Frag Out! Magazine

carry a backpack over your PLCE webbing, having the first type of PRR pouch mounted on the yoke is really uncomfortable. Now back to the yokes. The straps on the back of the neck are used to mount a single Bergen side pouch. If you insist, you can attach two of them, but it is definitely more convenient to use a Jetpack mounted on its dedicated shoulder straps known as yoke, side pouch. If you think about losing weight, think again, because the longer the main belt, the more pouches it can accommodate, along with some stylish gadgets such as the aforementioned bayonet cover called frog, NSN 8465-99-132-1567. With its plastic scabbard the frog is used for carrying the contract SA80 bayonet. Other useful pouches include ammo pouch for gunners (200-rd Minimi pouch, NSN 8465-99-679-8281), pistol holster (holster, pistol (other arms), NSN 8465-99-978-5365), which can be also mounted independently on a special strap, or an interesting first aid kit pouch (trauma pouch, NSN 8465-99-978-4567), which is about the same size as utility pouch but much more capacious. As I mentioned earlier, there is a wide range of different pouches compatible with PLCE, allowing to customize the webbing to fulfil various tasks and functions. Of course soldiers would not be soldiers unless they tried to modify or improve the equipment, which they have received from the quartermaster. Now I shall discuss briefly some the most popular customizing techniques: • replacement of the main belt - many soldiers, especially those who, for unknown reasons, tend to jump out of a perfectly functioning aircraft, substitute their main belt with a so-called roll pin belt, the belt with parachute buckle. You can reenact this by buying the belt from one of the private companies (eg. HM Supplies), or by replacing only the buckle of your contract belt. • replacement of the pouch flaps - also a paratroopers' idea with two good reasons to use it. Citek fasteners have a tendency to unbuckle during a jump, besides, if they are poorly fastened (which I have explained already), they often break. So the Spanish buckles are frequently replaced by wide pieces of Velcro tape along with a stud. The idea was picked up by private companies that offer ready-made pouches (and even complete webbing sets) with this type of fastening system. • straping the bayonet frog directly into pouches - let's face it: bayonet strapped to the belt does not lie perfectly. Moreover, the compact, symmetrical block of pouches is distorted, so ultimately ammunition pouches on one side of PLCE are closer to the buckle, and the other are www.fragoutmag.com

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