Mannequin of the Month - British Infantryman, Northern Ireland, Mid 1990s 

I remember a stipulation that 2 first field dressings should be carried in the left breast pocket of the combat jacket so that everyone knew where to get them in an emergency the rule being that you never used your own FFD on another person

And a racing spoon 😋

@@derekmcmanus8615 I never heard about the left breast pocket, but you’re right, you kept yours for yourself. It was almost impossible to get your own dressing out of that sleeve pocket, it was a job for someone else to do while doing buddy-buddy aid.

//the best was jungle trousers with DPM windproof smock// .... of course, absolute classic look !

I loved the68 pattern smock but may favourite was the 90 pattern, very well made, rugged, loads of pockets including the chest vertical zip pockets, fairly close jacket type cut compared to the quite loose smock style of the s94 gear.

The mk6 was incredibly bad, I can't believe they were still used beyond even the 80s

​@@weronikazalewska2098this...👆

The suggested danger with lightweights - them being more of a problem under flame conditions - is a fallacy. And by fallacy I mean it is simply not true. I have an Army report into trials conducted to test the flammability etc of various late1980s army orders of dress. The report states there was no appreciable danger attributed to the wearing of lightweights. It is true to say that Combat uniform was the preferred uniform to wear at potential riot situations (as seen from the early 70s onwards) - but this is because combat uniform is a more appropriate order of dress given the risks involved (snipers etc). Within some units there may have been a suggested danger with lightweights. But this almost certainly stemmed from the prevalence of the myth or a misunderstanding why combats were the stipulated order of dress for public order situations. There is a similar myth regarding lightweights which stems from the Sir Galahad incident in the Falklands. However, most of the troops in that incident were wearing combats (in preparation for battle). And indeed the Royal Marines continued to wear lightweights onboard ship for many years after.

​@@badgertheskinnycowwere you in?

@@badgertheskinnycowin 1981 we were issued 3 pairs of OG trousers to wear instead of lightweights because of the melting problem , as you may know og’s were all cotton .

From what I understand they were fairly expensive bits of kt at the time, a bugger you weren't allowed to use them!

Depends on where the unit was operating at the time and the current threat level. The lowest I am aware of was 5 rounds per man (7.62) during the Falklands war (ammunition stocks being depleted to supply the Task Force) The locally recruited Ulster Defence Regiment generally carried 50 rounds per rifleman with 100 rounds for the LSW operators however they usually only patrolled for 8 hours or 12 hours in a static guard postion. A good rule of thumb would be that a regular unit would carry double that load but I have seen a video documentary showing a unit based in the Augher area issuing 75 rounds per man (3 50 round boxes to be split between 2 men) As the author states at this time there was a great deal of variation between units companies and even individuals

​@@derekmcmanus8615I done my first tour in Clougher 1988/89, 1st Battalion Royal Irish Rangers, standard issue for us was 120 rounds per man, 4 magazines. We were only issued the SA 80, a month or so before deployment. Extra ammunition was carried per man for LSW. We also had, can't remember the exact term for it, the grenade launcher weapon, 3 per 12 man multiple. Again, depending on the operation we were involved in around East Tyrone, extra ammunition was carried. Because of the introduction of the LSW, the GPMG, was more or less withdrawn. The powers that be had decided it wasn't required in the ground role. In future tours, occasionally the GPMG was carried, as obviously it was a more effective weapon than the LSW would ever be.

Yes, we carried 1 loaded mag of 25, with two more mags of 25. 75 rounds total. 1 in 5 were tracer rounds

Lightweight trousers were still being issued at the point Op Banner in NI came to a close. There was never an army wide ban on the wearing of lightweights on patrol (that I'm aware of). There was a myth regarding the effect of flame/fire on the fabric - which possibly caused some units to change their local policy. However, the introduction of Soldier 95 uniform - with the lighter material/design of combat trousers meant they became more universally worn in general and in NI.

​@badgertheskinnycow Op Banner finished in 2007. Can't speak for other Arms, but from around 1992 until I retired, Denims as we called the green lightweight trousers had long gone for the 4 different infantry regiments I served with. Was combats all the way for basically everything, in camp, on exercise or on ops. Personally in the approximately the nine years in total I served in Northern Ireland, first tour 1988, not once did I ever see the green lightweight trousers worn in or out of camp.

Who didn't want to be there it's a shit hole. The only benefit from being there in the mid 90s was saving enough money to buy a cheap XR2i etc when you finished your tour to impress the birds back home when on leave. I wasted 6 months of my life there.