ADS will be showing their entire ECWCS Gen III clothing system (in MultiCam no less) but one of the levels should be of particular interest for Air Force personnel attending SHOT Show as it was recently approved for use by the Air Force Clothing Office.
USAF Approves ECWCS Gen III Lvl7
In addition to producing the US Army issue Army Combat Shirt (and USAF Airman Battle Shirt), Massif has been producing several cool new FR garments. One of them is commercial Universal Combat Shirt which is based on the ACS. What’s more, these as well as Massif’s other new garments are available in an ever widening variety of colors including Tan, OD, and MultiCam. We have production samples of these new items and we can tell you that they are top notch for both design and quality. Check their entire line out at booth #26003.
If you are in the Air Force and work around POL at all you know that the current green suede boots absorb like a sponge. Not only does it look bad, but it’s hazardous as well. While the Air Force has decided to adopt a smooth leather version, implementation has been slow.
If you are wearing Black boots to work, the new Maintainerâ„¢ from Belleville’s Tactical Research might just be for you. Not only does it feature full grain leather, it also has a composite safety toe which, is not only lighter weight that steel, it does not conduct heat or cold like steel toes. Additionally, and ever important for maintenance troops, the outsole is oil and slip resistant.
To order visit www.bellevilleshoe.com and look for the TR636 CT – Maintainerâ„¢ Boot.
According to THY, producer of the suit, it is “Available in a new trademarked six screen camouflage with reverse in a Military Universal ACU pattern (for AFSOC use only) and a solid color brown for consumers.” Truth be told, you can have the UCP.
Developed over two years ago, this camo pattern has only been used by AFSOC. Notice that one side of the reversible suit is Army UCP, when THY first worked on the suit, AFSOC could not get permission from the Clothing Office to print it in Digital Tiger Stripe since there was concern that it might provide competition for the new APECS jackets just coming into the system. So AFSOC figured they’d just as well use UCP as it blends pretty well with DTS.
When it is configured with the green/brown camo out the styling very much mimics the old BDU cut. We have examined a set and two things struck us. It is very lightweight and very tear resistant.
In addition to the rainsuit THY is also releasing a lean-to.
SSD Note: This is great news for WTT as well as the USAF! Airmen look for your Gen III Level & garments in Grey.
As you may have read last week, the Marine Corps has ordered a bunch of new happy suits for Gyrenes in cold places around the world, courtesy of Wild Things Tactical by Wild Things, Inc. What you may not know is it’s now official that zoomies can wear their version of WTT. Yes indeedy, the AF has finally figured it out.
Now let me make this clear. Slim and I have been bad ass tough guys for years, but frankly when it comes to cold weather we’re what you might call actively voluble pussies. (That’s the MILSPEAK way of saying we piss and moan and bitch a lot, but still get out there and get the job done—and for the record, before you criticize us for being pussies, keep in mind that the snow currently stacked up to the top of your boot is actually over our head.) If you want to make an acronym out of that, feel free. We’re not ashamed of being AVPs.
Anyway, our handlers have spent the last couple of days in Wild Things Tactical snivel kit. You may remember us talking about WTT cold weather gear before, because it’s so damn fantabulous. We genuinely love this stuff, and so do our handlers, so it shouldn’t be a big surprise that we’re happy to bring this good news to those of you forced to wear that damnable digital tiger stripe crap and deal with zipper-suited sun gods.
If you do not know what a zipper-suited sun god is, then you haven’t spent much time around AF bases. We hear at Breach-Bang-Clear appreciate pilots for their impact on the battlefield, CAS gun runs in particular, but anyone whose spent any time around them out of the cockpit knows what a pain in the ass most of them are, and must wonder how much they spend annually on hair gel, sunglasses and teeth-whitener…but again we digress. Wild Things Tactical Extreme Cold Weather Gear, by Wild Things Tactical, Inc, is now Air Force approved.
According to the Air Force Uniform Office, Wild Things Tactical Gen III Level 7 Extreme Cold Weather System jacket and pants are replacing the N3B and F1B parka and trousers. This is the same ECWCS the Army has been using and it’s pretty bad ass. We actually called Richard Keefer’s office (he’s the head duck at the “AF Uniform Officeâ€) but we never heard back. This could possibly be because he and his staff weren’t sure how exactly to deal with an interview request by foot tall tactical operators-slash-journalists, or perhaps he’s just really busy. We won’t hold it against him.
A couple things you need to know if you’re an A4/purchasing officer type USAF individual (or anyone else that might want to put your troops, officers or operators into WTT snivel kit). First off, it doesn’t have to worn as just a layering system. It can be stand-alone. They jackets, for instance, are sized to accommodate body armor, and are sized in the torso appropriately to wear with a duty belt or holster (if you’re so inclined). This could be a Good Thing for some of the folks that spend a lot of time shivering in garrison, like skycops doing dismounted RAMs, foot patrols around billeting, standing overwatch at the gate, etc. It’s comfy, it’s warm and it’s nowhere near as loud or irritating as the Gore-tex jacket you’re already wearing.
Second, they’re built with Epic, which is way too complicated for us to explain here and will probably be over half of your heads anyway (no offense, we don’t get it either). It makes for a good cold weather garment, though, trust us. We’d lie to you, just not about this. They’ve got 6 oz. of PrimaLoft and the Epic barrier that allows it to insulate even while completely wet. This gear wasn’t only industry tested, it was NATICK tested.
Third, it’s already been tried and tested in really shitty conditions under fire by guys that know what they like. When the Army decided to completely redesign its cold weather system, it went to the 10TH Mountain Division (Climb to Glory!) for field testing between the Fall of 2006 and Spring of 2007. Reviews were outstanding. For instance, LTC Christopher Cavoli of 1-32 Infantry (“Chosinâ€) said, “…I found myself praying for bad weather…I knew my soldiers could handle it and the enemy couldn’t. [Wild Things Tactical] ECWCS allowed my men to outlast the enemy on their own terrain. When the enemy was forced out of the mountains due to the bitter cold to take shelter, that’s when we got them…â€
Fourthly, if you’re an AF purchasing official, UDM, etc. with authority to source equipment for your squadron, group or wing, Wild Things Tactical will send you a sample to T&E at the local level. You just need to contact their military sales representative, Grady Burrell, and make the arrangements.
Fifthly and lastly, Wild Things LLC, WT Tactical will offer until Jan 15, a Military / Federal Officer Discount of 20% off Retail on Multicam, Coyote, OD Green and Black Tactical Gear for INDIVIDUAL sales. Must validate with FED / MIL address. AD/RES and NG. ON IN STOCK ITEMS ONLY!
Gen III ECWCS is provided to the US Army under a contract with ADS. Air Force units wishing to purchase Level 7 should contact them. www.ADSinc.com/Gen-III
Oh…if you need to contact Grady (Grady Burrell III, Director of Military & LE Sales), he can be reached at (828) 421-4349 or Grady.Burrell@wildthingsgear.com. Make sure you let him know we referred you, so we can affirm in their minds once again how valuable an ally they have in the Mad Duo, and how foolish they’d be not to keep us up to speed on new developments on their end.
Please check back in at SSD more frequently than you might otherwise do so. We’ve gotten a bunch of new kit in over the last couple of weeks and are in the process of reviewing it. Naturally we are eager to share the finding of our evaluation, our wisdom and almost supernaturally incisive wit. If you have any ideas for us to review or discuss, drop us a line at Breach-Bang-Clear or FaceBook.com/MadDuo; unless you’re going to complain about our opinions, writing style or philosophy (or you’re a sissy) in which case don’t bother.
Mad Duo Out!
The Air Force adopted a new motto this week; “Aim High … Fly-Fight-Win“. I guess there was a tie since it seems as if they had two front runners, so they just picked them both. “Aim High” is an oldie but a goodie and I am happy to see it back. On the other hand, “Fly-Fight-Win” pretty much sums up the mission of the Air Force, that is except for all of those Space guys, and the Cyber Warriors, and Battlefield Airmen. So except for all of those guys, it is a good description of what the Air Force does. At any rate, it beats the heck out of whatever that last one was.
The Air Force; so great it needs TWO mottoes.
-The Ed
The Air Force’s current fixation with “PT” is the latest in a long line of fads. As you have probably heard, Airman are failing the new biannual Air Force Fitness Test (AFFT) at the rate of about 25%. Unfortunately, instead of actually creating a culture of physical fitness, they have got everyone worried about the test. Worse yet, one element of that test has become particularly troublesome. That element is the waist measurement. In fact, some Airmen are actually getting liposuction in order to pass the waist measurement.
So what exactly is wrong with the waist measurement? Well, it’s a simple case of symbolism over substance. It seems, someone likes skinny folks. The waist measurement does not assess an individual’s health and what’s more it is not scaled for age nor height. A 5′ tall Airman has to have the same waist measurement to pass as an Airman who is 6′ tall. By the same token, an 18 year old has the same standard as a 48 year old. This makes no sense. The test is so weighted in favor of the skinny that an older Airman with a large waist has to actually be in better shape than a young Airman. He must be more capable in the push up, sit up, and run portions of the test in order to just pass. So the skinny kid can be in worse shape than the old fat guy and still pass. In fact, he can score better. Make sense? Check out this PT score calculator to see how you compare.
One would think that things couldn’t be worse than Air Force personnel undergoing plastic surgery in order to pass a PT test but it does. The Air Force leadership has lost so much faith in its commanders and their NCOs that it has gone and hired civilian testers. Yes, it’s true. Physical Fitness testing is no longer conducted by Unit Fitness Monitors since they can’t be trusted. Instead, the Air Force has hired a cadre of civilian testers. They aren’t even required to be able to demonstrate proper form for the four events let alone even pass.
To throw gasoline on this fire, as fitness is an individual responsibility, many units see no reason to provide time during the duty day to conduct PT. The machine is unwilling to sacrifice man hours to develop a more healthy force. The mission capable rate must not be compromised.
The Air Force leadership needs to get this under control. Dump the waist measurement. Anything that prompts service members to undergo risky surgeries deserves some Congressional oversight. Better yet, develop a test that actually measures true fitness and reflects tasks Airmen actually are expected to accomplish. Also, develop a true culture of fitness where leaders lead by example and commanders are responsible for their unit’s program and performance. And for goodness sakes, get rid of those civilian testers. They are an embarrassment. You can’t outsource integrity.
According to a recent press release from the Office of the Secretary of the Air Force, this may very well be the case.
“We are committed to equipping Airmen with the most advanced capabilities available at the earliest time possible,” Air Force officials said Aug. 24. “Based on feedback from Airmen, we believe the Operation Enduring Freedom Camouflage Pattern (OCP) provides advanced protection to servicemembers while operating outside the wire in Afghanistan. Army (officials), while beginning an aggressive fielding schedule, (are) working with Air Force (officials) to support developing a long-term joint fielding strategy later this year.”
This is great news for Afghanistan-bound Airmen. Maybe the Air Force will just say what the heck and issue all deploying Airmen MultiCam clothing and equipment.
