Frag Out! Magazine
Issue link: https://fragout.uberflip.com/i/929822
if there were dozens of sets bought at a time). After all, the area of private purchases is a cocktail of so many solutions and manufacturers that it's absolutely impossible to standardize it. The only common feature these solu- tions share is the attacheme nt system. In the recent 15–20 years there have been concepts of an individual equip- ment system (MOPAT – patrol-tactical modular individual equipment, followed by MLOT – light tactical modular indi- vidual equipment), but they got lost in the mists of time. STill, Polish soldiers may take advantage of an archaic set of webbing belt kit, Lubawa's wz. 998 tactical vests, and whatever comes with the UKO (used rarely nowadays, fortu- nately) or the UKO-M vest. This equip- ment is offered to them less and less often, luckily (except for the less "show- cased" units, who still use it as standard individual equipment). I'm passing over the "integrated" DMV, OLV, and similar body armor on purpose because they are vests with pockets sewed onto them (which is, in general, totally pointless) and so they may not be considered as individual equipment although they function as a combination of a ballistic shield and individual equipment to some extent. But it seems they shared the fate of dinosaurs and died out eventually. And fortunately. Polish Army marriage with webbing had a golden anniversary some time ago – the solution became part of individual equipment about 50 years ago. Back then, it was something similar to what other armies used, especially those of the Warsaw Pact. But NATO forces didn't have anything much more advanced at their disposal anyway. At the same time, the United States Army started using the M1956 LBE, which offered a range of interesting solutions. Most importantly, it was designed as a sort of system that could be extended to include additional modules and upgraded easily (which was readily taken advantage of). But most of all, this equipment was ergo- nomic from the very start – the pock- ets were stable – and rather easy and convenient to use, the belt was quite comfortable and able to carry quite an amount of gear – hence its long service and similarities of its design with that of newer American (MLCE, ALICE) and British (PLCE) solutions. Meanwhile, our individual equipment was a direct de- scendant of that used during WWII. And a mediocre copy of the German equip- ment, so to speak. Unfortunately, it can still be found used by some units even though it is completely unsuitable for the battlefield of today (actually, it was out of date, like, 10 years after its mar- ket launch). It does not offer soldiers any convenience, it's unstable, non-ex- tendable, and made of poor quality materials that are non-compliant with today's standards (the American equip- ment has been made of various types of nylon since... 1967, when the Polish www.fragoutmag.com