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Airmen Battle System-Ground Components

Thursday, October 16th, 2008

Undergarments
Men’s boxers, women’s panties, short and long-sleeved T-shirts, a bra, and long underwear pants will be fielded in the same Sand color as the current ABU T-shirt. The garments can be worn alone or in concert with one another along the lines of the Army’s Gen III ECWCS.

Airman Battle Ensemble
The FR Airman Battle Ensemble will be fielded in the ABU’s digital Tigerstripe pattern which adapted the Army’s UCP colorway by adding a fourth color; Slate. Since the garment consisting of a jacket and trousers is designed specifically for combat the overall design has been altered slightly from the ABU although it’s general appearance will remain the same.

The jacket unfortunately retains the front zipper as well as the same useless, four chest pockets found on the ABU/BDU but adds zippered pockets on the upper sleeve as well velcro pockets on the forearm.

The trousers a near exact copy of the FR variant of the ACU.

Airman Battle Shirt
Along the same lines as the Marine Corps’ FROG shirt and Army’s Combat Shirt, the ABS will feature a moisture-wicking torso mated to FR sleeves with padded elbows and the same sleeve and forearm pocket setup as the Battle Ensemble jacket. Currently, the ABS has a mock turtleneck like the ACS. The torso will be a a solid color and the sleeves in digital Tigerstripe.

Foul-weather Jacket and Trousers
For inclement weather the Air Force is planning a lightweight rainsuit. There is also discussion of a solid colored fleece jacket although no one has gone so far as to consider a program on the level of FREE or Gen III ECWCS for the Air Force.

Accessories
FR socks, balaclavas, gloves, as well as belts are under development and will join the other equipment as they are ready for fielding although most of these items are available commercially.

Armor
Although not officially a component of ABS-G, the Defensor Fortis Load Carrying System (DF-LCS) developed for ACC’s SF community and soon adopted for all Security Forces AF-wide is now available in the Air Force digital pattern. Additionally, an Air Force unique body armor system is under development.

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Sling Bag, MOLLE’s Latest Addition

Saturday, June 21st, 2008

Sling Bag

I wanted to post this Army news release to show that the Army is on it. The item is entering production and will soon see issue. Please notice that this article is from December of last year. That is a pretty good turn around.

Sling Bag for Soldiers
Army News Service | December 27, 2007
NATICK, Mass. – Finding a way for Soldiers to accomplish their missions more easily is what lies behind the design of many products created by the Individual Equipment Lab at the U.S. Army Soldier Systems Center here.

“Part of our job is to spend time with Soldiers in the field and look at what they are doing, and see if there is a way we can improve how Soldiers carry their equipment,” said Richard Landry, equipment designer. When service members tour the SSC, their ideas and suggestions for individual equipment are considered to determine if they are practical.

Currently, the lab is working on a tactical sling bag, a project created by the SSC load-bearing team for the Product Manager Clothing and Individual Equipment group under the Program Executive Office Soldier.

“Soldiers use the MOLLE [modular lightweight load-carrying equipment] assault pack, which is like a daypack, and they love it,” Landry said. “But one of the problems is that they can’t sit in a vehicle while wearing it.” It is also difficult for the Soldier to access equipment inside the packs when it is on their back, he continued. And, during the time they have to stop to put on or take off their packs, they are left in a vulnerable position.

Landry said the sling bag could be slung over a Soldier’s back, out of the way. The bag could be rotated to the front if the Soldier needed to access equipment or get into a vehicle.

“We started by looking at civilian carrier bags,” he said. “We needed to find one that could be used not only inside a vehicle where they could reach items easily, but something that could be effective throughout their mission.”

The team from the Individual Equipment Lab looked at commercial bags, but couldn’t find one that met the necessary requirements. The current prototype created by the lab has about 700 cubic inches of space and is slung over one shoulder. It has MOLLE webbing on the front so the user can add various pouches from the MOLLE system. It also has a secondary security strap to ensure it stays in place with a pull-tab for quick separation when needed.

Sling Bag

He thinks the sling bag would be a valuable tool for medics. “This would essentially give medics a hands-free capability while ensuring their supplies are easily available,” Landry said. “Additionally, if the medic came under fire while treating a casualty, they wouldn’t have to worry about leaving supplies behind. They could always be attached to his body.

Although the sling bag has been roughly sized around the combat lifesaver kit, Landry and other service members already see plenty of additional uses. “This bag could be helpful for anyone who will be carrying small electronics,” he said. “…even laptops.” The Chaplain at SSC was also recently looking for something for the components of the resupply kit. “He thought the sling bag was a good fit,” Landry said.

From here, the idea will be to incorporate the sling bag into the MOLLE system as an accessory item. Landry concluded by saying, “The MOLLE system is constantly changing based on what we learn from Soldier feedback.”

Photos courtesy US Army, by Sarah Underhill, AMC, December 20, 2007

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