US Army Combat Medic loadout

[perardua]

Originally Posted by Eddie

Maybe in the old days, but nowadays pretty much every BN has an SOP of how many of what to carry where.

When I first joined the reserves, our kit policy was that in training you carried what you were told were you were told, but as soon as you got badged you could make your own decisions except for a few obvious things like everyone carrying their personal medical kit and ammo in the same place.

When I went to Afghanistan with a regular unit the kit demands became even looser, we were mainly doing vehicle mounted patrols and were told to keep as much stuff as possible off our person when in the vehicles, as getting kit caught on the hatch as you left it at some speed after hitting an IED had been known to cause more injuries. Most of us just had ammo and a mine kit on our persons, with the majority of our dismounted kit plus a camelbak in a daysack tucked into a shady spot of the wagon.

Of course, I get back to my reserve unit and find that in the year I've been gone it's become full of new recruits, and as a result has reverted to strict packing lists and kit checks before every exercise. Furthermore, because my face is no longer known, I'm treated like one of those recruits by the newer members of the training staff. Annoying.

[pmulcahy11b]

So here's what could be the start of a new thread: what non-standard gear did you carry in the military?

Some of the non-standard stuff I carried at various times (aside from personal stuff like a cassette player and some cassettes, and generally at least one book I was reading at the time) included a strong work-knife with a hammer end (which I also kept sharp enough to be used as a weapon, though I never got in a situation where I had to), a dagger (ditto), a compass pouch, a 5-quart canteen attached to my ruck, a signal flasher (used it only once -- in Korea, one of the TAC crew got hit on the head by the hatch of an M-577 and was knocked unconscious. I signaled the Medivac helicopter with it -- tactically, through the bore of an M-203).

In Desert Storm, I had my standard six 30-round magazines -- plus three more in an extra ammo pouch, another in one leg pocket, and two 20-round magazines in the other leg pocket. And compared to many troops, I was carrying a light ammo load. But then again, I was also the Dragon gunner, since I was the only one in the platoon to have an actual C2 qualification.

[perardua]

Hmmm. On exercise in the UK my webbing normally contained whatever ammo we were issued, plus two water bottles (one with a metal mug), a single ration pack meal (sausage and beans, for preference), some tea/hot chocolate, socks, three six inch nails and two hexy fuel blocks for cooking with, my weapons cleaning kit, some mine tape, green string and arc markers, a magazine charger and some spare AAs in for my PRR and CWS. In my daysack I had a cut down foam sleeping mat for sitting on, sometimes a camelbak (in which case I binned off one of the water bottles), head torch, a warm layer for putting on if we were laying up for any length of time, and any other bits and bobs required for the task in hand.
My pockets contained first aid kit (left hand trouser map pocket contains a tourniquet and two field dressings), leatherman, soft hat/beret, cam cream, a compass, racing spoon, notebook and pens, aide memoire, more batteries, sweets, mini maglite, range cards and all kinds of random crap. I used to carry a lot of privately purchased stuff, but have since realised that nearly everything I need is available through the supply system.

In Afghanistan I was a lot more able to strip down to the absolute minimum - attached to my Osprey were my mag pouches for six mags, six 40mm pouches, a PRR, and a utility pouch for my mine marking kit, rifle pull through, miniflare (for warning people off when dismounted) and bandoleer of extra ammo. Tucked into the MOLLE loops was my racing spoon, rifle combi-tool and mag charger.

My daysack was kept right by the door of the wagon, and contained a camelbak, 24 hours of food, loads of lucozade powder, a ton of spare batteries, my CWS and HMNVS, a bandoleer of 11 40mm rounds plus 5 loose, rifle and UGL cleaning kit, several water bottles, and, in the top zip pocket, my PSP with a selection of films and games and whatever book I was reading. The idea was that this would be the only thing I'd grab if I had to leave the wagon under fire, and so it contained everything I might need. If I went on foot patrols I'd strip out what wasn't needed and travel light, often just taking the camelbak and leaving the rest if it was a quick bimble. Also, as I spent a lot of time in and around the wagon, the book and PSP gave me the means of entertaining myself without having to dig around in my bergen on a short stop. I tended not to eat, drink or use batteries from my daysack as the wagon I was the top cover on was the Flight CSS vehicle, so I could happily grab what I needed without digging into my emergency stocks.

You may be able to tell that I am a firm believer in one of the clauses to Murphy's Law, which is that the more you prepare for something, the less likely it is to happen.

My trouser pocket contained morphine, tourniquet, two field dressings and a selection cyalumes, both IR and visible. The other trouser pocket held my notebook and pencil, leatherman, headtorch (I had an LLM on the rifle so I didn't bother with a maglite) and random bits of food for giving to locals.

[perardua]

Oh, and for all of three days I carried the Sig pistol I was issued in a thigh holster, before, like nearly everyone else, I realised it was unnecessary, annoying and useful only for posing like James Bond, so I binned it off.

[pmulcahy11b]

Something I liked to have a good supply of were Granola Bars (I can't remember the specific brand, but they came in a green box and I haven't seen them in the stores for years). Great energy food; one or two will fill you up for hours, they're great energy food, and take up almost no space -- you can stash several of them on your person. You can easily eat them on a full-speed road march, and you can even munch on them during a patrol. The granola bars they sell these days in the US suck in comparison, and are made more for taste than nutrition; if you want something these days similar in quality, you'll have to pay a premium for items that are specifically sold as "energy bars."

Sometimes, they'll just inexplicably take something good off the market. What ever happened to Captain Crunch with Crunchberries and Tang?

[Eddie]

Originally Posted by pmulcahy11b

What ever happened to Captain Crunch with Crunchberries and Tang?

I buy both every payday.

[HorseSoldier]

Originally Posted by perardua

Of course, I get back to my reserve unit and find that in the year I've been gone it's become full of new recruits, and as a result has reverted to strict packing lists and kit checks before every exercise. Furthermore, because my face is no longer known, I'm treated like one of those recruits by the newer members of the training staff. Annoying.

That is, of course, the problem. New Joes fresh out of basic training rarely have much of a clue as to what they need to go to the field, much less into combat. It takes good NCOs (and good troops) to get that sorted out to the point where you can trust the troops to do their own thing. The packing list is the path of less resistance, however much of a headache it is to have a room full of junior enlisted guys playing "show me a canteen cup."

[perardua]

I agree, I just have fond memories of the days when it was only applied to the new people, not everyone.

[Eddie]

Originally Posted by HorseSoldier

It takes good NCOs (and good troops) to get that sorted out to the point where you can trust the troops to do their own thing.

SF and CAG doesn't even do this. The packing list and the PCC/PCI layouts are a leader's best friend. Now what with SF and CAG being such a small percentage of the US Army (and equivalents in foreign militaries), an old adage that my Platoon Sergeant told me when I took command of my first platoon was, "Sir, anything you or I don't check, Joe forgot. Joe will f*ck us if we let him."

At first I was kinda upset at the lack of trust and the misunderstanding about who "us" was, but the first time I trusted Joe to play by big boy rules, it bit my platoon in the ass when we needed some BII for one of our 240s.

I don't know...maybe it's my background from my first unit, but I'm a firm believer in carrying everything on the packing list to the ORP and dropping rucks before you begin your assault.

[headquarters]

Originally Posted by Eddie

SF and CAG doesn't even do this. The packing list and the PCC/PCI layouts are a leader's best friend. Now what with SF and CAG being such a small percentage of the US Army (and equivalents in foreign militaries), an old adage that my Platoon Sergeant told me when I took command of my first platoon was, "Sir, anything you or I don't check, Joe forgot. Joe will f*ck us if we let him."

At first I was kinda upset at the lack of trust and the misunderstanding about who "us" was, but the first time I trusted Joe to play by big boy rules, it bit my platoon in the ass when we needed some BII for one of our 240s.

I don't know...maybe it's my background from my first unit, but I'm a firm believer in carrying everything on the packing list to the ORP and dropping rucks before you begin your assault.

We have a saying in our forces ( NCO level and up ) :
"trust is good.control is better " .
Meaning that your job is to make sure the rest does theirs in all its details .

Also we dont say " Joe " with us its either "Ola Dunk " or " Johnny".

"I need the supplies moved over there "
"take 3 Johnnies and get it done "
hehe.

[Eddie]

My saying, and I admit I stole it from some unremembered source is, "Trust, but verify."

[perardua]

I've heard that saying. I suspect it ultimately depends on your unit, your relationship with your troops, and your tasking.

In the case of mortars when I was with them, we were at one point maintaining an 8 man overt OP, an on-camp mortar line and a constant patrolling presence with 28 or so men, not including R&R, sickness, etc. That meant that A) our NCOs were extremely busy (our officer spent most of the tour on compassionate leave), and B) we all had to be ready to step into someone else's place at a moments notice. It was not unusual for people to come off the helicopter from the OP after 8 days and be told that they were on a patrol that was leaving in 5 minutes, which left little time for kit checks.

In those circumstances, we never had anyone lacking vital kit, the only kit checks we conducted were to ensure we had all our sensitive items once a month.

Of course, if we were doing deliberate ops such as arrests or assaults, we would do kit checks and all that good stuff. But even then, it wouldn't be the case of being given a specific packing list, more a case of carry what you know you need, and Section/Flight kit will be spread out amongst you as necessary.

[Eddie]

There is always time for the TLPs. And an OP is a combat mission in and of itself. You haven't had a chance to download mission-essential items from stepping off of that bird. Maybe you have to put stuff back on and readjust, but you haven't turned anything in yet.

Quite honestly, I know that I couldn't operate the way you're describing. I don't know if it's something unique to your unit, or if it's a Brit Army-wide practice, but if one of my PLs was running his PLT that way, I'd have his ass standing before the BC recommending a job on the staff.

Nothing sucks worse than to seize an OBJ, capture the HVI, and then have your RTO tell you that the batteries in the camera are dead, no pictures for the prosecutors this time. That happened to one of my peers during my deployment. Any leader that doesn't check that stuff out is not doing his job.

[jester]

Originally Posted by Eddie

My saying, and I admit I stole it from some unremembered source is, "Trust, but verify."

President Ronald Wilson Reagan said it in a speech nuclear limitation talks with Gorbachev.

[pmulcahy11b]

Originally Posted by perardua

Of course, I get back to my reserve unit and find that in the year I've been gone it's become full of new recruits, and as a result has reverted to strict packing lists and kit checks before every exercise. Furthermore, because my face is no longer known, I'm treated like one of those recruits by the newer members of the training staff. Annoying.

I'm reminded of that scene early in Platoon where SGT Elias is checking out his new guys before they go on a patrol. He's looking at them, saying, "Shitcan this, don't need that, get rid of this..." etc. Most of the basic field issue for troops (don't know what they call it these days, but we called it TA-50) consists of "snivel gear" that you just don't need for most operations and is best left back at the camp. Unless you're on a road march for training, you pretty much left most of it behind for most of your work, and supplemented what you did carry with some small but useful items.

[Eddie]

Originally Posted by pmulcahy11b

I'm reminded of that scene early in Platoon where SGT Elias is checking out his new guys before they go on a patrol. He's looking at them, saying, "Shitcan this, don't need that, get rid of this..." etc. Most of the basic field issue for troops (don't know what they call it these days, but we called it TA-50) consists of "snivel gear" that you just don't need for most operations and is best left back at the camp. Unless you're on a road march for training, you pretty much left most of it behind for most of your work, and supplemented what you did carry with some small but useful items.

Which could have all been avoided by the issuance of a packing list.

Instead, the movie tried to make an effective point instead of making Elias an effective leader.

And it's still called TA-50.

[perardua]

I wonder if my feelings are affected by the culture of my reserve unit when I first arrived. It was small, most of the members had been on multiple operations before, and due to the nature of the reserves in the UK at the time, nobody turned up if they didn't want to. The guys who were regularly attending training were well motivated and often older and more mature than their regular counterparts, hence the feeling that we could be trusted to square our own shit away.

Went on ops with a regular unit, and they also didn't see the need for a formal packing list. There were some items you had to have, but everything else was mission specific and worked on the theory that all you should have in your webbing/on your Osprey is ammo and water. As for daysacks, in vehicles they were set up as grab bags if you had to bail in a hurry, but on foot patrols you cut down your personal gear to fit into one of the side pouches, and the rest of the daysack was for Section/Flight ammo and kit. Of course, some of that may have been affected by the fact I was on mortars and thus we potentially had to carry a lot more crap than everyone else, hence we were pretty brutal with binning stuff off when required. That, and mortars tended to have the older and more mature guys on the squadron.

Came back to my unit, and, as mentioned, it had suddenly gone from 25% manned to 100%, and most of the new manpower did need some handholding compared to the old bunch. As a result, we turned to relying on the PAM for packing lists, and now I have webbing with far too much stuff in it that should be in my daysack or bergen, and bergens that are a good weight for road marches, but not at all representative of what is carried on ops.