For any of you that missed the saga that is the Soldier Plate Carrier System (SPCS) you can find a great synopsis here. Since downselecting the KDH design in SPD 7, the Army has procured an initial amount in UCP, purchased the Technical Data Package (TDP) from KDH, changed the colorway to OCP, and developed a cummerbund.
Now, Product Manager Soldier Protective Equipment (PM SPE) is seeking additional OEF Camouflage Pattern (OCP) Soldier Plate Carrier Systems (SPCS). In addition to 17,000 complete carriers, the Army is also seeking up to 42,000 OCP kits in order to modify existing SPCS and up to 32,000 cummerbunds with soft armor package. Additionally, 57 First Article Test vests will be be required within 30 days of contract award. The procurement is set aside from Small Business and offerors have until 8 August, 2011 to respond.
Tags: KDH
Man these KDH PC’s suck bad! However a cummerbund should make a big difference in that. I just hope the Army did a good job.
There have been retrokits available for a while now but depending on your chain of command they might not be utilized.
This plate carrier again shows that the people making decisions have no clue what the guys on the ground not only want, but need. The lack of molle space at the 2 and 10 o clock position are VITAL in terms of kit set up. But then again you would only know that if you wore kit.
The KDH plate carrier was tested alongside numerous other systems (to include the current SOCOM issue Eagle offering) by AWG and recieved the lowest rating from Soldiers, however it still had an approval rating upwards of 70%. The cost was close to half of the next cheapest competitor. Needless to say its obvious why the Army chose it.
I have worn it extensively in combat and it is an abortion compared to the other offerings and is only made marginally better with the addition of a cumberbund. For some reason the Marine Corps and SOCOM can get it right by, as proven time and time again, the Army acquisition system is flat out broken.
With the advent of all the PEO’s (Soldier, weapons, SOF, etc.) soldiers were supposed to have new and improved equipment faster than ever before. What I have found is that soldiers get things faster, but most of it is crap. To make things worse, “dialed in” soldiers aren’t even allowed to buy better equipment out of pocket! The Army is trying to save money by buying cheap. What’s really happening is Army wasting money on junk and having to buy replacements sooner.