Why Chest Rigs Are Superior Part 2: American Fighting Styles and Origins of Gear

[@woodsghost9088]

A book by a former Spetsnaz I read talked about Soviet training of grunts. He described the key fighting positions as being "prone" and "from a foxhole." Of course he said being upright behind cover is great too. But I think, as I've meditated on his words, that "prone" and "foxhole" are controllables that are available to soldiers. While "cover allowing upright fighting" is not available on every battlefield. Ok, point: prone and foxhole are ways to keep soldiers alive in a no-armor/low-armor bullet filled world. Other hard cover is also great but not available in every situation. And I was struck by a WW2 American cartoon where 2 soldiers are under MG fire, and 1 says "get lower!!!" and the other says "I'm trying but my buttons are in the way!!" Without launching into a thing on microterrain, the key point is it can be nice to be very close to the ground. And guys, even Americans, found that it can be very healthy to fight from close to the ground. The closer the better. So those concepts stand out to me. And an easy response is "violence of action" and "rapid movement can overwhelm the enemy" and other ideas. Total fair. I think some additional context would be "what do you train people for?" And if you have low skill soldiers with limited resources, or limited medical logistics, it may be very important to train to not get hit. Which is basically the message I got from this video. So I don't dispute you. I'm just adding some context and considerations which have come my way. There is rarely a "100% always correct" answer to life's problems.

[@PatrickKniesler]

Bill Mauldin: interesting man, great artist.

[@bigchief4044]

The original SOE Rallyman vest is the near perfect blend of chest rig and LBE.

[@concernedpatriot.2221]

I agree that being able to get “ prone “ is a very advantageous scenario for a minute man BUT getting “ prone “ is not the be all end all position. To me, being a couple of inches more off the ground because you have a chest rig is not that big of a deal and shouldn’t be a deal breaker or excuse for not wearing a chest rig. Let’s face it, if you get “ prone “ you’ll still be several inches above the ground when shooting your weapon. Being as close to the ground as possible is only a DEFENSIVE position when getting shot at, you can’t stay there buried on the ground for ever. No one ever won anything with just taking a DEFENSIVE POSITION 🤷🏻‍♂️

[@CitadelDefense1]

Agree

[@PatrickKniesler]

If I get enough scratch together to get a custom kit car made without all the bells and whistles... I dont see why i couldn't also have seats cut for LBE. Police cruisers sometimes get thst treatment.

[@presidentmerkinmuffley6769]

We shifted towards upright in the 2nd half of the 20th, thanks to fire support and often air superiority. Prior, well we mostly fought like the rest, but we were sneaking even from the early days, George Rogers Clark is a shining example of us sneaking and using what we might call partisan or guerilla tactics today. While I see and understand the vehicular slant given the current situation, that is still a difficult logistical item, if even minor disruptions occur (remember the cyber incident that shut off gas stations in the SE a year or two back). If the powers that be are not using us to their ends, you can bet the logistics train is gonna run dry, and that is one of the weakest links. So we have no clue how long or even if we will have the abilty to use them.

[@CitadelDefense1]

valid argument

[@twinarrowssurvival.2.065]

Still hate to say it's mission dependent as to what I wear.

[@CitadelDefense1]

Don’t hate it, there is a lot of truth to it. I’m not gonna fight that.