USMC Vietnam War Experimental Body Armor

[@Brent0331]

Lists of books on small unit tactics: www.amazon.com/shop/brent0331 **This website sells a lot quality reproductions of vintage camouflage patterns**: onlinemilitaria.net/shopaff.asp?affid=1608

[@jonahc2807]

Looking back, it's crazy just how many modern concepts originated from the Vietnam War. Plate carriers, NVGs, HALO jumps, red dots(OEGs), etc.

[@FragGoesBoom]

I think the OEG optics look pretty cool

[@saharafox8209]

Erdl green dominant is one of my favorite camos, my dad gave me his when i was in elementary school loved those things he gave me a set of erdl highlands but the green was the best

[@rifleshooterchannel208]

I have a jumpsuit made of ERDL/Brown Dom pant and blouse sewn together. Makes me wonder what kind of nutty stuff the first owner was doing in it.

[@saharafox8209]

@@rifleshooterchannel208 lol yeah thats wierd

[@ab5olut3zero95]

@@rifleshooterchannel208not that weird. Read the Ranger Digest tips n tricks books. Volume 1 gives exact instructions on sewing oversized uniform items to make a jumpsuit. Must have been fairly common back in the day.

[@rifleshooterchannel208]

@@ab5olut3zero95 Yeah but how common was it to issue people ERDL?

[@m0naalisa793]

@@rifleshooterchannel208thats the point. The issued ERDL might not have been to the wearers size so he had it tailored as a jumpsuit instead. Considering how rare ERDL was.

[@miniconsrus]

Very reminiscent of the Mk2 Osprey body armour used by us Brits. It’s amazing how decades later, the ‘nam era experimental design was re-hashed and re-used

[@karamelles98]

Never had the idea- that the ceramic plates were a thing such a long time ago. Also nice to see the PASGT vest- there were some of those still used in our weekend "warrior" live fire training back in 2013, probably received from the U.S. as military aid. Thanks for the detailed and instructive video!

[@barnaclebill1615]

Loved the video Brent! 👍👍😁🇺🇸

[@KoishiVibin]

they had these in the 1970s more or less police could order somewhat boutique, fairly expensive ceramic composites.

[@tomhenry897]

Used by helicopter pilots then

[@karamelles98]

Cool, here first time i heard about ceramic plates- was from Soviet -Afghan war veterans, to be honest first time we got issued ceramic plates as weekend "warriors" was probably after 2018 in somewhat large quantities. I actually had to buy them for my own money. @@KoishiVibin

[@KoishiVibin]

@@tomhenry897 VBAGT was for infantry something 22nd or something. that was their test unit. Helicopter pilots had two different sets of ceramic armor plating.

[@Doc_Egan]

Wow! It was so ahead of its time. It looks like a modern body armor vest. It's too bad we did not use these ideas sooner.

[@tomhenry897]

Probably cost to much

[@Doc_Egan]

@@tomhenry897 The lowest bidder always wins. Lol!!

[@wheneggsdrop1701]

The Soviets beat us to the punch by adopting rifle rated armor during the Soviet-Afghan war.

[@spehhhsssmarineer8961]

⁠@@wheneggsdrop1701 That armor hasn’t been so beloved in Ukraine…

[@jamalwilburn228]

Soldiers complained it was too heavy

[@Sedan57Chevy]

You can always count on Brent for an excellent presentation! Very cool piece of kit!

[@bebop_557]

Brent and Paul Harrell singlehandedly carrying the tacticaltoobers by being based vets and not cringe brovets

[@mvend10]

I can’t imagine fighting in Vietnam as an infantryman and coming home to face what they faced. God bless

[@chrismclain6301]

Cool video. I am a novice gear collector and enjoy videos like this.. I just retired after 26 years in the Army, and seeing the development of gear just during my career was pretty interesting. What's even cooler is studying this stuff and seeing kind of the beginnings of modular gear systems, starting really, with the introduction of the M1956 stuff and going from there. Keep at it brother. Your videos are very informative.

[@FirefighterJason]

Brent! just talked to my father (MSG, 1968 - 1992) he said this was worn briefly by a watch commander (E8) during the fall of Saigon, wore it for maybe two hours and tossed it. Probably in some Vietnamese attic if it still exists.

[@Brent0331]

Interesting.

[@Nowhere888]

I read an old manual from the Vietnam war era that recommended full body armor for the man on point and then swap the vest with the next point man.

[@DJTheMetalheadMercenary]

So cool brother!!! Those prototypes are some of the first case examples of us ever using Velcro with Military equipment really as well, wild.

[@Brent0331]

Thanks for watching and commenting brother.

[@DJTheMetalheadMercenary]

@@Brent0331 Hellyeah brother this is good stuff!!

[@jrgkls]

Good to see a video on this vest. Like you, I've never found a whole lot of info. That vest and my Japanese vest are the rarest body armor pieces I have.

[@pabloenriquechavesmonsalve4786]

We were the Last Marines to wear Metal Pot Helmets in ITS. Back in 86.

[@BlueWaterSTAX]

Very cool review. I've watched so many Vietnam grunts complain about those flack jackets. I bet it saved several thousand lives though. Thanks Brent

[@Brent0331]

Thanks for watching.

[@possumpatrol45]

Reject Kevlar. Return to cuirass.

[@McClane4Ever.]

Underrated comment.

[@gunterstraus606]

It's cool that you managed to get hands on with this cool piece of infantry kit

[@paul7754]

Just when you think you've seen ALL the gear from 'Nam - Brent pulls a 'hat trick'! Awesome find!

[@Brent0331]

ha

[@jakemccloskey6405]

My buddy back in the 90's Bought some ERDl from Sigon Sam's in Jacksonville we had no clue why his uniform looked a little bit off

[@SilverShamrockNovelties]

First thing I said to myself when I pressed play was “how in the hell did Brent get a gorilla sized Green ERDL uni?” Then I caught myself and remembered everybody likes you, so you prolly had help. 😁

[@Brent0331]

Ha, nah, I had to find some on my own. They're out there, just like everything else surplus, if you want an actual wearable size you're going to pay for it.

[@SilverShamrockNovelties]

@@Brent0331”wearable size” means something different for the rest of us. lol

[@sparkynation2899]

Love me some ERDL. I’m piecing together right now a late war Korea uniform with an M1952A.

[@pauliewalnuts5241]

What are you still missing?

[@sparkynation2899]

@@pauliewalnuts5241 last thing comes in today. M1 Garand cartridge belt. It a rough impression but it’s what I can afford.

[@orion3253]

Love that ERDL Brent. Pretty cool how seeing how much they thought of at the time, though there's some interesting jankiness to it as well since this was such an early point in modern* armor design and material engineering. Had to have been a challenging project to keep going at the time too, would love to read the papers on the subject some time.

[@hansstermgavire9426]

Holy crap I saw one of those experimental vest at a surplus store about a year ago!

[@Brent0331]

Should have grabbed it, its incredibly rare.

[@katsugi183]

Pretty cool to know such stuff existed 😊

[@Brent0331]

ikr

[@homerj109]

Damn that ERDL looks good!

[@alecont6488]

Great video, grettings from Argentina.

[@GruntProof]

awesome man

[@ivankalash2696]

The shooter cord is very interesting, since late soviet and early russian Federation armor vests have something similar for that exact purpose to help with placement of rifle stocks and keeping slings. Source: I have examples of a 6b-23-1 vest, and 3 examples of 6b-5-15 vest

[@SCOR3S3TT3R]

Informative and historically rich, good video, thank you! 💕

[@Brent0331]

Thanks

[@armyrepelentcz4090]

Perfect ! Thanks.

[@nolangonzales8534]

that vest is very interesting. its a plate carrier, flak vest, web gear, and even a backpack all in one vest.

[@Kriegerdammerung]

That thing looks sturdy!

[@PowermadNavigator]

Very interesting and reminiscent of what we have today. Must have been tough to get one of these for this video.

[@Brent0331]

I've had my eyes out for one for awhile. Finally popped up.

[@ghostlight69420]

brent probably knows us military gear and camo better then the us military itself. way to go dude

[@minutemanstudios1338]

Cool video Brent. I have the green dom erdl too, and I love it. Blends in so well up here in the New England spring and summer.

[@hansblitz7770]

It has wide load bearing surfaces, with some modern plates, and then something like the FRAS in the sides, gut, and lower back would be a comfortable max coverage armor set up.

[@Eltrix0]

I have two of these, Type 1 and Type 2, med reg and large long, one carborundum and one natick made respectively. There's about 7-8 in existence recorded. I have an extremely long write up for these, so please excuse the paragraphs. There are some differences in between the two when Carborundum was able to screw around with it, for example Carbo made a thicker plastic laminate that coated the ballastic nylon, making it pretty stiff, they also used pretty stiff type 2 nylon material , outer , Carbo also only made 3, nlabs fully made 4 or 5, from what we know is left. So yeah, you might be wondering. , hey why make this vest,? L When the GI issue variable type came along, even the larges were kinda small, but the main part was idiots were mainly wearing their load baring gear under the vest, with the vest on, or the vest on and all the gear over it. When you fell in quicksand and or mud, water, you were pretty screwed unless you Carried a floatation bladder So Natick came up with these, these were made to carry ALL your gear, you could attach it to the hangers, and the back pouch was made pretty big. You could put a 5qt canteen, and other stuff in there too , and to use it if you fell in, but also all your gear was on, so you only had clothes underneath Or you yanked the cord and opened the vest, jettisoning the whole vest with all your gear. My large long, without plate is 11 pounds. With type 3 exp plate it is about 16. With all your gear, you might be loaded down a bit

[@Brent0331]

Interesting, thanks for sharing.

[@Eltrix0]

@Brent0331 Thanks. Could I ask for scans of the booklet in yours? Is there anyway to get in contact for the scans of the booklet. Would be very appreciated

[@JoeCostantini74]

I honestly had no idea they had ceramic armor and velcro during the Vietnam war until today.

[@foxtrotunit1269]

Prediction: We'll see a "medieval"-style armor (covering whole body) return. Body armor will get increasingly more protective and lightweight. Reason: All combos of projectiles, velocities, metals and hardness levels have been tried for 400 years. Material science has HUGE potential. Powered by classical supercomputers and modern AI (better molecular simulation) and soon quantum computing. We've always been trying to penetrate armor on vehicles, trucks, buildings - there's *always* been reasons to make the best-penetrating projectile possible. We've never really considered wearable armor in modern conflicts until recent history - and that was mostly against fragments, not bullets.

[@H_Hold]

Shhh, I'm working on things

[@JohnDoe-mt8rf]

It's my favorite camo as well. I have the pants from my father that are old new stock . He was in the Philippines in 1974 that were he got those on base.

[@monroetoolman]

I believe it was in early 2000 when my unit switched from the PASGT "flak" to what was called the Interceptor armor with front and rear ceramic plates. While it was definitely greater protection, it was miserable to wear.

[@Brent0331]

I never understood the hate for the Interceptor. I've been a Marine for going on 22 years now and the Interceptor was my favorite of all the vests I've worn over the years. Wore it in two combat deployments to Iraq in 2003 and 2004, we all wore duce gear over our interceptors, so the problem of the front flap coming undone was a none issue. If we are in a peer vs peer/near peer fight in the future, I don't think our current body armor is suitable for the type of fragmentation we're going to encounter, just like we see in Ukraine. The system that replaced the Interceptor in my eyes is the worst armor ever fielded by the Marine Corps, I show it in this video, it was far to restrictive and was truly miserable to wear.

[@Chevelle602]

@@Brent0331 I agree, the interceptors were great. The big bulky flaks of 08-10 were god awful fucking terrible.

[@ivankalash2696]

Interesting you mentioned that the vietnam era experimental armor vest second version in erdl the back pocket is a pouch, as the soviet 6b-3 and 6b-5 (from 80s) have pockets in a similar placement that are meant for a similar purpose, carrying small equipment and stuff.

[@teddy2guns404]

Love your channel homie

[@alros1212]

What an awesome pack

[@chrisblack6258]

looks similar to the British Osprey Mk. IV with the armor pouch design of the Mk. III

[@spartan1701]

I was thinking the same thing. Crazy how similar they are.

[@huntclanhunt9697]

Fun fact: if you look up pics of the US troops attacking the house in Iraq where Sadam's sons were hiding, one of the US troops has a set of the variable armor from Vietnam. This pic is from 2003 btw.

[@TAVAAR7]

Thats a cool find. 🙂 And ERDL is still a good pattern, not for my area or I'd have a bunch.

[@StormLaker]

My uncle was a Huey/cobra pilot during Vietnam- he said they'd put them on the floor under their seat, and other places to stop rounds from hitting them as they landed troops, flew combat, etc.

[@JamesJ422]

This is gonna be good

[@serpentscore]

The armor looks like a predecessor to the air warrior armor vest

[@terryshackelford712]

Interesting to find out they were already looking at body armor like that, to bad they didn't get it out to the troops then!

[@MM-qm7og]

the forward thinking. If only we had plates like that curved guy now.

[@huwhitecavebeast1972]

Very cool. Since this vid is about armor, I was wondering when do troops get issued AP rounds? Talking about Tungsten.

[@scottfoster2639]

The flack vest was used in early GWOT? My unit got rid of those things in 2001 and went to the woodland IBA. Being a former 03, I'm betting the experimental body armor's contoured plate had some issues with breakage issues. The design of the rest of the vest seems sound but I can see why they went to a soft body armor, if anything just for longevity of the equipment.

[@jonc4050]

It reminds me of the colonial marine vest in Aliens. MEAN MARINES!

[@gregsmall5939]

It is. Along with jungle boots, lots of surplus in that flick.

[@frensyyo]

Can you pls make a camoflauge guide for snipers? I love your videos btw:)

[@pauliewalnuts5241]

Check out his past videos, I believe he has one already.

[@danielmacdonald8358]

Really good video thank you

[@jam258420]

Ive seen pictures of truck and jeep drivers and gunners wearing the army version in Vietnam.

[@peytonhohenstein3249]

Quick thing though, I know for a fact that when I was at 8th and I (Marine Barracks Washington) the duration of my service we used older PASGT helmets with updated suspention systems I believe, and this was 2017-2022. I think they were just starting to switch to MICH helmets in 2021. Granted it's a ceremonial guard unit it's not like it's gonna see active combat, however, still important to note that the helmet system was used for many years after it's adoption by rear line units. Not gonna lie, it wasn't a bad helmet but I hated the fact I couldn't run electronic headphones under it when I was shooting. Made hearing commands alot easier during training.

[@Brent0331]

We used helmets that were the same shape as the original PASGT helmet but weren't for many years in the Marine Corps. If you watch my Marine Corps body armor from WW1 to present video you might be able to identify the helmet you guys had. Is it possible you guys had PASGT helmets with updated suspension, maybe, but I think its more likely you had the "lightweight" version that replaced it. I had to swap out my PASGT helmet in country in Iraq in 2004 for a newer light weight Kevlar, looked just like my PASGT helmet but had a green suspension system. The one that replaced that still looked like a PASGT helmet but with a coyote suspension system and pads.

[@peytonhohenstein3249]

@Brent0331 So after reviewing your video, a part of me thinks we may have had a combination of the two through out, I know I had a green suspension system. But I know plenty of guys who had the coyote suspension system. I'd say it was about a 30-70 ratio, 30 being the green suspension system and 70 being the coyote suspension system. Always wondered why mine would always go into my eyes during med drills, now I know. Still not a bad helmet, I'd still take either one in a pinch, and I did feel a bit of pride running an m16a4 with a fixed stock and a Pasgt helmet, made me appreciate the more advanced gear I got to play with later on. Still would go to war with it, just wouldn't be my first round pick set up.

[@huntclanhunt9697]

Reminds me of the later RBAs of the 1990s

[@badas45]

Very cool

[@Danthehistoryman]

Some of those chicken plate vests apparently we're hanging around during the early part of Afghanistan/Iraq.

[@wheezer6695]

I can almost garuantee you some marine named that experimental USMC body armor "Chesty"

[@JohnRodriguez-si9si]

Sgt. Maj. Downing, USMCR: Why did it take until Operation Gothic Serpent for Army Rangers and Delta Force to wear Body Armor? Why did it take the Global War On Terror ( GWOT)/ International Battle Against Terrorism ( IBAT) for Conventional Forces to start wearing Plate Carriers?

[@ReviveHF]

Nice video, can you make a video about FAST helmet vs Enhanced Combat Helmet?

[@ehrenwiener6728]

love my gen 4 iotv

[@JR9979]

USMC vest designers: Should we design the vest with a plate in the back?. Vest designers: 'Consults Marine Corps Manual'............ Marine Corps Manual: Marines are to be deployed "Front Toward Enemy". Vest designers: That settles that!, Now where do we put the pocket for Crayons......Oh uh Cigarettes we mean.

[@mentalllllll]

@brent0331 Alright, Brent... can you name any of our wars ever fought in caves? Let alone any 5 star Generals with that kind of training? Including yourself? Cave and cavern experience in my recollection has never been fought a day in our history. Which subsequently means all new gear and camouflage. What do you have that will be effective for both defense and attack when it comes to gear a camouflage? This is going to make a very interesting war that just might end up like Vietnam. There might be tripwire connected to boulders on the other side of the wall that pulls a blade across the floor taking out your feet at the ankles. Holes in the wall with poison darts, arrows, blades, or even bullets. Trap floors. Waist high water fighting. Cave ins. All that and more. Not to mention bugs, insects, and animals. Smoke outs. Everything.

[@VietnamWarShorts]

Never been this early

[@froginthewaves8450]

Pretty Cool!

[@Veldtian1]

Why don't Main Battle Tanks lose 80% of their armor coverage so they can maneuver slightly faster against the enemy?

[@LegacyDream]

I have found that same ballistic vest at wishlist 🤫

[@RedDawn370]

This should have been adopted service wide. Heavy sucks, but alive is better.

[@stevecox7570]

Where did you come across that vest?

[@Brent0331]

Gunbroker

[@ivanguerra8687]

Bro was spinning like a character customization ☠️

[@baraka629]

i'd not expect the fragmentation vest to stop anything more than a .32 acp, if even that

[@Brent0331]

I saw an interview one time from a Marine Korean War vet that talked about his flak stopping a round from the 7.62x25 from a PPSH-41. Of course there's no way of knowing how far away that round was fired from before it hit his him, none the less he said it did.

[@dustyak79]

Makes me wonder if Ukraine and Russia are sustaining more casualties from Shrapnel than they would have if they just used a simple flak jacket. With the trend of minimalist plate carriers.

[@jeffcarroll6822]

Hey, love your site. I wish you could do a video on Ukrainian camo.

[@RV_Chef_Life]

I’ve always wondered what the 0331 of the channel name meant. Anyone?

[@ryanbunner]

0331 - Machine Gunner MOS

[@BoneistJ]

Why do they never design it to slide the plate in from the top?

[@bobbie4862]

It creates more bulk up top and harder to seal with the angles. Bottom loading is easier, plus easier to jettison plates if necessary.

[@paulovitor9388]

The Rhodesian Recon Vest protects slides from the top. I guess

[@whatif2917]

Where can i get medium LC1 alice pack?

[@StephenWorkshop]

Could you test out Singaporean pixelised woodland camo

[@badas45]

This seems superior to pasgat

[@tacticalpickle7]

Imagine how many lifes could have been safed during that conflict if they had this ... but i understand it was HOT and super HAMID...and you have to wear this all day .. yeah i don't see it either

[@Eltrix0]

the GI issue variable type was extremely hot and heavy. Natick made this in order for a lightweight non heat retaining protective vest. These were EXTREMELY costly to make, as the reason about 8 were made

[@tacticalpickle7]

@Eltrix0 cool, I love history. ❤️

[@zanefischer1984]

KILL FOOT DRILL FOOT!!!

[@tomhenry897]

Plates looks to be used by its self

[@Brent0331]

They're capable of that, we show that in the variable body armor video Bruce and I did.

[@lawrencezimmerman8769]

I wonder how they expected an infantryman to access that back pocket when alone and without taking off the armor?

[@Chevelle602]

The big flaks in 08-10 were effing AWFUL. The flaks I had in 06-07 were much better.

[@PavewayJDAM]

Ukraine War videos from nades and mortars dropped on Russians indicate that frag is the killer when not in a direct fire fight. Thank god the Russians don't know the secret western weapon called the Tourniquet.

[@Brent0331]

Yup, true peer vs peer fighting like we're seeing in Ukraine shows us why the flak vest was issued to Infantryman. The tag says 70% of casualties were from fragmentation, looking at the fighting in Ukraine, I'm sure that still holds true.

[@shibbles3628]

Yep cause nothing says "tactical" and "stealth" better than some loud ass velcro

[@poolee77]

You need so sneak up on people and undo your vest?

[@christopherevans2547]

I literally just found one of these vest on my local Facebook marketplace. Perfect timing. Does anyone have a idea what it might be worth with the plate included?

[@Brent0331]

incredibly rare, you're looking at 1k.