Right after Christmas we shared the Army’s announcement that they had awarded contracts to Military Hardware LLC and ADS Inc for the new Improved Modular Tactical Holster (IMTH) for the M9 pistol. The Military Hardware entry is a G-Code holster system consisting of the XST holster along with Duty Drop Leg, H-MAR adapter for vests and MOLLE belt mount. Although this article isn’t about them, and for those too lazy to read the original article, ADS is providing the Blackhawk! Serpa holster.
WILMINGTON, N.C., Feb. 6, 2014 /PRNewswire/ — Military Hardware llc announced today they received the U.S. Army’s primary IDIQ award to supply the new Improved Modular Tactical Holster (IMTH), a $49 million contract spanning 5-years. This watershed contract pitted two emerging small businesses against a multi-billion-dollar global aerospace and defense giant. The little guys won.
To win the award Military Hardware partnered with Edgeworks Manufacturing to provide the G-Code XST (Extreme Service Tactical) holster with four separate mounting platforms, exceeding the Army’s bid requirement. Both Military Hardware and Edgeworks are privately held small businesses located in Southeastern North Carolina.
Industry insiders credit Scott Evans, Founder and CEO of Edgeworks, as the original innovator of modular holster design. Military Hardware’s Founder and CEO, F. Scott Harry, said, “A decade ago when I saw the G-Code holster, I knew it was revolutionary. I wanted to be a part of the team that brought it to market.” They humbly credit the many Law Enforcement and Military personnel who have personally bought, used, inspired, and improved the products they offer.
Military Hardware specializes in marketing innovative small manufacturer’s products to the Department of Defense. They constantly collaborate with manufacturing partners and customers on product development. Retired Master Sergeant (USMC) Richard Cover, VP of Sales & Product Development for Military Hardware, is on a military base somewhere almost every day of the week and regularly brings ideas in from the field. Cover said, “We are all hands-on people. We work as a team and every person, from the factory floor to the front office, cares about what we do and who we do it for: the men and women of the U.S. Military.” It’s clearly this great dedication to the people wearing the gear that makes their products excel.
Mr. Harry also credits the North Carolina Military Business Center, a business development entity in the North Carolina Community College System. “I’ve worked with the NCMBC since it’s inception. Scott Dorney (Executive Director, NCMBC) has surrounded himself with knowledgeable people. Teresa Bouchonnet, in particular, has been indispensable to me.”
The IMTH can be purchased online at www.MilitaryHardware.US, by NSN through the Army’s procurement networks, and it will soon be available on GSAAdvantage.Gov. Contact Military Hardware for details.
Tags: G-Code, Military Hardware
This looks like a good holster. The USMC bought a lot of SERPA holsters, but I never cared for that release mechanism on it.
Oh now you have done it. You mentioned Serpa. Here comes the crowd!
Let’s just stay away from the SERPA today. I’ve never used the G-Code. For those who have, what do you think?
I have used it and it sticks out a bit farther than I like for a drop leg platform but it seems fairly durable and the retention system seems secure enough.
I have a OST G-code for my 1911. The RTI mount rattles a bit, but is secure. Ease of draw is great and retention is adjustable. Since it has molle, belt, duty, intermediate, and drop leg options for mounting, there’s something for everyone.
We used to issue them out years ago…..most of the adapter bits broke downrange and the screws had a habit of falling out. Stuck out a lot from the thigh as others mentioned. Went back to the Safariland……
Congrats to those involved
I’m a big fan of G-Code holsters. Carried my pistol in one on my last trip to Afghanistan….it held up flawlessly to heavy use in Southern Ghazni, and the RTI interface system makes it extremely versatile.
I have used the G-Code SOC-Rig in the past with no complaints and liked the modular cowl design. One of the things I like about G-Code is that they have adaptor kits. This is great because we use the Safailand holsters for our systems with RMR’s on them but with the adaptor kit I can mount them on a Blackhawk leg shroud which I prefer over the Safariland leg shroud.
Great holsters abused mine in Afghanistan never any problems. Makes me wonder how g-code will be able to keep up with civilian production lead times are very long already!
Good point. Seeing as that this is IDIQ it’s not like they suddenly have a huge chunk of cash to drop on a new production facility. Maybe ADS is going to fund some production ramp up and house the inventory. They certainly have the cash on hand for that.
Just to be clear, ADS has NOTHING to do with G-CODE holsters or the production of this kit. This is a 100% Military Hardware funded operation. Be assured that there are already changes in the works to insure that standard production at G-CODE does not fall behind.
And just so we are all clear, ADS is providing Blackhawk gear for their kits.
ill take my safariland holster
From this can we assume that the Army has decided to continue with the M9 for the foreseeable future?
As there is no current push to replace it, that assumption would have been safe regardless of this announcement or not.
Rick
Yes. Oh yes. They are so gun shy about the fiscal, any M9 replacement isn’t anywhere in view.
Nice to see that we are getting an issue holster that won’t flag everyone.
I’ve enjoyed my issue serpa so much that I bought one for my 1911. Tried a few other brands like safariland but did not care for them as much. Will be interested to see how these perform.
After their ignoring multiple emails and phone calls over several weeks, finally got them to answer the phone today. Orders off-Army-Contract (e.g., prepaid, e.g., us) are taking considerably more than two months to ship. Sure hope this Army order works out for them because they’re treating us who already paid like dog doo-doo. Pretty bad idea to take the money up front and keep it for two months without shipping any product–and still without offering anything approaching a firm ship date. I understand growing pains, but this is unacceptable behavior, especially when they’ve already taken our money.