3rd ID OIF 1 grouping

[mondo_fondo]

I bought the other day a nice 3rd ID Push to Baghdad grouping. I got the vest cover, kevlar helmet, DCU pants and jacket, boots, and the web gear with bayonet, 2 mag pouches and a canteen. Inside a mag pouch there was a paper that the soldier wrote about taking guard duty which was dated and really cool.

[mondo_fondo]

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[Longbranch]

3rd ID helmet covers are typically patched. Also, most of the 3rd ID invasion forces used the BDU Interceptor (OTV) vests, not the PASGT vest with the DCU cover (having said that, I have seen pictures of Marines using the PASGT vest both with and without the cover in 2003). Did you buy these direct from the vet, and did he personally state these were used in the invasion?

[ScottG]

Not saying it was impossible but I rolled with the 3rd ID and we all had the LBV (load bearing vests) not the old LBE as you show. Some of us did keep extra ammo pouches but they attached directly to the vests. Scott.

[mondo_fondo]

You guys do provide good points. I bought it from a friend. He told me it was from a 3rd ID soldier who went across the desert to take Baghdad. I believe that the helmet, boots and DCU's were worn for sure. I will give my friend a call and see what He can give me. Web gear is heavily worn, and the the vest cover seems new.

[Longbranch]

You will have a hard time proving that helmet is a legit 3rd ID invasion piece, since the cover is not patched. I have never seen a 3rd ID PASGT helmet DCU cover that didn't feature that division's patches on both sides. These items may have come from a soldier that served in the 2003 invasion, but honestly, I doubt these items were involved in that operation.

 

You really need to start knowing what you are looking at when you are thinking about adding something to a collection, or at least get much better proof if it's something that doesn't conform to the accepted standards. If this group of items was offered to me with the story that they were used in the 2003 invasion by a 3rd ID vet, I simply wouldn't believe it, and would have passed on the group. The basically brand new vest cover... the un-patched helmet... the LBE setup... if you ever look at pictures of 3rd ID soldiers during the 2003 invasion... these don't really fit in to that picture...