I feel ya. I'm so old that none of my gear was nylon like in the picture, it was all canvas, and the clasp on my pistol belt was metal instead of that cheap plastic crap.
#9 Mine was a hook and eye buckle with a H-Harness, all canvas, 2 Mag pouches for 20 round Magazines, NOT 30's, a Single Canteen and of course the Butt pack or a rolled poncho for post guard
yup, I wore that lbe, except the holster was black leather- early 1970's and the ammo pouches where canvas ones for m14 mags for the most part. "new" green ones where for m16 mags. never made any sense to me as a m60 gunner to have to carry ammo pouches m14 ones where better for carrying a couple of frags though, like 2 I think. used to be, I think we carried like 3 ammo packs of m60 ammo per gun and every squad member carried one pack each as well, carrying ammo got old fast but when you needed it ,it also went fast.
Add a Claymore or two, smoke/CS/frag grenades, at LEAST a pair of belts of 7.62 for your squad's M60, a couple of OD green socks full of C-rats danglin' from your pack... I've probably forgotten some other stuff. Found out I couldn't swim very well with all that while tryin' to hold my M16 above my head and missin' the rope tryin' to cross a canal. Started to sink like Bob Dylan's proverbial stone. Ah, the good ol' days...
Not sure about the LBE straps here though. Vietnam era had the H straps on the back. I was in 80s and early 90s and we had the Y strap. Those don't look familiar. The butt pack looks to be Vietnam era as well. The holster is definitely 90s and forward. The small pouches, we only got issued one and kept a bandage in there on the shoulder of the LBE with a flashlight on the other side. The belt buckle was metal in basic, 1985 and saw the plastic ones later. We kept our poncho rolled up between the canteens with two blousing rubbers. Fun times.
#9 I have all that LBE and the helmet liner/steel pot to go with it. Mine has the plastic clasp because somehow the one that had the metal shrank. Weird.
#11. That day is still seared into my brain. I watched the unedited satellite feeds while dozens and dozens of people who had jumped hit the ground with a horrifying sound and spectacle. Twenty years later, it's still too soon for jokes. It will always be too soon.
#9, yup...and strung together with 550 cord, too.
ReplyDeleteRanger Lead the Way!
I'm old? When did that happen?
ReplyDeleteI feel ya.
DeleteI'm so old that none of my gear was nylon like in the picture, it was all canvas, and the clasp on my pistol belt was metal instead of that cheap plastic crap.
"back in the OLD army" heh-heh-heh.
DeleteI was thinking the same thing. I wore most of that shit when it was canvas. I was in the boy scouts at the time.
DeleteDid you have the hook and eye one or the two piece flat metal that had to be painted daily?
DeleteThe hook and eye buckle. That was all I ever saw between 18 years as a dependent and 3 years of service myself.
DeleteThat pic has now been sent to ALL of my Army buddies. Too dang funny! And...uh...yeah, I have that setup in the basement.
Delete#9 Mine was a hook and eye buckle with a H-Harness, all canvas, 2 Mag pouches for 20 round Magazines, NOT 30's, a Single Canteen and of course the Butt pack or a rolled poncho for post guard
Deleteyup, I wore that lbe, except the holster was black leather- early 1970's
ReplyDeleteand the ammo pouches where canvas ones for m14 mags for the most part. "new" green ones where for m16 mags. never made any sense to me as a m60 gunner to have to carry ammo pouches
m14 ones where better for carrying a couple of frags though, like 2 I think.
used to be, I think we carried like 3 ammo packs of m60 ammo per gun and every squad member carried one pack each as well, carrying ammo got old fast but when you needed it ,it also went fast.
Add a Claymore or two, smoke/CS/frag grenades, at LEAST a pair of belts of 7.62 for your squad's M60, a couple of OD green socks full of C-rats danglin' from your pack... I've probably forgotten some other stuff.
DeleteFound out I couldn't swim very well with all that while tryin' to hold my M16 above my head and missin' the rope tryin' to cross a canal. Started to sink like Bob Dylan's proverbial stone.
Ah, the good ol' days...
You're really old if the canteen is metal rather than plastic.
ReplyDelete#5 What has been seen, cannot be unseen!
ReplyDelete#5 That's gotta be photoshopped. Nobody is that friggin' ugly.
ReplyDeleteNot only did I carry that LBE, but being the battalion CBR NCO I also had to carry that shit also.
ReplyDeleteThese are all great, especially the one of
ReplyDeletehttps://www.hhs.gov/about/leadership/rachel-levine.html
I can't make up my mind whether she looks better in uniform or a bikini.
#5? Eww. Just ewwww.
ReplyDeleteWow, great collection today - thanks.
ReplyDeleteNot sure about the LBE straps here though. Vietnam era had the H straps on the back. I was in 80s and early 90s and we had the Y strap. Those don't look familiar. The butt pack looks to be Vietnam era as well. The holster is definitely 90s and forward. The small pouches, we only got issued one and kept a bandage in there on the shoulder of the LBE with a flashlight on the other side. The belt buckle was metal in basic, 1985 and saw the plastic ones later. We kept our poncho rolled up between the canteens with two blousing rubbers. Fun times.
ReplyDelete#9 I have all that LBE and the helmet liner/steel pot to go with it. Mine has the plastic clasp because somehow the one that had the metal shrank. Weird.
ReplyDeleteI'm older than that. My shit didn't have plastic buckles and the holster was leather.
ReplyDeleteHow many of us old fucks wanted to punch the prick at CIF when it was time to turn that shit in?
ReplyDeleteEverybody, ever. Young and old!
Delete#11. That day is still seared into my brain. I watched the unedited satellite feeds while dozens and dozens of people who had jumped hit the ground with a horrifying sound and spectacle. Twenty years later, it's still too soon for jokes. It will always be too soon.
ReplyDeleteWe can start making #11 jokes the day after the Kaaba is gravel and rest of the Grand Mosque is a glowing hole.
Delete#9 Add 2 or 4 magazine pouches.
ReplyDelete