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Tag: LBE

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Phillosoph

Soft-Core Pack: Military Version

The battle order suggested in the previous blog raises an interesting question: How does the soldier carry his poncho?
Items such as bayonets and ammunition have obvious places on the webbing.
Not only must a poncho be carried when not worn, but it must be protected from unnecessary damage.
The official solution was most probably to carry the poncho in the butt-pack. As I have discussed in previous posts, there are objections to using a butt-pack or similar. Its capacity is a temptation to carry extra gear. Its position makes it hard to easily access, and it is inconvenient if sitting in a vehicle for any time.

Military Soft-Core Bag

In a previous post I described my “soft-core bag”. This idea can easily be adapted to military applications.
The military version of the soft-core bag actually may be lighter than my version. Items such as the fire-kit, first aid kit and sweets can be omitted, since these roles will already be met by items hopefully carried on the soldier’s webbing or person.
For the same reason, the water-bottle in the soft-core pack can be omitted unless operating in particularly arid conditions.

Contents

What should the military soft-core bag contain?
• A poncho. This should ride at the top of the bag for easy access. If the poncho has its own stuff sack, add two three metre lengths of cord. Paracord stretches, so something non-elastic is preferable. Loops of cord for pegging should already be attached to the poncho side and corner eyelets.
• Accessory clothing items such as warm hats, work protective gloves, spare socks, bandanas, shemagh.
Many outdoor coats lack sufficient pocket space to carry such items, and you may need your pockets for more tactical items.
The soft-core bag is a practical solution. Wrap in plastic bags to waterproof them. The majority of these items would stay in the large pack. The soldier dresses in what he needs when he caches his large pack.
• A spare shirt, jumper, jacket or liner, “ranger-rolled”. Useful if the temperature drops or you reduce your actively level. Wrap in plastic bags to waterproof them.
• Toilet roll in waterproof bag. As well as the intended use, good for fire starting. Use a bag that can be sealed against water. A 100 ml bottle of alchohol hand-sanitizer may be added to this bag.
• A small notebook in a waterproof bag may be useful.
• Items such as cordage and space blankets are optional for the military soft-core pack. You may decide these are better carried in your trouser or shirt/jacket pockets.
• A “non-soft” item of equipment that might be carried in your soft-pack are your goggles.
These can get in the way if you are not wearing them. When not in use they need to be covered for camouflage purposes.
Stowing them in your soft-core bag is a very practical solution. Place them in the middle of clothing to provide padding and protection.

Carrying Bag

Like the other version, the military soft-core bag fits in a simple draw-cord bag. This is stowed in the top of your rucksack so the poncho or other contents can easily be accessed if needed.
When you stow your rucksack, you pull out the soft-core pack and wear it as part of your battle-order. When seated in a vehicle, the soft-core pack should act as additional padding for your back.
Nearly all of the contents of my civilian version of the soft-core bag may be fitted in one of the detachable side pouches of a bergen.
There is room for a water bladder and a few “mission” items.
Ideally, there should be provison to stow the mini-medical kit directly under the lid,
Tent poles that can fit down the sides of the pack, and a small bag of pegs would be useful. Currently I am not aware of any off-the-shelf shelter poles that break into sections of less than 32 cm.
The other side pocket may be used for NBC gear. When NBC (CBRN) is not a likely threat, the single side-pouch may be carried as a patrol pack.

Camouflage

Ideally, your draw-cord bag should be of an effective camouflage pattern.
A grey-beige-brown scheme may be more versatile than the green-dominant examples shown in the photos.
Sewing some textilage to the outer side is a good idea too.
If you cannot get a camouflaged example, a suitably neutral-coloured bag can be camouflaged with a few passes of spray paint.
Making a camouflage draw-cord bag will be within most reader’s capabilities. Note that the bags shown have carrying cords created by taking the cord down to eyelets at the bottom corners. If your bag lacks these, they can easily be added.
Dark or unsuitably coloured cords are easily replaced with something such as “desert-camo” paracord.
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Phillosoph

Tactical Bed Rolls

I came across an interesting article called “Pedomic Mobility” in the October-November 1960 issue of “Infantry” magazine.
Pedomic_compressed
Pedomic Mobility and Bedrolls
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In the narrative, an officer watches his company conducting a “ruck attack” on a position.
A ruck attack is an assault where the troops wear their rucksacs. This slows the soldiers down, makes them larger and more obvious targets and tires them out more quickly.
Shooting from a prone position may be problematic if the pack prevents the soldier raising his head.
Despite the obvious disadvantages, the ruck attack remains common in certain armies, both in training and actual combat operations.
The officer watches his near exhausted men and ponders if there is a better alternative.
The proposed solution has two parts. The first is the attacking force should be equipped thus:
• Clothing appropriate for the climate, season and weather
• Load-bearing equipment
• Helmet
• Weapon and ammunition
• Bayonet
• Water bottle, cover and canteen cup
• First aid packet
• Gas mask
• Entrenching tool
• Poncho.
Personally, I consider a canteen cup a backpack item. The dynamics of operating in a platoon or company may change this, however.

Soldier's Bed Roll

If the unit was to stay in one place for any time, a bed roll for each soldier would be brought forth. A bed roll, as described in the article, consists of:
• Shelter-half with poles and pegs (“pins”)
• Blanket
• Air mattress
• Sleeping bag
• One or two changes of socks and underwear
• Towel
• Toiletries
• Field jacket liner and trouser liner*
• Mickey boots*.
*The jacket and trouser liners were included if it was a “seasonally transitional period”. The mention of the blanket and insulated boots suggest the cold of Korea was still fresh in many soldiers’ minds.
If you have read Kephart, you will know that an outdoorsman’s pack was once exactly that: a package of items wrapped in canvas (above).
Soldiers carrying tactical bed rolls
Bed Rolls in Action. Note the man at the rear has transferred his entrenching tool to his bed roll for more comfortable carrying.
The bed roll was primarily intended to be moved by truck or jeep. When necessary it could be carried by the infantryman.
The author suggest re-rolling the item into a horseshoe roll, or fitting the bed roll with a rope or carrying strap.
The use of a shelter-half for the outer layer is particularly clever.
Being made of canvas, it is robust and relatively damage tolerant.
It is better suited for this roll than a poncho or more modern nylon tent might be.
Shelter-halves were widely available from military supplies and easily replaced. A shelter-half could be put to a number of other uses other than as a pup-tent.
See this video for a “pegs before poles” method of setting up a shelter-half tent.
The only objection to using a shelter-half is that most are green, rather than more versatile dull brown or camouflage finishes.
Also notable was this officer understood that toiletries were not something a soldier needed to carry on his person.
Can we adapt this concept to more modern equipment?
An all-weather blanket that can serve as a ground cloth and for other uses would be a good addition.
Air mattresses are not common with modern users. I do know some soldiers who use self-inflating sleeping mats.
Most, however, use foam kip-mats. Even when trimmed down, these tend to be bulky.
Similarly, a poncho liner is rather bulky when rolled. I am not sure you could roll these up in a shelter half with a sleeping bag and still have a roll only a foot in diameter.
In the article, mention is made of stowing bed rolls in waterproof bags. An obvious extrapolation of this is to carry a bagged bed roll within a medium-sized rucksac. Packs would be clearly marked with name, squad, platoon and company, for example: Grant N. 471, 3-2-B.
The pockets of a rucksack are a more convenient place to carry a wash-kit, canteen cup and some other items.
A foam kip mat can be rolled separately from the bed roll and carried along side it within or outside the pack. Kip mats have uses in addition to sleeping on, so having them separate is more convenient.
When bed rolls are brought forward, rations and ammunition will probably be brought with them.
If a unit has to fall back, the rucksacks used to move the bed rolls can also carry some of the rations and ammunition too.
The specific contents of a bed roll with vary with climate and other factors.
When in transit, experienced soldiers will keep their bed roll close to hand. If baggage gets misdirected or delayed, the soldier still has the essentials necessary for a good night’s rest.
The article Pedomic Mobility was written for infantry companies conducting operations within range of support units. It may, however, provide some inspiration for independent outdoorsman both as to how and what they may carry.
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Phillosoph

Combat Carry: The Hippy Configuration

A friend of mine commented that Canadian troops were wedded to the idea of carrying at least six to seven magazines.
Recently, I was reminded that many water-bottle pouches can hold five or six 30-round magazines.
I also came across a comment pointing out that you do not want your magazine pouches where most troops actually carry them, at the front on the waist.
Lousy to crawl with them at the front, worse to fall on. Not so comfortable if you have to sit down, and many armies now have more drivers than infantry.
The latter is not necessarily a bad thing! A small force, well-supported, can achieve more than a large, poorly supported one. This is how many guerilla, terrorist and clandestine forces operate. There are relatively few “trigger-pullers” and a much larger number of support and intelligence-gatherers. Put the right person, in the right place, at the right time with the right tools.
Load-bearing equipment (LBE) tends to be designed with the infantry in mind, but most of its users will be signallers, engineers, gunners and drivers.
Thinking further, most troops reload with their weak-side hand. (It might be different for some bullpups, but seems true for the M16, AKM and their relatives).
It makes sense to have most of the ammo where the weak hand can easily reach it? Why not have a water-bottle/utility pouch of magazines on the weak side of the belt, at the side?
If you read my blog on chest-rigs. you may recall the four-magazine pouches for the AK issued by some armies.
Someone will object that all the magazines could get tipped out at once, so alternately, a pair of ALICE-type magazine “cases” that hold three magazines each. These would tend to sit at eight and ten “o’clock” on the belt (for right-handers), which may be more comfortable.
Most rifle-magazine pouches available nowadays hold two magazines, and a pair of two-magazine pouches will be less bulky. These four magazines constitute the primary reloads. Additional magazines can be carried in chest or sleeve pockets or other locations.
Some experimentation will be prudent. Pouches for three mags usually sit with the spines of the magazines towards the body. Side-on may be better.
Pouches might be more accessible orientated obliquely or laid horizontally. And we need to remember the soldier may need to reload while prone.
The above arrangement puts 4 to 6 lbs on one side of your belt or harness, but there is a logical way to balance this.
The soldier will use his grenades in his strong hand, so on the strong-side of the belt we put a pouch or pouches holding several grenades.
When throwing prone, you lay on your weak-side, so it is logical to have your primary source of grenades on the strong-side. Perhaps some frags at two o’clock, pouches for one or two cylindrical grenades such as smoke bombs at four.
Actual grenade load-out will depend on combat role and mission.
Alternately, a smoke grenade pouch can carry a 500ml water-bottle.
So far we have one pouch or pouches on one side of the belt, another set on the other.
Our soldier is well-armed, yet front and back areas of the belt region are relatively clear, allowing our soldier to comfortably sit in a vehicle or crawl if someone is shooting at him or he doesn’t want to be seen.
No bulky butt-pack or kidney-pouches at the back that hinder him (or her) carrying a rucksack, or wave at the enemy as they crawl.
The front of the belt can be used for relatively small, low-bulk items, such as a compass pouch and some shell-dressings. With a number of small pouches the front of the belt could end up looking like an old Garand ammo belt! (above)
For non-infantry, the front of the belt will probably end up carrying small specialist tools and items.
For some personnel the grenades and magazines at the side may be replaced by larger utility pouches.
The back of the belt is clear so far. This clearly contributes to comfort when seated in a vehicle or carrying a long pack.
Here I am going to revive my “camelbum” concept and suggest a second belt, mounting two pouches.
One pouch (clearly marked, and marked with blood group) contains an CI-IFAK (Combat Injury-Immediate First Aid Kit) for the soldier.
The other is a pouch containing a two-litre water-bladder dimensioned to fit inside. Having their own belt allows these to be worn rather like a bumbag. They can be added when in high readiness and shunted round the front or to a more convenient position when the soldier is seated or carrying a pack.
An entrenching tool or other tools can be shoved through the belt when needed, carried on the backpack when not.
As I have discussed elsewhere, carrying cases for such tools are superfluous, and have no place on the primary LBE.
A small, fixed-blade utility knife of about 25 cm loa. should be mounted over the weak-side pectorial muscle where it can be reached with either hand. See my books Survival Weapons and Crash Combat for more on this.
If a bayonet is carried, the logical place for it is on the weak-side of the belt, possibly mounted on the side of a magazine pouch in the manner of the British 58 webbing.
A larger survival knife such as a machete or kukri should probably be attached to the trouser belt, so it remains on-person should the LBE need to be discarded in an emergency.
The same is true of a handgun, which will likely be carried on the opposite side of the trouser belt. Field jackets and other garments should be modified/ redesigned so that tools and weapons carried in this manner are accessible.
This arrangement places the survival knife in the space between the magazine pouch(es) and the trouser belt, and the handgun behind/between the grenade pouches.
I have described this equipment configuration as mounted on a conventional LBE belt, but the basic concept should work with other carry systems.
Rather than on the waist, those weak-side magazine pouches might be mounted in the area under the arm, and this gives some possible alternate configurations. For example, three dual-magazine pouches mounted horizontally or obliquely.

Neck Dump Pouches

One currently fashionable item I have not mentioned above is the “dump-pouch” for empty magazines. What to do you do with those empty magazines?
If fitted with a cord pull-loop (as described in Survival Weapons), you can clip them onto a snap-link on your LBE or rucksack strap, although this may admittedly be a challenge while most of your attention is understandably on more pressing concerns.
Back in the day you might drop your magazines down the front of your smock or jacket, but this is difficult with modern combat-wear and armour.
The current solution is to fumble for a belt-mounted “dump pouch”, but the LBE belt is fairly crowded already and there may be more useful things that could use that space.
There is an easier, simpler, more efficient and cheaper option.
Take a sandbag and cut off the bottom foot or so. Save the rest for making textilage.
Hem the new top edge of the bag. You may choose to add a drawcord here at this step, although the cord is not needed for the dump-sack role. Elasticising the mouth will hinder the primary role.
Put a ring or loop at each top corner of the cord so you can tie or snap-link a strap or two to it. Straps should be easily adjustable for length, so should have some form of buckle. You may like to add a length of cord to each lower corner of the bag. These can be tied behind the back to stop the bag flapping around.
A sandbag is good because they are often readily available and the light tan colour is good for most environments. You can, however, make these bags out of any suitably coloured piece of cloth, including discarded or damaged combat wear and old tee-shirts. If you have access to a sewing machine, even a little cheap one, you can knock these bags out in minutes.
You will have to disguise the basic rectangular shape of the bag, so regardless of what you made it from, add some scraps of cloth and sandbag as textilage. Don’t forget the straps.
Some bold blobs of any suitably coloured and contrasting paint you have handy can be added too.
Adjust your strap so the bag hangs from your neck, at about chest level. Use the lower cords to keep it in place if you wish.
When you change magazines you can drop the empty into the open mouth of your neck bag.
The bag also helps camouflage your chest area. Since this area is subject to body-shading it helps that the basic colour of the bag is light. The neck bag will fit over a “reasonably-size” chest-rig while still allowing access to magazines.
The neck bag is a handy place to quickly stow anything else you come across during an operation. Bunch of materials or possessions that might provide intelligence? Drop them down your neck bag and examine them later.
When not in use a bag easily rolls up and can be kept rolled by tying one of the corner cords into a slippery hitch. A quick tug and the bag can be unrolled.
Such simple bags will provide useful for lots of other purposes. They are useful for foraging or supplying extra ammunition to crew-served weapons.
Add a pair of snap-on straps, or use one “Veshmeshok”-style and use as a simple rucksack.