Question about buying your own gear...

[MrGoldCal]

As far as packs go, you need something that will evenly distribute a load and take at least 75% of the weight off your shoulders and put it on your hips, all while remaining comfortable after countless hours of wear as well as being extremely durable. That pretty much eliminates anything made by Spec-Ops and other ****ty companies. The biggest things to look for are a hard backplate, good quality heavy duty zippers, good hip padding, and adjustable shoulder straps at both the top ANY bottom. There is nothing like a good old fashioned ruck on a long patrol, you can buy "modernized" ones from a variety of companies that have MOLLE and everything else on them but are still basic rucks. For your purposes i'd recommend the medical pack made by TAG, it's expensive ($250+) but well worth it and has an extremely versatile interior. I'm not a corpsman but it's a damn good pack and nothing else out there could beat it's versatility, it's what I used the entire time in Afghanistan and withstood unimagineable abuse. The zippers never failed me which is extremely important in a desert enviroment despite dust and sand being caked on, the pack was dragged under an MRAP for a 100 click movement through the desert and never teared, and I got shot from the 5 o'clock position in the back by an armor piercing 7.62 round that hit my pack and got stuck inside my rifle cleaning gear at the battle for madrassa. I carried this pack on my back for probably thousands of hours over the course of the deployment and it never failed me once, while everyone else was using duct tape and 550 cord to hold their packs together. It's an awesome pack and has been more than combat proven. Anything made by TAG is top of the line. Stay away from Blackhawk, all their crap is made in Vietnam now and the quality has gone down the toilet, but the prices still reflect from when it was all American made which is horrible.

Hey Accord is this the pack your talking about?
http://www.opticsplanet.net/tactical...ical-pack.html

[marine3043]

for my deployment i bought nomex gloves with hard knuckles--up at hanson,, and i bought extra frag puches to put some small coffee cans in ,, i also bought some coffee packs that only need hot water,-- i love those nomex gloves hard knuckled i punch random things just because it does not hurt,.,,,,

[Pete0331]

Alright, I need to say a few things regarding gear.
Both issued and personally purchased.

As an 03 NCO when PFC's, Lcpls, and other NCO's ask me about gear I'm happy.
It shows they are thinking critically about how to accomplish their mission,
and that they are willing to spend their own money to get there.

When a PFC in ITB asks me about gear I am wary of their reasons.
ITB should be spent using issued gear.
It will give Marines a common base of what they need as opposed to what they think will make them look high speed.
They ask "what should I buy?"
I can't give them an honest answer.
I know what works for me and what I need to get out of gear to accomplish the mission.
I will, however, give out recomendations on manufacturers.
That is based on price, reliability, and quality.
Not on desired function or mission.

Lcpl Truck Driver doesn't need a $300 day pack.

Pfc Boot Rifleman doesn't need all those pouches.
Leaders need to make sure their men aren't spending frivolously on gear they don't need.
Overloading on weight kills your men.

Cpl Paper Pusher doesn't need that big knife for opening MRE's.

Sgt Power Point doesn't need an Asp.

I will flip out if a see a M-9 in a chest cross draw holster because you think you saw an EOD SSgt do it that way.
I will flip out if I see a shoulder holster on a battlefield, this isn't Miami Vice.

Train with your gear.
If those new mag pouches you purchased don't work for you when you go do a CQB course of fire get rid of them.
Trade them to another Marine.
Not all gear works for everybody.
I've seen Marines spend money on gear that doesn't work for them, but they refuse to get rid of it.

Poolees and DEP's need to be preparing for Boot Camp.
Stop worrying about gear.
After you can complete the basics, I will let you know some of the cool stuff.


Send me PM's

[Fubar5812]

Yeah, i'd like to see what you have to say after carrying a SAW with a full combat loadout of 1,800 rounds plus everything else on a 17 hour movement to contact patrol in Afghanistan. Or when I humped the 240 all over Afghanistan with a full combat load of ammo for two months. Not trying to compare dick sizes but seriously, quit *****ing about your dog food. .

hey you picked 03,no sympathy for self inflicted wounds. but I get what your saying. My NCO's have told me to take a look at the medical bags as they usually have more pockets and larger cargo areas,so i'm looking into those. I'm just trying to get enough room for the stuff I need and the stuff max needs while still maintaining combat effectiveness and relative comfort.

[downie]

Can you purchase your own pistol, or you can only use your issued?

[Pete0331]

Can you purchase your own pistol, or you can only use your issued?

No, not anymore.
Only issued.

Modifications to your weapons may be punishable, depending on your unit.
Modification and/or use of non-issue ammunition is a violation of the Law of Land Warfare. Possible time in Leavenworth.

[downie]

Is everybody issued a pistol?

[Alisium]

No.

Officers, SNCOs and Marines with large/crew-served weapons are.

Unless things have changed because of the war.

[Fubar5812]

Mp's also get pistols....

[Pete0331]

No.

Officers, SNCOs and Marines with large/crew-served weapons are.

Unless things have changed because of the war.

Some things have changed.

Corpsmen get a double issue. M-16/M-4 and M-9.

All of the above can be changed depending on the command.
SNCO's may not get pistols, Officers may elect not to have them.

The TOE hasn't changed, but the SOP's of select commands have.

[Alisium]

How does a corpsman with a rifle affect training? Do they ***** about it, do they like it?

I saw pictures with them and their rifles and was quite stunned.

[MrSnips]

Do most Marines buy their own boots? Or are the ones issued really up to par with something like a high quality Danner product?

[bigirongunner]

all aircrew have M-9s issued to them

[Zulu 36]

Do most Marines buy their own boots? Or are the ones issued really up to par with something like a high quality Danner product?

The new boots are good quality material, Danners and Bates. I never liked the old issue boots. I was stuck with issue while in the Corps, but in the Air Guard I bucked up and bought Danners. I also wore Danner boots as a police officer.

[MrSnips]

I wear danner boots now at work. best money i've speant on shoes yet.