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Question about gear.

Lucky_LeftyLucky_Lefty Member Posts: 7,971
edited April 2009 in US Military Veteran Forum
When I was getting out of the army they were issuing everyone the new acu parrent stuff. Does that mean that the ruck sacks are now acu or are they still woodland? Also is there anyway to pick one up cheap somewhere online with the frame?
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Comments

  • bigsky5bigsky5 Member Posts: 6 ✭✭
    edited November -1
    Woodland is out, ACU pattern is in...with that said, I do not know of any ACU replacement to the old style ALICE pack w/ it's integral frame, but you might want to try Ranger Joes or Brigade Quartermaster's webpages.

    Under the RFI program (Rapid Fielding Initiative) that outfits soldiers and Airman (filling ILO/JET duties under Army TACON) heading to Iraq or Afghanistan, you are issued (among other stuff) a large ACU external frame backpack (too big for most of us...we just left it at the FOB next to our rack...), and a small ACU "bookbag" style pack (sans frame), which was very handy but lacked the comfort of the old ALICE packs/frames. The Spec Ops units might have an ACU ruck but I've never seen any during my joint tours in Afghanistan and Iraq.
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  • Lucky_LeftyLucky_Lefty Member Posts: 7,971
    edited November -1
    So you guys dont use the Alice anymore with the frame? What do you use? Has it really been that long.
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  • bigsky5bigsky5 Member Posts: 6 ✭✭
    edited November -1
    I still have 3 OD green ALICE packs that I use for hunting and day hikes/camping (one large ALICE and 2 smaller ones with frames). The 11Bs and sky soldiers that are humping up and down mountains in Afghanistan and Iraq have an ACU version of an ALICE pack (w/frame) but these are special items and are not issued to all troops anymore. I'm an Air Force engineer who has deployed 3 times with the Army (420 EN Bde in Iraq, 82 AB, and 101 AB in Afghanistan), and while the RFI program does an awesome job of hooking us up with ACH, ACU gear, etc..., an ALICE type pack with frame is not included in the standard issue. Still, I'm not complaining because the Air Force still issues us Vietnam era ammo pouches and 20-rd mags for our M-16s! (they put all their money into airplanes and care not, that Airmen look like refugees with half BDU, half DCU pattern gear). Anyway, sorry, I digress here...www.brigadeqm.com has an ALICE pack with frame in ACU pattern, but not sure who else carries them.
    Sorry, I wish I could be more helpful. I've only run convoys and mounted ops--dismounted ops when I go manage construction projects outside the wire, so I'm probably not the best guy to talk to. The snake eaters and Airborne troops who hump up and down the Hindu Kush mountain range would be able to tell you more. Hopefully, some of them will chime in. By the way, the fact that the Army takes such good care of us Airmen assigned to BN and Bde level units is one reason why I will always volunteer to deploy with an Army unit rather than wait for an AF deployment where the chickenpoop factor is off the charts and senior leadership is more obsessed with making sure everyone is wearing their mandatory reflective belts than accomplishing anything enduring.
    Sorry, did not mean to be so long winded....
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