The contents of the Afghan Black Bag which is issued to all and sundry going there?
- 4x Moisture wicking t-shirts
- 4x Anti-bacterial undershorts
- 4x Tier one blast undershorts
- 5x pairs hot weather socks
- 5x pairs cold weather socks
- 2x Seal Skinz socks
- 3x MTP shirts
- 3x MTP trousers
- 3x MTP under armour shirts
- 1x Desert shirt
- 1x Desert trousers
- 1x Desert smock
- 2x Desert shorts
- 1x Desert sandals
- 2x pairs desert boots (Meindle, Lowa, Magnum)
- 1x pair cold wet weather boot
- 1x MTP windproof smock
- 1x MTP windproof trousers
- 2x pair combat gloves
- 3x sweat rags
- 1x cold weather hat
- 1x face mask
- 1x pair wristlets
- 1x Softie Jacket (warm kit)
- 1x Softie Trousers (warm kit)
- 1x Goretex Jacket
- 1x Goretex Trousers
- 1x pair outer mittens
- 1x pair inner mittens
- 1x Mk7 helmet
- 1x Mk7 helmet cover
- 1x pair ballistic glasses
- 1x pair ballistic goggles
- 5x sets personally moulded ear defence
- 1x set plug ear defence
- 1x Thermal mug
- 1x Gerber multi-tool
- 1x Headtorch
- 1x Small hand torch
- 1x Therma rest type roll mat
- 1x Hot weather sleeping bag
- 1x Hot weather sleeping bag liner
- 1x MTP poncho
- 1x IR Mocking Bird light
- 1x Ammunition Bag (man bag)
- 1x pair Blackhawk Knee Pads
- 1x Camelbak
- 1x Water filter straw
- 1x Shemagh
- 1x MTP day sack
- 1x set Osprey Assault body armour w/23 pouches
- 1x Tactical Aide Memoire
- 2x Emergency Dressings
- 2x CAT Tourniquets
- 2x Foot powder
- 2x Lip Balm
- 2x Sun screen
- 2x Insect Repellent
- 1x Mosquito net face
- 1x Mosquito net camp cot
- 8x Plastic Mag-Pul magazines
- 1x Laser Light Illuminator (IR and visual laser designator and light)
- 1x Helmet mounted NVG monocle
- 1x PRR radio + ancils
- 2x Morphine 10mg IM auto-injectors
- 1x Black day sack
- 1x Black grip (the black bag itself)
- 1x pair Tier 2 pelvic protection (combat nappy)
And a few videos;
bloody hell i went outside the wire in 2005 and this is a tremendous leap forward in such a short time, my kit list for 2003 was 2x desert combats, 2x brown t-shirts, boots to be issued in theatre and i think that’s about it!!!
Magnum boots? Are we talking Hi-Tec magnums here?
If we are, I’m a little shocked since the one pair of Hi-Tec walking boots I owned turned out to be expensive crap . . .
Hi Tec Magnums, Lowa’s or Meindl Desert Foxes.
The Magnums, although you can choose them if you really want (some people swear by them), they are meant for chefs because they are light, and VMs because they are cheap enough to be disposable when POL gets all over them.
I had Lowa’s – solid, comfortable boots. I don’t get on with Meindl Desert Foxes.
Surely more than 1 set trousers and shirt, it used to be 3 or 4 of each.
How, in the name of god, do you get all of that stuff into one bag?
No cold weather sleeping back (everyone bought Softie with their own money?). And who makes the cold weather boots?
Pete I hope you’re not suggesting that the UK armed forces spend taxpayers money on expensive crap!
APATS: 3 MTP shirts and trousers, one desert shirt and trousers, we never took the deserts.
Chris B: NVGs and PRR went as seperate baggage. Body armour you wear on the flight, and the rest, aggression and swearing!
ACC: Standard Army issue sleeping bag is good for the cold, stick a lightweight on inside it and a bivvy bag and your uber warm. I have no idea who makes the boots, there is no identification on them at all, vibram sole but that’s it – I have wondered myself.
DomS: To be fair all the kit we had this time was expensive good stuff! I can’t think of anything that was crap. The man bag (ammunition bag) I thought was pointless but the blokes were buying them themselves so they issued them.
Must have changed “Standard Army issue sleeping bag is good for the cold” since Iraq
- I heard that all those guys that had to sleep in the desert, waiting for the action (for a long time)went for my mentioned option – packs to about half the size of what the normal sleeping bags do, for the same warmth
Doesn’t this emphasise how you need to have your military in action frequently to keep it sharp?
Studies and training might help, but only bad guys getting nasty really tests their kit and their tactics.
Further emphasises TDs (??) point about how few Argentinians would have fired their gun in anger, compared to the combat tested men and equipment of the British Army.
Loads of blokes buy softies yeah. The bouncing bomb is warm but big.
That is how you can fit in a pizza,or two, in the saved space
- only on exercises, though, with duration known
“The bouncing bomb is warm but big”
Phil, glad to hear the kit is up to scratch – Chris M I agree it takes a war for this to happen and I wonder what kind of quantities this kit is procured in? Presumably just enough to equip troops in-theatre, or is the improved personal equipment rolled out across the whole force?
Give it 2/3 years and it will be back to the crsp we had before. DMS boots, putees and kf shirts here we come
Showing your age now Phil.
Pro Boot make the cold weather boot (never heard of them, but like the boots) I assume now that all shirts and trousers issued are digi cam.
Nope it’s MTP which isn’t digicam.
I owned a pair of Pro Boots. They aren’t the same late nineties pattern that I used to have. They’re much higher. Pretty good boots, bit stiff but break in nicely. Im sure another person would say they’re awful. Boots are immensely personal things.
Sorry you are right it is not digi cam, its multi cam. They are called pro boots at stores and not many people complain about them though most people still have black magnums for the summer and people wear there lowas or miendls a lot more with multi cam.
I took Hanwags as my winter boot, left the issue one behind. Them and a pair of Lowa’s, no drama’s. Others swore by Meindl. Others said their Meindl’s fell apart, as they literally picked them apart and drew on them. Random.
good equipment doesnt need war.
Funding for it does.
i still have a set of puttees and shirt,hairy in the attic somewhere! the boots issue as phil says is mad, some blokes use to swear by matterhorns but like marmite others said worse boots they had ever tried.
I ran the PRI shop at my last unit and again it was either buffalo or softie jacket,weird. If i thought it wouldn’t be abused maybe the US way of issuing the basics and allowing other stuff to be bought would be better, one look at all the civvy kit suppliers out there (doing well, looking at the fancy websites) there’s a market.
well this kit list has made it to a major defence site in the US. where do we queue for autographs!!
http://www.defenseindustrydaily.com/
That’s some good exposure for the blog. Quick, everyone look busy!
sorry phil, didn’t catch what you were saying then, i was busy writing stuff on my clipboard!! (red pen of course being a REME tw@)
Bloody hell someone take my article down before they think we’re all mad!
The most depressing thing is the final comment in the first video, that much of this new kit is from UORs and could well go after 2015.
I guess PCS is ok but all the other stuff (optics abd thd like will go). I understand that the new optical sight will be the Canadian ELCAN sight and not the ACOG
All the stuff in the video is staying as far as I am aware – its all standard dismounted infantry combat kit and it’s dirt cheap to maintain and it’s all off the shelf stuff so there’s good support. The sights are not UOR.
Wont let me edit. Sorry, ACOG was UOR, ELCAN is not.
Our system FELIN has not been made for the war in Afghanistan, I think that your equipment is the future, it will be impossible take it away.
http://www.sagem-ds.com/spip.php?rubrique116&lang=en
Is this sort of stuff returned at home time?
Some will no doubt ebnd up on ebay, but how much will cunning stores officers manage to reclaim and hide away for a rainy day?
Impossible our gendarmerie not joking
The individual kit comes home with the soldier yes, and it gets handed in, refurbished and re-issued.
I can’t remember the name of the operation but some poor bastards get dicked with the job every few months. I think there’s an article in Soldier about it recently.
These things are “serialised” items – their loss is taken very, very seriously indeed. If you lose one through carelessness, standby, if you lose it in a contact say, then the chain of command has to write that fact up and an OpLoss report is put in. Even when blokes are dead or have been blown sky high serialised kit and where it was would cause headaches because the stores chain would want to know where it was – often in a tree or spread over a wide area.
This sort of kit is relatively cheap and cheerful but adds quite a bit of capability, mainly at night – although I wasn’t that impressed with VIPR2 but then that’s not the kit so much as the limitations of TI in general I think.
Patrolling with the HMNVS (night monocle) over rough terrain is emotional.
ELCAN is the sight selected by Fist or whatever is called this week. This according to Arrse is not a popular choice. Apparently it’s much heavier than ACOG.
I am convinced once operations in Afganistan end, the focus on personal kit will disappear in a flash!
Once the forces are out of the spot light the old habits of issue shit gear will come back. If we are not fighting a war, nobody will care. If the troops want decent kit for exercises then they can buy it themselves.
Re:ELCAN just done a quick google. The version chosen seems to be a more advanced version of the site used by the Canadian forces and others for some time. Actually thd spec looks bloody impressive. It is heavier than the ACOG by some 5ozs (19 v 14).
ACOG is a lovely sight, nice wide, crystal clear aperture, distinctive red dot and it uses range graticule’s instead of SUSATs range drum which makes for faster shooting and faster adjustments. You can see your fall of shot and your target isn’t obscured by a great big bloody black needle.
Never seen or looked through the new one though. I have read its impressive. Weight is a bit of girly’s argument – as long as its not heavier than SUSAT.
http://www.elcansightingsystems.com/Main/pdf/SpecterOS4x.pdf
10835 ordered with FIST Increment 1A (Surveillance and Target Acquisition).
19000 CQB red dot sights acquired, mounted atop ELCAN and other sights, included FIST thermal sight and some 4,000 existing Common Weapon Sights (CWS)& MAXIKITE2 night vision sights which are being adapted by Qioptiq.
Isn’t the FIST thermal sight the VIPR2?
The CQB sight is pretty cool too. Shoot with both eyes open over the sights.
I’m not entirely sure, honestly, but the VIPIR2 CQB and FIST Thermal Sight appear to be two different things, with the FTS being significantly more advanced.
The FTS is equipped with a 640×480 format un-cooled thermal core, and is powered from AA batteries. It has provides enhanced MMI, an integrated Infra Red Laser Aimer (IRLA) and the Close Quarter Battlesight (CQB) red dot sight.
VIPIR2 were ordered in 2009, with the FTS following as part of FIST in 2010.
For the snipers there’s the SVIPIR2+, acquired under Sniper Thermal Imaging Capability (STIC).
It’s all so complicated.
VIPR2 has the IRLA and attachment for the CQB red dot sight. And it runs from AA batteries. I wonder if they are not similar?
Just seen a pic of FTS – looks almost exactly like a VIPR2 but it does say FTS will complement VIPR2.
Yes, they are very similar outside, and i guess they are related.
But i read that only 450 VIPIR2 were acquired, as UOR, in 2007, and i think that VIPIR works on a 240×200-something core, against 640×480 of FST.
I’d guess that FST is an evolution of VIPIR2.
Indeed, i just found this:
“It includes Qioptiq FIST Thermal Sight (FST), an improved version of the VIPIR-2 with infrared laser pointer and close-quarter battle (CQB) red dot sight, 4,111 FTS being acquired.”
http://www.defencereviewasia.com/articles/15/Current-European-soldier-modernisation-programmes-a-widely-different-approach
The ACOG sights were UORs in 2007.
The KITE 4x (designated CWS Common Weapon Sight) and the MAXIKITE2 6x (used on 12.7 mm machine guns and other long range weapons) also were UORs in 2007, but were then included in the FIST contract in 2010 and updated (over 4000 of them).
So, 10,835 ELCAN Specter as daylight sights, plus
4,176 converted CWS and MAXIKITE2; 450 Vipir2 and 4111 Fist Thermal Sight for night engagement.
Phil
Thats a pain, becuase it means theres a bloody chance it’ll be collected in and sold to albania for 50p.
Phil D
Pretty much.
Back to cardboard boots and one magazine.
“If we are not fighting a war, nobody will care. If the troops want decent kit for exercises then they can buy it themselves.”
I do wonder if that would be a better way of doing it.
Would it have made more sense to get the dual role sight? Other than the weight issue of course.