be any better or worse then it is brand new
@@ahole5407 Permethrin keeps the bugs away, and does make a huge difference, but doesn't really waterproof. Almost all the waterproofing sprays out there will make you light up as bright as can be under IR, there are some treatments that can be done to clothing but that stuff is usually too nasty to do at home, best you can do is find some decent NIR wet weather gear that breaths somewhat well.
@robertharper3754 Understood. I asked my question as it related to what I had experienced with other spray on treatments. My kit is pretty well sorted including the clothing system, 4 sets of combat and field crye/drifires, ORC layers and gortex up to PCU lvl 5 as well as a gen2 parka, firstspear wimdshirt and various other cold weather gear items. Did my testing a few years ago with old FR uniforms and ponchos to see what might work best before ruining all my packs tents and kit. As for insects, I've always just rubbed on the bug juice and never thought twice about it until now. Just ordered a bottle of what you shown in the video and will be doing some testing when it arrives. Thanks for the information. 👍
Do you have any recommendations for detergents? I know on the inside of cammies it says to not use detergent with optical brighteners, so out of curiosity I looked at all the detergent at the px but I wasn't able to find any that didn't contain optical brighteners. Is it that big of a deal?
Anything listed as Free and Clear is usually good. One exception is the All brand of detergents. One of the more commonly available ones I've seen is Seventh Generation.
@woodsghost9088 not at all. Got a couple sets of tru spec BDUs in woodland I love use them camping and rucking. Thought about either a 24/7 field shirt or something to go with. Just trying to go for a non-uniform look.
Personally, I wish the Marine Corps would issue just one combat/field uniform for everything. Never was a fan of the issued Cammies. And FROGS suck durability wise.
I got a real nasty scar from a flak with a sagging plate carrier rubbing against one of my field uniform buttons. Now I have a skin tag there so I'm usually wearing a cotton tee. Still using a Gen 2 flak and it will still rub there. Any advice for me? I'm in one of those blessed units where they want us to wear undershirts and weren't fond of me unbuttoning the top button (not the boot camp one).
Moleskin, cut a square larger than the button, cut a slit in the middle and then put the button through. make sure it doesn't show and don't remove the backer that covers the sticky part. Also, adjust your flak and/or look into getting your plates swapped for a better size.
Take the time and adjust your shoulder straps, look into getting some shoulder pads from online or a surplus store out in town. The gen 2 flak, is it the imtv with the dong protector or the plate carrier? either way, there might be a way to add some foam to the inside to pad and add an airflow channel. Closed cell foam in a sock can be stitched to velcro and make a unique solution that won't ruin your flak for CIF, although you will need to clean the residue of the velcro tape off before you turn it in.@@womplad9864
I’ve never done it personally. But I don’t believe so, the uniforms are already treated with permethrin from the factory so if you add more, I can’t imagine it would be better or worse than brand new.
Merino is great for underlayer or insulation overall. But it's quite excessive for little to no gain for actual outer layer, in fact there's many better materials for outer layer. You might as well get some thin and thick long johns then good durable outdoor pants. Be it some type of military or normal outdoor pants. This also allows you to adapt to different temperatures, and actual pants will protect more expensive merino wool. You can ofc then go without that underlayer too if weather is warm. Layers are ultimate tool for comfortable and functional outdoor experience.
Hey ik this video was like 10 months ago and you probably won't see this comment but do you think i could get a t shirt and get a field unform and cut the sleeves off like all the way up to my shoulder and like sew it on like that frog uniform basically im asking do you think that will work better since ill be cool but my arms will still be durable since my chest will be having a vest on it
@@TheGruntPerspective alright yeah I'll probably just do that then like I'm only a 16 year old so I have no military advice so it's awesome to ask someone who was in the military but thanks I just wanted to make sure I wasn't gonna mess up a uniform and it doesn't work 😅
@@TheGruntPerspective I wonder do you think your choice would be different, say if you were West coast where its hot but drier or East coast where its also hot but humid? Or think itd be the same?
@@TheGruntPerspectivei hate how the marine corps still chooses tradition over mission, if grunts can, at their own discretion buy dri-cryes in authorized marpat to replace the crappy frogs. But nooooo, command is crying about the one guy who “looks different”