I have been working with tactical equipment for more than 15 years now on a fairly regular basis. My first exposure to military gear came from my dad. He had a small stock of equipment that he would sell from privately. I honestly never saw him sell much of it. When I joined the Army in 2005 I was issued woodland camo BDUs, ALICE gear, a flak vest…you know, all the traditional stuff you see in Vietnam-era films. When I got to my first unit at Ft. Bliss I had my first exposure to MOLLE gear.
When our orders came down we went to RFI and got issued our deployment gear. This was when they first started fielding ACU pattern equipment too. Fortunately the Army has done away with The ACU pattern in favor of an effective camouflage, but they have kept the MOLLE system. MOLLE or PALS uses a system of straps that weave into each other so that pouches and other equipment can be affixed in a solid but still modular fashion. Unlike the ALICE system, which used metal clips that could rust and bend and fail, I have never had an issue with my MOLLE system coming apart unexpectedly. I love the system and I don’t see it going anywhere anytime soon.
Even though I am no longer active duty, I still maintain my own kit. This will be useful for personal field training, any tactical action shooting classes i may attend, or for if all hell breaks loose and I have to put my skill set to use to protect my family. Lots of youtube pages spend a good bit of time discussing equipment, loadouts, weaponry, etc. I figure I may as well join in on the fun and talk about my own personal equipment, why I’ve chosen what I have, how it has evolved over time, and what I intend to add to it as time marches on.
There is a lot to talk about with this subject, so this is simply the introduction to a series of posts that will walk you through some tactical kit basics and maybe give you an idea what direction you may want to go should you decide you want to assemble your own kit.
Stay tuned.
Grey Matter Guano 