Frag Out! Magazine
Issue link: https://fragout.uberflip.com/i/929822
additional equipment. At least that's the impression you may get if you look at the photos of Polish in Afghanistan (especially outside the wire) because it's hard to spot anyone wearing the issued gear (which changed closer to the end of the mission, when UKO-M/ Kandahar became more common and the appearance of the troops became more, excuse the pun, uniform...). Whole units purchased additional items, which made it possible to equip soldiers more or less identically, at least within a unit. The elements of the "additional equipment" that was bought tended to differ greatly in terms of their quality (there were different models – and different patterns!), ranging from original equipment made by big brands, through goods offered by domestic manufacturers (many offer good-quality equipment), and ending with Chinese airsoft replicas. The longer both missions lasted, the better the quality of individual equip- ment became. But should a soldier be forced to acquire and take care of their equipment alone? Leaving everything else aside – the advocates of strict military standards and uniform look must have had their blood boil when they looked at the diversity of equip- ment used in Afghanistan and could do nothing about it as they couldn't force a man to risk their life and use some shabby equipment, arguing that 'when you're in the army, you're in deep sh*t – but it's equally deep for everyone'. Generally speaking, the phenomenon of letting soldiers use their own equipment can be consid- ered a positive thing as it proves that the army becomes more professional: soldiers know what they want, try to carry out their duties well, and so they invest their time and money in better gear. Of course, it would be much bet- ter if soldiers were able to choose from a range of warehouse-available equip- ment, so it may not be treated as a sig- nal to stop working on new equipment. As for Afghanistan, another qualita- tive leap forward involved the arrival of UKO (although 'leap' is rather a too big word in this case) and then UKO-M vests. This was accompanied by the appearance of modular pouches and covers. Every soldier could arrange them individually on their vest, using the PALS webb ing to this end. In the case of UKO, its particular modules were designed rather poorly (the vest itself was actually a failed copy of the IBA Interceptor), but UKO-M does not fall much behind what an American soldier may get issued. Unfortunately, although it did work in Afghanistan (it's impossible for a soldier to go outside the wire without body armor), it didn't work so much in country or in the case of other operations. Polish Armed Forces don't have tactical equipment. what do we need? Here, the answer is simple as well – a system. A complex system offering ballistic protection, load bearing gear, backpacks, pockets, and addressing different user roles – from a shooter armed with a rifle, through a grenadier, crew-served weapons , paramedics, ending with vehicle crews. Such a system has been used by the US Army for about 20 years, and for just a bit analysis