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ID'd Graffitied ACH Helmet (Possible Use in 422nd Civil Affairs Batt.)


AnDuc49
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This is a helmet that I was able to recently pick up. When I purchased it initially, the seller said that the helmet was owned by Joseph Winebarger and used by him in Iraq. After some googling, I did find a man named "Joe Winebarger" who is a current member of the Police Department at Valdese, NC. I believe the seller is also a member of the same department.

 

Though I have reached out to Mr. Winebarger, he has not yet responded, so as of now, I can only guess that he served with the 422nd Civil Affairs Batt. during his time in the Army. There's a news article which lists him as being a member of Charlie Co., 422nd Civil Affairs attached to Task Force Marne (2nd BCT, 3rd ID). As he is a native of North Carolina, it seems possible that he was a part of the 422nd as they were based out of McLeansville, NC.

 

The helmet is an ACH produced by Specialty Defense System (SDS) sometime post-2005. I did not remove the center pad to check the production date as it is firmly placed in the helmet and I didn't want to risk damaging it. I'm unsure when the cover was produced, but I thought the drawing on the side was an interesting touch. In addition to the skull, his name "Winebarger" is also written on the cover on the wearer's left side. The helmet band also features his name "Winebarger" as well as his blood type. The helmet band has been on the helmet so long that it has lost almost all of it's elasticity.

 

Hopefully in the future, I'll be able to get in touch with Mr. Winebarger and confirm this information. As it stands though, I'm very happy to own this set.

 

I hope you all like it as much as I do. Let me know your thoughts as well to whether or not the connection seems plausible

 

 

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(U.S. Army Spc. Joe Winebarger, assigned to Charlie Company, 422nd Civil Affairs Battalion, takes notes while talking with a guard at a sulphur storage facility in Keramlais, north of Qara Qosh, Iraq, Jan. 26. 2010)

Unforunately, he's not wearing his helmet in this pic, so unable to confirm

 

post-154926-0-42921500-1547740160_thumb.jpg

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(Spc. Joe Winebarger (middle, holding papers), Company C, 422nd Civil Affairs Battalion, attached to the 2nd HBCT, 3rd ID, takes notes while he and his team visit one of the 150 schools to be renovated in northern Iraq.)

Link to article: https://www.dvidshub.net/news/48290/accomplishing-impossible-task-force-marne-soldiers-push-complete-mission

 

We can assume that the caption is correct as he's carrying the same chest holster as seen in the photo above. The helmet however appears to be different. Someone suggested that perhaps the vet had several helmets

post-154926-0-77090700-1547740405_thumb.jpg

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I like it. Like you said, it's entirely possible that he was issued multiple helmets throughout his career, hence the fact that he's wearing a different one in the photo. Keep digging though! There have been several occasions when I've managed to find a photo of one of my helmets being worn on deployment with enough time spent searching.

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VolunteerArmoury

I had a few helmets over my career but one I had in theater varied throughout the deployment. I had changed the chinstrap when one buckle broke & didn’t always have the elastic band or plate on it so could be the pot but different stages of it.

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VolunteerArmoury

The Camo cover doesn’t appear to match either.

Don’t mean to sound like I’m saying it’s the same helmet which it very well could be a different one but I did end up with some replacement covers on my pot in theater. One was simply because I was told mine was too faded, another to replace some tears, & I had to put on because we ended up with a new Bde & had to sew the 3rd SB SSIs on it.

 

A side note, a fellow collector I served briefly with had some helmets that he spiced up (plates, patches, etc), wore in theater & sold each with a photo & letter stating he wore it in Iraq. Made pretty good money like that.

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