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Subject: Helmet Tech
SYSOP    7/1/2015 6:02:33 AM
 
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trenchsol       7/1/2015 6:36:32 AM
I have noticed that Delta and SEAL's sometimes wear some 'bicycle' style helmets. What are those ? Appear to be lighter than regular Army helmets.
 
 
 
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JFKY    trenschsol,   7/1/2015 9:05:32 AM
cynically I call them, "Look at me, I'm SOCom 'hats.'" You can't wear your funny hat that says "I'm a SEAL/Ranger/Special Forces/PJ" in the field...& hence some one might confuse you with one of "those people", you know the uncool, "Leg-ish" sorts, the riff-raff. So, you wear a neato-squeato helmet or carry a SCAR, so folks will know you are "special."
 
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joe6pack       7/1/2015 10:27:20 AM
My knee jerk response is to agree with JFKY. But there are some features I find interesting. The cut outs around the ears - I'm assuming provides some better situational awareness (being able to better hear what's going on around you is important - as an example, an infantry patrol will stop and do listening checks from time to time.) Also.. guessing cooler (not looking.. just allows for better cooling) - a very big deal. And of course lighter is always welcome. That all said.. never having worn one (I wasn't that special ) and with the caveat.. ye Olde Kpot was my least favorite piece of equipment.. glad I wasn't around for the steel helmet days..
 
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Bill Befort       7/1/2015 11:51:46 AM
US helmet design, like the choice of camouflage patterns for uniforms, has been a series of expensive stumbles rather than an orderly progression.   It took till Vietnam for the Army to figure out a suspension for the M1 helmet that raised it above the ear while still keeping it on your head.  This was discarded about the time everyone was put into "woodland" camouflage -- i.e., just as the Army left the jungles and headed for the deserts.  The PASGT helmet that replaced the M1 was sold as an ingenious adaptation of the old German design; not till it was in service did anyone notice that it interfered with body armor (something the Germans didn't have to worry about) and hearing.  In  reaction we got MICH and ACH and ECH -- severely cutaway helmets that ride high on the head and only faintly suggest the PASGT lineage.  Over the same period we've gone through at least four other camouflage patterns since "woodland":  chocolate-chip desert, night desert, coffee-stain desert, and the laughable "universal."   All this has involved a huge waste of money, time and material.  I guess it's good that we're rich enough to afford this nonsense, and have the Iraqi army and a large domestic wannabe population to hand the stuff down to.
 
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keffler25       7/1/2015 11:56:04 AM
I had the misfortune to be around for the steel pot when I was introduced to the mud and mosquitoes. What was I doing wearing a cooking pot at the time? Well... Not everyone gets to float around in air conditioned comfort offshore.     
 
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JFKY    And THAT teaches you   7/1/2015 12:13:37 PM
to find a better MOS or rating or whatever the Navy calls Job identifiers....any way air conditioning isn't all that....
 
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trenchsol       7/1/2015 3:03:01 PM
I happen to be a creature of logic, so I must ask why does not everyone wear 'bicycle' style helmets.
 
 
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JFKY    The "Bicycle Helmet"   7/1/2015 3:25:46 PM
may be lighter & cooler....if, you are on the tactical OFFENSE, the bulk of the time, picking the time & place of your engagement, as most successful Special Operators do, then comfort, hearing & the like are very important, & the ability to absorb damage less so...after all if "this works' your opponent never knows you're there...they just die, from a drone strike, a JDAMs, a sniper round, or the ambush.....so, possibly the SOCOM Bicycle helmet provides better long-term comfort & situation awareness than a more conventional helmet' though albeit at the loss of protection...a cost-benefit calculation for the mission types performed. Line Troops have to be prepared to defend their COP or patrol or ambush or mount a mounted assault or a host of other operations. They can't pick & choose their gear for a mission, the missions tend to come to them, so their gear has to be capable of doing a number of things, & in this case it is provide protection at the cost of comfort....but then that's the trade-off, they can't expect to have the tactical initiative most of the time, they expect to receive fire, not simply surprise their enemy. My $0.02.
 
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keffler25       7/1/2015 8:15:56 PM
I could be rather sarcastic in reply, but why bother? You often don't get to choose your missions or assignments, even if you were in what you thought was a cushy career billet .
 
If you have a peculiar talent and it's in your file, you will wind up among the mosquitoes....  
 

 
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HR    Admiral Keffler   7/1/2015 8:37:30 PM
Have you considered that with your charming personality in mind your superiors always made it a point of sending you to the worst possible destination available? it is just possible... and being an enlisted man you did not have the potential of much else... right?
 
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