Vpep Posted October 31, 2017 Share #1 Posted October 31, 2017 Hello All, I'm new to collecting modern gear, so I though I would ask for some help. Ive been gathering Marine Corps gear and uniforms to display, and I'd like to get it right. Ive found a nice coyote brown plate carrier and would like to outfit it with the proper pouches and gear. I've found these pouches, but I want to know if they are right for the carrier in terms of time period. The pouches all came from the same individual and still had middle eastern dust on them. Can someone also tell me what the insert for the hydration pack looks like, since this pouch came without it. I look forward to hearing from everyone. Thanks Vic PS Sorry about the one picture, I can't figure out how to rotate it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stealthytyler Posted October 31, 2017 Share #2 Posted October 31, 2017 Nice gear. Are you going for an OEF early war look? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cap Camouflage Pattern I Posted October 31, 2017 Share #3 Posted October 31, 2017 Very nice, welcome to modern collecting, get it while it's hot! Your vest is a Modular Tactical Vest, used from around 2003 to 2009, yours is towards the later side because it has a lot of PALS webbing on the back, the early ones din't have much. It should be marked with a date on the tag, and the pouches may have dates in their contracts. What time frame do you want to represent? 2003-2005 I'd go with mostly woodland pouches, 2006-2009 I'd go with Coyote brown pouches. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vpep Posted October 31, 2017 Author Share #4 Posted October 31, 2017 I think i would like to represent 05 to 09. My problem is I have no idea how to date these things, or to tell what is aftermarket for Airsofters or privately purchased by soldiers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vpep Posted October 31, 2017 Author Share #5 Posted October 31, 2017 Should I go with a woodland plate carrier as well? I have an opportunity to get one as well. You are absolutely right about it being hot, Its down right addictive. You can put together an awesome historical display without breaking the bank and still talk to vets about their gear while they can accurately remember it too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mercenary25 Posted November 1, 2017 Share #6 Posted November 1, 2017 Actually it is OTV, not MTV. Very nice, welcome to modern collecting, get it while it's hot! Your vest is a Modular Tactical Vest, used from around 2003 to 2009, yours is towards the later side because it has a lot of PALS webbing on the back, the early ones din't have much. It should be marked with a date on the tag, and the pouches may have dates in their contracts. What time frame do you want to represent? 2003-2005 I'd go with mostly woodland pouches, 2006-2009 I'd go with Coyote brown pouches. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mercenary25 Posted November 1, 2017 Share #7 Posted November 1, 2017 Look through photos of Marines in Afghanistan and Iraq then pick which one you want your display to represent then post it here. GWOT is too complicated to give pointers because of how much gear has changed throughout the war. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cap Camouflage Pattern I Posted November 1, 2017 Share #8 Posted November 1, 2017 Look through photos of Marines in Afghanistan and Iraq then pick which one you want your display to represent then post it here. GWOT is too complicated to give pointers because of how much gear has changed throughout the war. You're right, good catch. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fender Rhodes Posted November 1, 2017 Share #9 Posted November 1, 2017 Just a suggestion...pick a year (or two) time frame to work on because there were a bunch of changes to the 782 gear issue between 2005-2009. The coyote OTV is fine for the time frame you are looking to recreate. During the 2005-2006 time frame you still saw a lot of woodland MOLLE...heck even some ALICE 30 rd mag pouches were still being used. Most Marines were still using the IFAK that was starting to be issued in early 2003. By 2008-2009, coyote MOLLE gear was pretty much standard and woodland was being phased out. But you're on the right track. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vpep Posted November 1, 2017 Author Share #10 Posted November 1, 2017 Thanks for the info. I think I'm definitely going to pick up the woodland vest anyway, because one sure the scope of this will expand for me at some point.I would like to use the OTV vest I have as a base to start. So which pouches would be proper for this vest? Should I just try to match the dates on the tags? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fender Rhodes Posted November 2, 2017 Share #11 Posted November 2, 2017 Typically we wore four of the woodland pouches designed for two 30 round mags...I wore two on each side of the vest. I also had a frag pouch on each side as well, above the rifle mag pouches. IFAK was to the rear. The rest of the gear depended on your role, ie grenadier, RTO, etc. In '03, guys either wore the ALICE LBE or used the LBV that came with the MOLLE. By 2005-2006, everyone just attached stuff directly to the OTV. I usually wore a Tactical Tailor modular belt with my pistol mag pouches, drop holster and dump pouch attached to it. By doing that, I had less stuff to attach to the OTV. Again, it was users preference. For the most part, that vest you have is inaccurate for 2008-2009 since the Corps had gone to the plate carrier and pouch system by Eagle Industries by then. Basically what you have is good for 2003-2007. There's plenty of photos out there if you do a google search. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mercenary25 Posted November 2, 2017 Share #12 Posted November 2, 2017 You need to decide what year and battles you want your gear to represent, as I suggested earlier, look up pictures online. If you want to stick with that OTV you have right now, then the timeframe should be around 2006-07. Just before MTV was issued and some units would still use it even after MTV came out. Check the date on that OTV to be sure. Its a very late model. Early models do not have PALS all the way to top on back panel. In that case, Coyote brown pouches are good to go, however, the pouches you have on looks like very later, for Eagle Scalable plate carrier. So you should check dates on those to make sure. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vpep Posted November 2, 2017 Author Share #13 Posted November 2, 2017 Thanks for the advice, The plate carrier has a contract date of 04, the pouchesare dated 07. I've been checking out photos like you guys suggested. I definitely have a lot of homework to do. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cap Camouflage Pattern I Posted November 2, 2017 Share #14 Posted November 2, 2017 Any date on the vest? Usually they have a spot for the month and year of manufacture to be hand written in. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vpep Posted November 3, 2017 Author Share #15 Posted November 3, 2017 The spot is there, but there is no date written in. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cap Camouflage Pattern I Posted November 3, 2017 Share #16 Posted November 3, 2017 As previously mentioned it was made towards the end of the OTV's life, the early ones didn't have much PALS webbing on the back: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vpep Posted November 3, 2017 Author Share #17 Posted November 3, 2017 So what do the earlier coyote brown pouches look like? should I just go by the date on the tag? Also I have come across a bunch of pouches with a full color commercial tag on them. Are these after market? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cap Camouflage Pattern I Posted November 3, 2017 Share #18 Posted November 3, 2017 They sound aftermarket to me, but a lot of aftermarket stuff was bought and used by individuals or entire units. This the the early coyote IFAK pouch, no PALS webbing on the front, I belive a slightly later version has coyote brown buckles. this coyote double m4/m16 mag pouch or a woodland MOLLE II m4/m16 double mag pouch are the most commonly seen, either are correct, whatever you feel like, the woodland ones are more common early on. I believe 3 is the issued number but not uncommon to see 4. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vpep Posted November 3, 2017 Author Share #19 Posted November 3, 2017 Great, thank you for the conformation. I've seen a few woodland pouches on the market locally, so I will definitely pick those up. The earlier pouches are harder to come by where I live, but I'm going to Jacksonville in January so I've allocated a day to myself to go and scour all the thrift and pawn shops outside of Camp Lejeune. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fender Rhodes Posted November 3, 2017 Share #20 Posted November 3, 2017 I'm going to Jacksonville in January so I've allocated a day to myself to go and scour all the thrift and pawn shops outside of Camp Lejeune. Just go to Saigon Sam's (the main location near Camp Geiger). They'll have everything you're looking for. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vpep Posted November 3, 2017 Author Share #21 Posted November 3, 2017 Ive been there many times. That place is a gold mine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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