The Gear is Good

(written on/about May 15, 2007)

Military equipment has come a long, long way since I was a cadet…or my brother was a cadet in the early 1980s…or especially since my Dad was a cadet in the mid 1950s!

On a chilly Saturday in early March 2007, I was sized and fitted for the bewildering array of equipment and gadgetry that would eventually be issued through the “Rapid Fielding Initiative” or “RFI” for short. I was like a first time shopper in a glorious military flea market. Body armor, new uniforms, two types of boots, “ballistic eyewear” (wrap around sunglasses), goggles and ultra lightweight long underwear were just a few of the items on display. I had never experienced anything like it during my 17+ years in the Army. I was like a kid on Christmas morning when my gear finally arrived several weeks later. The promises were true! The equipment was brand new, and identical to that issued to our active duty brethren…something rarely seen in an Army Reserve or National Guard unit.

The thrill diminished somewhat when our Interceptor body armor or “IBA” arrived several weeks after the first batch of RFI equipment. The IBA, too, was brand new but it is HEAVY. I had worn bullet-resistant vests at several points earlier in my career but none of them were nearly this heavy. However, none of them were intended to protect the wearer from the kinds of threats that IBA is intended to stop—like AK-47 bullets!

I’m now deep into the mobilization process and I’ve been delighted with the RFI equipment at nearly every turn. Your Army is doing a great job of issuing useful individual equipment to its soldiers. Yes, IBA is still heavy and it is HOT—but I am extremely confident that it will protect me when my life is on the line. The new “Advanced Combat Helmet” is excellent. It is lighter than either the old “steel pot” from my cadet days or the Kevlar/”K Pot” it replaces and it is a huge improvement over both. The Army really got it right this time, with padding on the inside of the helmet and a chin strap that are very similar to most of the bike helmets (and nearly as comfortable).

The Army has also gotten smart and institutionalized the use of Air Force fire-retardant “flight gloves” in the field. They are extremely practical and I’ve worn them for years, in spite of (or perhaps because of) the withering gazes they invited from senior officers and NCOs. Last but not least, RFI includes “ballistic eyewear,” which is a fancy way of referring to wrap-around sunglasses with stronger lenses. My ballistic eyewear happens to have been made by Oakley—whose products I’ve never purchased due to price—but I’ve become a big fan. My eyewear has stopped any number of tree branches, dust clouds and other delights.

Some things have remained the same, and probably will long after I have retired from the service. We are still issued traditional duffel bags as well as olive drab cotton laundry bags—both of which haven’t changed much since the Second World War. I believe our current barracks were also built around that time…which is probably also the last time anyone gave the communal bathroom a good cleaning.

On the whole, I still can’t believe how good our gear has become. I don’t know who was behind RFI, but I’m eternally grateful to him, her or them for making my life as a soldier much easier.