No equivalent to A-2 jacket

It seems to me there is no modern equivalent to the A-2 jacket, nothing that represents the current military era, so to speak. I guess it's a small thing maybe, but it bothers me. The A-2 jacket was issued to Army Air Corps pilots before and during WWII. A version of it is being issued to Air Force pilots now.  Vintage, or vintage-styled versions of the jacket are still popular.

We've been involved in a couple of wars for going on 10 years now, what is the iconic representative "thing" from all this? I don't think we have one for the U.S., I wonder if there is one for the Brits?

I've been in the Army for 22 years. Probably the coolest jacket I've ever been issued is a green, nomex tanker jacket back when I was a Cavalry Scout and was a gunner on a Bradley Fighting Vehicle. But I had to turn that in when I left that unit. The Nomex flight jacket still exists, but as a ACU pattern windbreaker.

I don't really consider my cotton field jacket to be an heirloom item, although I think an argument can be made that the OD green version is pretty iconic for the Vietnam generation.

If you look at the gear we've been issued, it's all very modern and works for its intended purpose very well. We've got a fleece jacket and a light, wind-proof outer shell, plus an additional rain jacket and pants. But none of these things are going to last much beyond the year long deployment. In fact we've already had to replace items, they are just not heavy-duty.

It's a bit sad, but a Soldier in a pair of ACU pants with a ripped out crotch and a torn combat shirt are, to me, one of the iconic images of this war.

It's ironic that I used to wonder why the Army didn't just go to the civilian outdoor clothing world to find warmer, lighter clothing for winter use. I remember sitting freezing in the field in Germany years ago wearing the cotton field jacket with the quilted liner, longing for my then new-tech civilian fleece jacket. Be careful what you wish for, right?

Want to write

I want to blog, but I only get a few minutes online at a time.

Leadership

Working these last few weeks as the acting First Sergeant for my company, I've talked a few times with junior NCO's about leadership. Shockingly, I'm sure, I have strong opinions about leadership. I've served under a few good leaders and a lot of bad ones. I thought I'd put down some thoughts on what I've come to believe after 22 years in the Army.
This will probably go to several parts so I'll make a tag for these posts.

First and most important, I think, is that leaders have to understand that they get what they deserve. Unless you are stepping into a unit or group that has suffered under poor leadership before you get there, you create the atmosphere in your unit. You teach your troops how you want them to act towards you and react to you. For good or for bad. You get what you give.

If your troops are undisciplined, slow to respond to orders and generally don't give a shit about the unit, (with rare exceptions,) that's the leaders fault. It may have been different once, but for a long time now all Soldiers have been volunteers. So we are starting with troops who want to be in the Army. There is a certain number of kids who realize they made a huge mistake and they can be a problem, but even they will usually step up if you treat them right.

But for the most part, if you have a bad Soldier, a leader created that bad Soldier. A failure of leadership took place, or more likely a series of failures. From what I've seen it's also pretty rare that poor leadership effects only individual Soldiers. More likely an entire squad, platoon or company will be effected.

At some point, when I have time, I'm thinking I'll write about a couple of specific aspects of leadership.
Being liked vs. being respected.
The fine line between hardcore and stupid (setting the example.)
Responsibility vs. authority (and exactly why you have to do what I say.)
Answering questions.

Camelback perfection

Okay, I bought this new Camelback. It's pretty much exactly what I've been looking for, I can't really think of any improvements.

I have an issued assault pack that I keep everything in whether I'm in the field or in garrison. I also have an issued Camelback. Obviously I can't wear both at the same time, so the Camelback goes into the assault pack when I'm carrying both. The camelback takes up a lot of space in the pack and is kind of a pain in the ass with all the straps and extra webbing. (Loose webbing dangling all over the place is a pet peeve of mine.) All in all, not a big deal. Certainly not worth replacing a perfectly good Camelback that was free.

Now in full gear in the field, especially in body armor, things get more complicated. Wearing the Camelback over the IBA drives me nuts. I almost always forget it's on (which is good), but I strangle myself when I go to take it off. Plus sitting in a vehicle with the Camelback on puts me in a forward leaning position which is uncomfortable.

Enter the "Armorbak." It's a small Camelback that comes with clips that allow you to attach the thing to the back of an IBA or other body armor, or even vest. So no straps across the front of the vest. It sits higher than the issue Camelback and is shaped differently, which should make sitting in a vehicle more comfortable.

Plus when I unclip it from the IBA, it fits beautifully in the assault pack. It even clips to existing quick-disconnects on the outside of the assault pack. A couple of pics.





We will be getting the new generation body armor before we leave, so I'll have to get a couple of pics of that set-up when I put it together.

So we were issued sleeping pads

I'm a little pissed off that we didn't know we were getting self-inflating sleeping pads. I went and bought one a while ago. Mine is a little thicker, but they are made by the same company, Cascade Designs. The one I bought is branded Thermarest.

Danner Mountain boots

After spending some time wearing these boots I'm ready to express an opinion.
That opinion is: they're okay.
Are you thrilled?



The boots are pretty much your average pair of hiking boots. I've got another really nice pair I bought at REI at home. In fact, I like the REI boots more. The Danners would benefit from a good pair of custom insoles, but they fit my feet well. Others weren't so lucky and many people had to get the wide size because they felt the boots ran narrow. I find Danner boots run a little small and both my Danner's are 10.5, where I normally wear a 10. Although my feet could be getting bigger as I get older. My first pair of Army boots, 20 years ago, were 9.5s.

Speaking of those other Danners, (the TFX boots from this post,) I bought Aaron a pair before he left on his deployment. He says he loves them. Since he's a grunt and has been carrying a heavy load on multiple foot patrols, I'd say that's a pretty good endorsement. I'd bet I'll wear the TFX boots the most, until it gets hot. Then it'll be the Blackhawks.

But the Danner Mountain Boots are cool because they were free and you only get them if you are in the Army getting ready to go to Afghanistan. So when I'm wearing them as motorcycle boots a few years from now, I'll feel cool 'cause I have boots very few other people have.
Unless Danner starts selling these to civilians...

Which is likely. I can see the ads now: Troops marching through the Hindu Kush, burdened with heavy packs... shot closes in on one Soldier's boots - the Danners... As the shot widens back out, it's the same Soldier, wearing the same boots, hiking through the Colorado back country.
"When your life depends on your boots...
Available at your local outfitter..."

I should be on Mad Men.

Lots of cool gear

I was issued all the RFI gear last week. Been wearing it out here in the brutal cold of Wisconsin on the ranges. Looking forward to posting some thoughts about it when I have more regular internet access.

The Underwear Bomber

So the take-away lesson from this attempted terrorist attack appears to be that if we have a suspicion that a likely terrorist living in Afghanistan, Pakistan or Iraq is plotting an attack on the U.S., we can kill him in his home with a large bomb. No lawyers, no trial, no appeal.

But if that same guy gets on a plane, flies into an American airport and is actually caught in the act of trying to kill Americans, he is entitled to Miranda rights. That includes a free lawyer and the right to remain silent.

It's a strange time we live in.