The Personal Armor System, Ground Troops saw its first operational debut with the 82nd Airborne Division during Operation ‘Urgent Fury.’ At the time the US military’s first standard issue ballistic helmet was known as the ‘Fritz’ due to its similar shape to the German Stahlhelm of WW II. How many of you remember referring to the Kevlar as the Fritz Helmet?
This is a cool documentary on the Viet Nam War-era FACs.
On this anniversary of D-Day, I’d like to share this video from 2014 with you. He’s a tough kid and it was a great way to honor some tough men who saved the world from evil.
About 10 years ago I was preparing to retire from the US Air Force and my friend, photographer Hans Halberstadt told me about a book project he was working on.
Hans told me it was going to be called “Battle Rattle” and be all about “the stuff a soldier carries.” I was pretty excited about the concept. Then, he asked me to write the foreword. I accepted the offer and set about writing.
Another friend of mine, Army Veteran Stephen Hilliard, was working as the director of R&D at the time for ATS Tactical. You may recognize his name from his current work with Blue Force Gear. He had written a primer entitled, “Packing For War In Southwest Asia” which has been published on the Lightfighter Internet forum. Hans read it and asked Stephen if he could include it in the book. Neither Stephen or I were paid for our work. Rather, we did it because of our passion for the topic. The publisher was notoriously cheap. In fact, I think Hans paid for my copy of the book.
The book was published later that year as part of the Battle Gear series by Zenith Press. “Battle Rattle” is out of print now but worth finding a copy if you are a conessieur of individual equipment.
Ten years on, I still think that it not only offers a good historical perspective, but that it continues to point to wear we are going.
During the 1960s, the US Army fielded a sparkproof version of the MX-991/U angle head flashlight. Like its standard issue counterpart, this new MX-212/U relied on two D cell batteries and came equipped with three interchangeable filters (Red, White and Diffuser). The loud color was meant to make it easy to differentiate the light from the OD model. During my career I ran across the Black version (which had Yellow end caps) of this flashlight but never the Pink or Yellow variants.
There are currently several for auction on eBay, including the one in this photo.
Having served with units from both Australia and New Zealand during my military service, they often come to mind, and on ANZAC Day, in particular. You see, every April 25th some of our closest allies; Australia and New Zealand, commemorate the service and sacrifice of their military. The day begins with a dawn service and there are several other events throughout the day including parades.
It’s bigger than Veteran’s Day is here, with more participation. It’s what Veteran’s Day was probably like after the War to End All Wars and ANZAC does have its roots in the memory of the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps troops who served the empire in World War One.
While April 25th might seem an odd date, it is actually the anniversary of the first major battle fought by ANZAC forces; the battle of Gallipoli in what is now Turkey.
Please join us in honoring not only their fallen, but also the fact that they are on our team. 101 years ago or today, they’ve been on the side of right.
Today marks the anniversary of Operation Eagle Claw. In the early morning hours of 25 April, 1980 President Carter announced to a stunned world that the United States had undertaken an ambitious raid into Iran to liberate 52 American hostages held illegally by tye Iranian Republican Guard, at our Embassy in Tehran. Unfortunately, Operation Eagle Claw was unsuccessful, and we lost eight American servicemen in a horrible aircraft ground collision.
However, their sacrifice was not in vain. The hostages were eventually returned and the accident was the watershed event that created, over the next several decades, the world’s preeminent Special Operations capability; USSOCOM and its components. Some hard Americans were on that raid; legends to those who would follow. We wouldn’t be where are today with the determination of that fledgling task force. Join me in remembering those that paved the way.
