fallout Posted January 13, 2015 Share #1 Posted January 13, 2015 Hello, I am wondering about a few medical bags I have seen. The ones I have seen are: M3, M5, No.17, and No.16. Now the M5 and M3 are from the 50s-60s I believe, but then did they stop using them? I have seen M3 bags dated into the 2000s so I assume they are still used or were used until recently, now the M5 I have not seen any made in the 80s but I was told they were used even in desert storm in 90-91 so when did they use them/stop using them? Now the No.17 and No.16 I know nothing about and just learned of there existence today, on the No.17 the earliest I have seen dated was 1987 but I see a few dated into the 2000s so I think they are still used, the No.16 I have only seen 2 both 1988 dated, when were these 2 bags introduced and is the No.16 still used? Now what I was wondering was who used what, I assume all of these were/are used by medical personnel but which one would be used for what? They wouldn't carry all of them at the same time, so what is the use of each bag? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NGCoastArtillery41 Posted January 13, 2015 Share #2 Posted January 13, 2015 During my time as a combat medic (2008 - 2014) we never used the M3 bag for the purposes of a field medical bag. I know my unit had a stock of them that we used as combat life saver bags. I would take a stocked M3 bag and stage it in whatever vehicle was going to be my evac vehicle on the range, but I would never carry it around with me on ruck marches or anything of that sort. Recently a lot of medics have been using what is sometimes referred to as the M9 bag, but frankly a lot of us do our best to utilize space on our body armor and will just use a standard assault pack to carry larger items or extra items (you don't want to be the guy carrying the different bag... makes you a target). Hope that helps a little bit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
m151mp Posted January 13, 2015 Share #3 Posted January 13, 2015 i saw the M3 used by medics in vietnam most of the time, and the senior aidman would often have an M5. never saw an M17 or M16 in use, i think they were introduced after i left service. i bought an M16 once at a collector's show, and i don't see how a medic would have wanted it for real field use, it did not seem well designed for that purpose. maybe we'll get lucky and a real medic will correct me on that, as that was not my MOS and i always like to learn more from the people who actually held that position. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VolunteerArmoury Posted January 13, 2015 Share #4 Posted January 13, 2015 I was Infantry my whole time but I had to carry a M3 bag as a CLS. For the past ten years or so I heard folks refer to them as CLS bags even though I presume they've never officially been called that. I had figured the medics had gotten away from using them & they just were inherited by CLS folks since it was abag not being used. Kinda like a reverse of the M1912 saddle bags not being used by Cavalry as much as anticipated & given to medics. They're being replaced or are replaced now with a CLS bag that reminds me of a fanny pack from the 1990s. I didn't understand how it was to've been worn. I wanted to ask medic buddies about using the M17 bag but never did & didn't get to see it used. Was it intended to be humped? The M16 though, I did see it used some. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sgtpeter Posted January 13, 2015 Share #5 Posted January 13, 2015 I was infantry as well and the M3 bags were definitely used as CLS bags until I retired in 2010. Each of our vehicles also had their own CLS bags. The M5 bags were carried by the BAS medics and maybe by the Company lead medic during the first deployment to Iraq in 2004-2005. But I don't remember seeing them after that. Funny thing is I can't remember what my platoon medic carried in 04-05, it might have been something he purchased or acquired. Peter Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VolunteerArmoury Posted January 13, 2015 Share #6 Posted January 13, 2015 I do recall several folks carrying commercial bags that were in blacks, tans, & greens. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NGCoastArtillery41 Posted January 13, 2015 Share #7 Posted January 13, 2015 I do recall several folks carrying commercial bags that were in blacks, tans, & greens. I carried a Tan commercial aid bag for a couple years, followed a Camelback ACU assault bag with a commercially made insert to make it into an aid bag, and then finally switched to just a plain ol' assault pack. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
polecat Posted January 23, 2015 Share #8 Posted January 23, 2015 I carried a Tan commercial aid bag for a couple years, followed a Camelback ACU assault bag with a commercially made insert to make it into an aid bag, and then finally switched to just a plain ol' assault pack. That's what I use, the camelbak with insert. The M9 sucks, the M3/M5 suck too, and the fanny packs we just got are pretty nice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now