Early GWOT was a very interesting time. Even Army Infantry was getting away with stuff that 6 months prior would've gotten the entire unit smashed on and 6 months later did we when got back to garrison. We deployed with lbvs, immediately figured out how trash it actually was, and started funding tactical tailor, blackhawk and all the surplus stores. My first real gear purchase that I tried was a tactical tailor RACK. I didn't like it very much because I was CLS (combat lifesaver) so I had to carry a tactical tailor squad aid bag with IV bags, plus night vision. I bought the Blackhawk LRAAK (the rig in my thumbnail). I liked it because 12 mags, enough space for my NV, and I didn't have to carry an actual aid bag any more. If we planned on doing an overnight somewhere I could actually carry snivel gear in the buttpack. By the end of the deployment, I was carrying, 12 m4 mags or 4 m4 mags and 4 m14 mags on the LBE, 2 M4 mags and a smoke on a subload, my pvs14 plus spare swingarm and rhino a brick of double AAs, a motorola bubble pack radio, 2 500ml IVS and starters, an AT4, a Leatherman, a 3l camelback and a single knee pad worn around my ankle because cool guy stuff. All of this on top of an IBA. When I was in the turret, the LBE came off and I wrapped it and the AT4 on the turret hatch, so I could get out of the vehicle in a hurry. The M14 got stowed behind the rear seats, and if I was dismounted, I left my m4 with the vehicles in case a rifle went down in the fight. I was the squad pack mule. It's kinda crazy to see the progression of gear and how it revoles back. When I first bought gear it was all purpose built. Then modular became a thing, and now it's back to purpose built. Not really sure which one I prefer.
This is facts! My unit started grabbing drop set ups and ditching the ach helmet and snatched up some "ops core" stuff. S1 was cool with it until the csm spotted up and ate our azz's up lol
I had to heave around on mooring lines, secure the anchor for sea, stand enless watches, look at lots and lots of water, and eat nasty galley food and sleep in an air conditioned berthing. It was treacherous. 😂
Based on the dates you gave you may have been deployed with my Dad, he was not a SEAL but he was a comm guy attached to the SEAL teams in San Diego. That was his final deployment, I distinctly remember the day he left and the day he got home.
Reminds me a lot of the kit I wore in Afghanistan on my first tour. Wore my 6004 with light on all 3 tours and loved it ! Everything else is bringing back some memories too...
Cool that you kept most of your stuff. I am the same way. Served in iraq from Jan to Dec 05 as an 11C and did not have all the cool guy stuff. Thanks for sharing.
I Myself, John Rodriguez, have learned alot from Dorr, Coch , Mike Abara , and the Tactical Hyve Crew. These Gear Loadout Videos show Me how to set up My Guns, Gear , and Outfit for whatever Mission Dependent set.
I remember the cammies being super baggy & loose, then you would put some days of wear in them & they got even more baggy. God only knows how many Sharpies were used up during those early years. I still look back at those giant IR’s we had back then & can’t believe they were that large, like mounting a cassette player to your rail.
The cowboy hat the most important item lol I really like what you said about the homedepot gloves and how they just get the job done instead of having to pay for something 3 times as much
TQ was interesting spent some time there during the 05-06 as part of exploiting some stuff as part of CEXC always interesting to hear and see things again.
Dude, you are awesome, but "Kevlar wraps" sure do look like standard Police issued Kevlar Level 3 Soft Body Armor (also called a bullet resistant vest when you have it in your "cover"). But Kevlar Wrap sounds way more awesome to be honest. I think its the beard.
Must be nice to keep your gear. Us regular folk had to turn ours in for hours on end as it was inspected. I was sweating having to "Buy" my vest because I had sown a detachable camel back to it.
My brother in-law was in iraq about the same time, and it always catches me off guard with the mag pouch pistol holster. Ive heard it a dozen times and seen it just as many but for whatever reason, it keeps getting pushed out of memory 😂
"I don't just have pouches to have pouches" what if a team mate goes down and you want load up on some of their ammo and equipment..? What if need to put something in a pocket? What if you pick up an AK on the battlefield and want to load the mags with it on your LBE? I have heard this alot from some team guys. "Don't put pouches because you will just bring extra equipment.....etc" The fact is youv WANT cargo capacity on your LBE and backpack for things you might need pick up on a mission. Yes, you CAN run empty pouches while going out a mission.. Nothing wrong with having some empty general purpose and utility pouches on your belt and chest rig. And cargo capacity in your back pack.. We are dealing with life and death... your equipment you have on hand matters.. put pouches on your belt kit and LBE.. you should have some.. if a team mate is KIA your unit should when possible distribute any ammo... another reason why it's beneficial to have ammo commonality among a team... not like in some movies where everyone has a different weapon system and ammo/mags. Bottom line: prefer ammo and magazine commonality on your team and have cargo capacity in pouches and backpack..
. It's always awesome to see "How", and understand the "Why", we did things the way we did. The early GWOT was a special time for both gear and tactics. Everything was evolving so quickly. To go from the Clinton-era gutting of our military and spending, to pretty much having a "blank check". If someone saw a need, it got fulfilled. If someone had an idea, it was tried. If someone discovered a better way of doing it, the info was disseminated. .
@@dorr600 Hey, I was too. 1/1 USMC. Crazy times. Was just thinking about it when I sent this is all. Hope your doing good and keep up the hard work. Love the content! Semper Fi
Just want to add if you do see this and get back to me I have a question for you, about that time I have always wondered about, you may or may not know the answer but I am curious to learn about it. not sure if YT has a PM if it does itd be great to hear from you or if we can some other way thats not in the comments.
J K Chesterton, a piece of dialogue from the ballad of the white horse, for the great Gaels of Ireland, are the men that God made mad, for all their wars are merry, and all of their songs are sad.....
G.A.S. _Gear Acquisition Syndrome_ . We've all had G.A.S. What I like about this content, is it's evidence that you don't need the latest gear to get the job done.
