Posted : Monday Aug 9, 2010
New one-piece system consolidates gear
By early 2011, Marines deploying to Afghanistan will likely be outfitted with new chest rigs that will allow them to quickly and easily transfer equipment from one body armor system to another.
The Marine Corps plans to buy up to nearly 410,000 chest rigs that hold equipment in a single one-piece system rather than in individual pouches.
The concept was developed by Marine officials this year after operating forces in Afghanistan submitted an urgent statement of need, Marine officials said. The rigs will consolidate rifle magazines, radios, grenades, pyrotechnics and other items so they can be detached from body armor and easily moved to another vest in seconds.
Units deploying to Afghanistan expected to have first priority on a first wave of 108,000 units. The Plans, Policies and Operations division at Marine Corps headquarters will decide which units can field the equipment first, said Bill Johnson-Miles, a spokesman for Marine Corps Systems Command, out of Marine Corps Base Quantico, Va.
