Iraq/Afghanistan otv setup question

[LE LOUP DES MERS]

I'm working on an Iraq/Afghanistan display for my living room, and im manly focusing on 2008 as the year for display and (grandma's camouflage) acu for the camouflage. So question for all my Iraq/Afghanistan vets how did you guys organize your gear on your otv vest and what gear did you guys use? I understand it's all mission dependent and honestly I haven't decided what unit to use for this display. But I'll probably just go with something basic like first infinity division for example. I'm also probably going to go with a rifle man setup for the display but I want to get some different ideas before I put the display together. Also, if you carried a pistol was the holster attached to your pants belt? Or actually a molle belt? (Correct me if I'm wrong but molle battle belts I don't believe we're really a thing in 2008, at least for infantry)

[mohawkALSE]

What is the grandmas camouflage term?  Cant say I'm familiar with that.  When you say ACU for camouflage I'll take it you mean UCP?  ACU is really just the uniform style, not the camo pattern.

 

Used to see alot of thigh rig holsters as well as Blackhawk Serpa types worn actually on vests using the MOLLE adapter plate for them.  Seems belt worn rigs were more done inside the wire.

[Allan H.]

I can tell you from having worn a pistol in the field, that the preferred method of wear is to have it on you in such a manner that you could keep it when you weren't wearing your LBE. A lot of the officers that I worked with ended up buying their own holsters so that they could keep their pistol with them yet drop all of the rest of the battle rattle. Thigh rig, chest rig, whatever. Wearing the standard M-9 holster on your pistol belt SUCKED.

 

Allan

[LE LOUP DES MERS]

Ok, I got the saying a little wrong it's actually grandmas couch camo because the only thing it blends into is grandmas couch. But anyway all jokes aside, yes I mean ucp. So basically the tan riggers belt they issued army guys was also your battle belt? The otv I'm using for the display is all complete with the side plates, neck protector, etc. Which I know a lot of guys didn't really use. But was the ifak worn at chest level? Most of the pictures I have seen, shows the ifak being worn above the mag pouch. But some photos show the ifak on the back. 

[GIKyle]

I was a platoon leader in a light infantry company in Baghdad in 2008 and I cannot think of anyone off the top of my head who attached everything to their OTV.  Most had some sort of chest rack and would wear that unless driving or gunning.  We had a directive to wear body armor on our COP at certain time so keeping it slick kept the weight down.   I do remember seeing some personnel with their pouches on their OTVs, but they were generally support personnel who were only wearing their OTV when leaving the wire.  

 

Kyle

[LE LOUP DES MERS]

So if you were going out on a patrol or going to an active combat zone. Did everyone help carry ammo for the m249 gunner? Kinda like how everyone back in Vietnam carried at least 100 rounds for the m60 gunner.

[AustinO]

6 hours ago, mohawkALSE said:

What is the grandmas camouflage term?  Cant say I'm familiar with that.  When you say ACU for camouflage I'll take it you mean UCP?  ACU is really just the uniform style, not the camo pattern.

 

Used to see alot of thigh rig holsters as well as Blackhawk Serpa types worn actually on vests using the MOLLE adapter plate for them.  Seems belt worn rigs were more done inside the wire.

This is what he's referring to, hah! 

[mohawkALSE]

4 minutes ago, AustinO said:

This is what he's referring to, hah! 

I had to look at that twice and notice the boots lol

[Skysoldier80]

What I wore (while on MTT) 2008- 2009

 

1) Personal Chest Rig

2) 14x M4 Mags

3) PLB

4) 2x M67

5) 2x M18 Smoke (Yellow and Red)

6) NODs

7) IFAC

8) General purpose Pouch with all sorts of stuff

9) dump pouch

10) Camel back (100oz) or assault bag with camel back in it

11( I would occasionally wear my M9, but it was extra weight so most of the time I wouldn’t bring it because I also carried our teams Medic pouch 

12) sometimes I would serve as the team medic so load out would change

13) sometime I would carry M249 so load out would change. 
that is why I wore a rack vest instead of attaching everything to my vest so I could have modularity

 

 

[Skysoldier80]

This photo was at camp Blackhorse so I carried my M9.  We were evaluating an Afghan unit going through there version of a CTC

[Skysoldier80]

I guess you need to decide what you want to portray.  My loadout is pretty atypical and No I am not a SOF guy.

 

I would bin my portrayal as follows:

1) Conventional

2) Atypical (me)

3) SOF (completely different)

[LE LOUP DES MERS]

47 minutes ago, Skysoldier80 said:

I guess you need to decide what you want to portray.  My loadout is pretty atypical and No I am not a SOF guy.

 

I would bin my portrayal as follows:

1) Conventional

2) Atypical (me)

3) SOF (completely different)

What unit were you in? So from what most people are telling me it was more common to wear a chest rig or lbv over your otv then just attach everything on the otv, although that depends on your unit really. Then from what your saying doesn't look like people carried any ammo for the saw gunner. Did you just attach everything to your rigger belt or did you have a molle belt or those old green pistol belts? 

[Skysoldier80]

1 hour ago, LE LOUP DES MERS said:

What unit were you in? So from what most people are telling me it was more common to wear a chest rig or lbv over your otv then just attach everything on the otv, although that depends on your unit really. Then from what your saying doesn't look like people carried any ammo for the saw gunner. Did you just attach everything to your rigger belt or did you have a molle belt or those old green pistol belts? 

I was attached to the Germans under RC- North.  I would change pouches as necessary.  I never was one all of my deployments attaching things to vests. My MTT deployed under 1st BDE, 1ID.

 

Bottom line u can’t go wrong on whatever u do.  I was the only one who wore OD stuff because I felt it could go with any uniform.  Understand I built this from a baseline tactical Taylor and a London Bridge set up.  I wore some part of this ( adapted to times) for three of four deployments.  My first deployment to Iraq, we were transitions from ALICE to Molle.  Most of the time I use zip ties instead of ALICE clips for weight.  This photo was all Plastic MOLLE Clips or cloth MOLLe.

[Skysoldier80]

I always tucked in my shirts until we were fielded combat shirts which were awesome

[Skysoldier80]

This photo was set up with basic rifleman and I noticed I was wearing my M9 on a drop leg holster.  This holster was the airborne rig from Blackhawk

[Skysoldier80]

I had my personal ACOG with sunshade and had a M4 Pouch on my M4. My thoughts is if I had to E&E, I could dumb most of my crap and still fight.  Thank God I never had to.  I am now not a fan ofACOG due to small eye relieve and switched to 3x magnifier with EOTECH.

[Skysoldier80]

4 minutes ago, Skysoldier80 said:

I was attached to the Germans under RC- North.  I would change pouches as necessary.  I never was one all of my deployments attaching things to vests. My MTT deployed under 1st BDE, 1ID.

 

Bottom line u can’t go wrong on whatever u do.  I was the only one who wore OD stuff because I felt it could go with any uniform.  Understand I built this from a baseline tactical Taylor and a London Bridge set up.  I wore some part of this ( adapted to times) for three of four deployments.  My first deployment to Iraq, we were transitions from ALICE to Molle.  Most of the time I use zip ties instead of ALICE clips for weight.  This photo was all Plastic MOLLE Clips or cloth MOLLe.

I had different pouches for different requirements.  I had multiple pouches that I could change my gear when necessary; that is why I like the vest more

[Skysoldier80]

On my Rigger belt, I wore nothing.  I had an assault bag and I this instance my M9 with two extra Mags for M4 and one extra in my holster for M9

[Skysoldier80]

I always like Nomex flight gloves more than anything and wore them for four deployments.  When they would start to wear out, I would  cut the fingers Off

[Skysoldier80]

And I guess finally point, I preferred single point sling.

[LE LOUP DES MERS]

I put all the attachments on the vest plus two sapi plates and it's heavy. I was going to do an infantry division  but all the photos and video footage I was seeing most infantry soldiers just wore the vest with the neck protector on occasions. So I'm probably going to go with a calvary division instead. (Correct me if I'm wrong) All the photos and video footage I saw most soldiers either had half complete otv's or all complete. And most of the guys had chest rigs or lbv's attached to the otv.  I guess it makes sense, they do a lot of vehicle operations after all. 

[Skysoldier80]

8 hours ago, LE LOUP DES MERS said:

I put all the attachments on the vest plus two sapi plates and it's heavy. I was going to do an infantry division  but all the photos and video footage I was seeing most infantry soldiers just wore the vest with the neck protector on occasions. So I'm probably going to go with a calvary division instead. (Correct me if I'm wrong) All the photos and video footage I saw most soldiers either had half complete otv's or all complete. And most of the guys had chest rigs or lbv's attached to the otv.  I guess it makes sense, they do a lot of vehicle operations after all. 

It really comes down to this; set it up however you want.  When it comes down to it, there were slight modifications that every Soldier did.

 

some went full personal, some just added personal items

 

if you can find it, SOCOM had an entire modular duffel bag where they had anything and everything to set up how they wanted.