Uniforms and pouches and vests, oh my!!

[LT]

ladies and gents, i hereby address the issue every airsoft enthusiast experiences, whether noob or veteran:

-what uniform do i wear?
-what pouches do i use?
-what epic tactical vest do i get?!

the game itself is only half the fun. the other half is putting together the gear!! straight to the point, here is my advice, as this goes in major Ops around here anyway:

--good guys = ACU/TAN [something]
-ACU
-DCU
-Desert Marpat
-Desert Flecktarn
-Desert Flora
-ATACs
-Multicam.....etc, etc, etc.....

--bad guys = GREEN [something]
-OD Green
-BDU
-Woodland Flecktarn
-Woodland Tiger stripe
-Woodland Marpat
-Russian Flora.....etc, etc, etc.....

here are do's and don't with the uniforms:

DO:

-take time to find the right size. better to go one size too big then too small, but not more than that. clothing should be loose fitting all around; freedom of movement, dissipation of heat and moisture.

-match the camo pattern appropriate to the terrain....obviously.

-wash your stinkin' clothes! the more permanent stains, the better, as far as matching the place you play. but get the dirt, grime, and stench off. you paid good money for it, take care of it.

DON'T:

-mix n' match greens with tans; bad guy/good guy. ex...ACU/woodland BDU. DCU/woodland marpat. multicam/OD green. this is a major issue, don't contribute to it. nothing worse than fratricide, or looking "rogue" to both sides. this includes pouches. be consistent.

-active duty military certification badges/tabs. i.e. airborne/air assault/combat infantry badge, ranger/sniper/special forces tab, etc. you didn't earn it, don't wear it. we that are, or have been, active duty military find it disrespectful. unit patches, the US flag, and ranks are mostly ok, but use discretion. there are plenty of epic, cool, awesome patches specifically for airsoft.

that's it for uniforms. by all means, add your thoughts and comments! more to follow regarding tactical vests, pouches, and head gear

love,

LT

[Deleted]

Great post. I have spent a considerable amount of time educating non military airsofters in my local area on what is not acceptable, such as badges, tabs, and whatnot. I actually had to help out one of my guys just before the event as he bought a new pair of ACU's and they came with a Ranger tab on them. He was proudly sporting it until I briefed him on the do's and dont's.

Great post LT

[dave OC-6]

this is only for clarification of the field policy....

if someone wears a patch and is not falsely representing him / herself as a person that earned that patch i will not make that person remove the patch.

anyone who has earned patches are more than welcome to wear them.

also government regulations state that you can wear the service uniform as long as the US ARMY is removed.

i will not go further due to SCOUS has ruled that you can where wear anything you want short of the MOH (first amendment right). now if someone gets something of value from stating that he misrepresented himself that is fraud. not saying thats right or wrong just what it is.

[Redkangavoosa]

this includes pouches. be consistent.

This is why I always emphasize everyone to buy their gear in Coyote tan/Brown/Khaki, it's a very neutral color, and matches almost all gear.

[trenchraider]

Good post, and an interesting discussion. I've always gotten a kick out of playing around with different uniform/gear combos over the years. I will add two points of my own:

active duty military certification badges/tabs. i.e. airborne/air assault/combat infantry badge, ranger/sniper/special forces tab, etc. you didn't earn it, don't wear it. we that are, or have been, active duty military find it disrespectful. unit patches, the US flag, and ranks are mostly ok, but use discretion. there are plenty of epic, cool, awesome patches specifically for airsoft.

In most airsoft communities that I'm aware of this rule of thumb is not applied to foreign and obsolete/historical US items. This is especially the case when doing a specific themed or reenactment load out. it looks a little odd to have some random bit of foreign insignia on your jacket, but no one is likely to gripe about it. Some years ago I ran across an airsoft team that wore Belgian rank insignia as part of their team hierarchy. No one seemed to mind and to be honest it looked kind of cool.

Of course you want to use common sense. It might be best to avoid wearing something with a swastika, "sig runes" or anything else easily associated with Nazi Germany for fear of someone getting the wrong idea and labeling you as a Nazi/Extremist/Fascist/Racist(whatever that over used buzzword means)/baby eating lunatic/whatever. Of course if doing a historical load out, this might not apply. But once again, you might look a bit out of place as the only one in WW2 kit if not at a themed OP. ;D

This is why I always emphasize everyone to buy their gear in Coyote tan/Brown/Khaki, it's a very neutral color, and matches almost all gear.

I'll go one further and advise people to avoid black gear. Yes, it looks cool and we all know that "basic black goes with anything But actual black is a very stark an noticeable color that does not occur very often in nature. It stands out like a sore thumb, which is why alot of folks paint their rifles these days. Of course anyone who has seen me at a recent skirmish will know this is a case of my handing out advice I'm not currently following as I wear a black plate carrier/MOLLE pouches. My defence is that I bought all that black gear when I was doing alot of CQB and wanted to go with the all black look. I'm currently in the process of replacing it with plain green kit instead.

TR

[dave OC-6]

durring the day and most night conditions black is a unnatural color, you wont find "black" in nature. dark brown / green / shadows yes. a solid mass of black... no

as a observer on the field i see black items give away people all the time

[caliban]

Thanks LT, multicam had me a little confused as to which it went with: tan or green.

[slytin]

Jan 24, 2012 7:59:35 GMT -5 caliban said:

Thanks LT, multicam had me a little confused as to which it went with: tan or green.

Rule of thumb Caliban if you see someone wearing Multicam don't shoot them.

[Foggy (CR4)]

Especially if your also wearing Multicam!

I must admit though that my tac vest is OD... eventually i'll have to re-buy stuff in Tan.

[dave OC-6]

i think in some milsim games its ok to mix it up a little with the uniforms. this forces the people to THINK prior to pulling the trigger.

here is a example
in iraq when i was there we held the airport (BIAP) and this was the mix at checkpoints.....

US 1st AD DCUs
US 1st CD ACUs
US 82nd or 10th (attached to 1st AD) ACUs with high speed infantry gear in tan.
USMC in dig tan
iraqi police in blue
iraqi ICDC in old iraqi uniforms (green)
iraqi army CC deserts
state dept in civilian gear lots of dark brown and green (easy to clean)

thats what you could find at the check points all the time, it was similar in 1991 during the gulf war when the saudi forces showed up wearing east german uniforms and entire us units showing up in woodland uniforms mixing with CC deserts.

on a side note the plan for reforger was to be a tan (ACU) and green (BDU) game, it was requested about 2 weeks out to add tan. diddnt work as well as it should have, i will take the hit on that.

[dave OC-6]

Jan 24, 2012 8:48:27 GMT -5 Foggy (CR4) said:

Especially if your also wearing Multicam!

I must admit though that my tac vest is OD... eventually i'll have to re-buy stuff in Tan.

you are just replicating what happens all the time in nearly every military all over the world. no issues there.

[slytin]

Jan 24, 2012 9:06:07 GMT -5 dave OC-6 said:

Jan 24, 2012 8:48:27 GMT -5 Foggy (CR4) said:

Especially if your also wearing Multicam!

I must admit though that my tac vest is OD... eventually i'll have to re-buy stuff in Tan.

you are just replicating what happens all the time in nearly every military all over the world. no issues there.

It might be replicating actual events, but for airsoft and identifying targets it can be quite confusing and fustrating to some players.

Multicam already is confusing if it's green or is tan .

[dave OC-6]

well its kinda greenish tan or is it tanish green.... how about tangeen or gran?

[slytin]

I like Tangeen it can be a third force. Tan vs Green vs Tangeen

[dave OC-6]

here is a idea, come paint my 53 ft trailer.
wear tan, im painting it green, brown, etc.... come help and by the time your done your carrier will be multi cam..... done and you save money

[Foggy (CR4)]

Despite the OD vest, I think it's easy to see that i'm wearing multicam, tan by default. ;D

[dave OC-6]

im a big fan of OD as a default color, it goes with everything.

[caliban]

Jan 24, 2012 8:42:58 GMT -5 slytin said:

Jan 24, 2012 7:59:35 GMT -5 caliban said:

Thanks LT, multicam had me a little confused as to which it went with: tan or green.

Rule of thumb Caliban if you see someone wearing Multicam don't shoot them.

Haha, roger that Sly!

[LT]

great comments people! very good points about multi-cam, ODs, and badges. let me make one final comment on the subjects, then move on to vests and pouches:

OC-6 is correct. there's no law prohibiting players from wearing whatever badges/tabs they please, short of the MOH, as long as they don't do it for monetary gain. also, if players wear them due to role play (wwII, vietnam, gulf war reenactment, etc), that's fine. finally, if a soldier GAVE u a badge/tab, or if its a hand-me-down from a military family member or friend, no problem there either.

HOWEVER, as the saying goes, "don't be THAT guy." again, soldiers and vets don't appreciate it. it takes more guts, pain, sacrifice, and work than you know to earn the ranger, sniper, special forces tab, etc...as well as the permanent physical/mental damage resulting from the training. indeed also, many of my bro's/sis's-in-arms paid the ultimate sacrifice wearing these certs' and tabs. so, if the aforementioned factors aren't in play, think twice before you sport a ranger/SF/airborne tab just because you can.

as for uniform camo patterns.....

let's face it. sometimes one just doesn't have the money to do 100% tans or greens, and have rambo's wardrobe of kicka$$ camo options. honestly, just do your best. the categorizing of the patterns i mentioned are based off an observed, unsaid rule-of-thumb. you'll find that's how most teams dress up to differentiate each other at major airsoft ops pretty much anywhere.

now, when games call for specific patterns that conflict with what i mentioned...well heck, go for it! personally, i love mixing ACU & BDU, and OD green w/ multi-cam as well. however, if you stick with my advice as a default, you'll be in good shape.

and NOWWW....vests and pouches!!! YAAAAAAY!!! B-) :-D

listen......there are probably more vests, chest rigs, tactical belts, pouches, alice rigs, plate carriers, hydration packs, shoulder packs, rucks, holsters and gun bag options of every shape, size, and color than RTE PLUTO had IEDs. (politically incorrect, probably yes, but...moving on...)

skipping all the intricate details, here's the basic, most flexible way to start, that should be cheaper than trial-and-error...noobs, this is geared toward YOU, pay attention:....

--molle system. it's the most versatile, flexible load-bearing platform out there.

--pick a solid color: OD green, tan, saige, or black. Color’s actually not too crucial here, so long as the pouches best match your uniform.

--get pouches you NEED. operative word: NEED! look for functionality; cool-points will follow. the more games you play, the more you figure out what you need or what you don’t.

--get a hydration carrier. this is a matter of safety. whether canteen, bottle pouch, or camelbak, doesn’t matter. Just get one! Indoor/outdoor, hot weather/cold weather, you WILL sweat. Stay hydrated, keep a some sort of water source ON you. (tho some of us are certified CLS, first-aid, CPR, or know the battle-buddy carry…doesn’t mean we wanna use it one the schmuck that passed out from dehydration :-P)

That’s it for now, pictures to follow. Comment! Add your input!! LT out B-)

[dave OC-6]

my big thing is people that get 7-20 pouches and dont use any

[Meisnerd]

Pff, multicam deserves to be shot, friendly or not, just for being the ambiguous monstrosity that it is.

[LT]

hey, that's why multi-cam supposedly rocks at the same time; camo's supposed to be ambiguous

[Redkangavoosa]

No love for X-Camo around here? (Actually, I've yet to see ANYONE use X-camo in Texas yet.)

[caliban]

Jan 27, 2012 17:56:37 GMT -5 Redkangavoosa said:

No love for X-Camo around here? (Actually, I've yet to see ANYONE use X-camo in Texas yet.)

That actually looks pretty cool. Didn't even know that existed.

I also heard about a multicam tigerstripe coming out soon, do you know anything about that Dave?

[dave OC-6]

igerstripe multi cam wont happen unless they make a deal (copyright issues)

[Bruiser]

Awesome thread but! I have a question.
I come from a family that has a long history in the army. I was not able to join (another story for another time)
My boys and I have enormous respect and admiration for the Army, well for all our armed forces for that matter. My question is (since all my family that was in the Army are gone) Does this mean I cannot have the US ARMY tabs on our ACU's



My boys don't have their ACU shirts on in this pic as it was ripping hot but how does our loadouts look and my second question is my boys want to be Rangers if and when they can and want me to get them the Ranger tabs. Should I or shouldn't I get them?
Thanks for the great thread

[dave OC-6]

yes you can...
just dont say you are in the army, if anyone asks just tell them your reason and you are fine, dont accept anything for your service (cash donations, jobs, dinner, etc...) if you were not in, that could be fraud.

we run into this in the living history world.

[Bruiser]

I would never! pretend or claim to be. My family would come back and thumb me! to death if I did so

[LT]

Definite props to u and ur boys for ur respect of the uniforms and tabs sir. As oc- 6 mentioned, its fine if u want to wear the u.s. army tab. Just tell them ur story, and ensure they don't mistake u as actual active duty, reserve, or prior service. Its understandable that ur boys would like to wear the ranger tab. (Shoot, I'm hoping in a year or 2 to go to ranger school myself). Many people think its ultimately cool...and, well...it is. However, i advise ur boys do not wear them, for reasons I've stated before. U guys can show respect and admiration for the ranger tab by leaving it for those that're genuine ranger qualified...cuz hey, i can't wear the tab either :-P :-)

[Bruiser]

Thanks LT