I don't know about you, but I wouldn't want to spend thousands of dollars on equipment that has been repeatedly rejected by the Army for not meeting minimum standards, and weighs significantly more than what is standard issue.

Dragon skin is fine armor so long as you don't expose it to extreme temperature (like say Iraq or Alaska) or diesel fuel (like from a HMMWV or Bradley fighting vehicle) which can cause the glue to fail.

Heckler and Koch make some fine firearms (hence the price tag) but unfortunately none of them meet the requirements of the Army's missions. The 416 was a nice concept and has caught on with the civilian market, but was hardly improvement enough in reliability to replace our entire inventory of rifles (especially when factor in the greater expense of the new rifle, the cost of retraining your force to maintain it). To top it off, the 416 with 10" barrel weights a pound and a half more than the M-4 with a 14.5". That's weight gain and range and velocity loss. Considering that of late we've been issuing of M-14s and accessorized M-16s (bipods and ACOGs, oh my) because current operations require engagement at longer ranges, the M-16A4 is my weapon of choice.
I've seen reports of highly modified MP5s that might reach 200 meters, but as they say, rifles are rifles and pistols are pistols (guess what the P stands for).

The pistol used by the infantry is the M-9. You'll probably never use it (in an infantry company of 100+, we had 2 pistols that went to the CO and 1SG)

Grenades? No.
I think in the 10 years I've been in the Army (6 infantry) I've held maybe 5 grenades. They were all standard issue frags and highly accountable.

For accessories I managed to get away with a 4X scope, but units will have varying policies. Also those that constantly qualify at the expert level, wear an EIB, and sport sergeant stripes can get away with some things that marksman scoring privates can't. All that stuff makes little difference anyway. Learn to use your rifle first. Spend about 50,000 rounds before deciding on an upgrade.

Advise for basic: 99% of what you have heard or preconceived about the Army is wrong. Go there with the attitude that you know nothing.

thank you everybody for straightening those questions out for me, not a big deal like you guys said, tactics are more important. and as long as i got a sight other than just the iron sights im happy. god bless 11b

Rangers lead

I am an Infantry NCO and I have used the MARS sight, M68 Aimpoint, ACOG, 145, and the Eotech.(all in combat) DON'T BE SO FAST TO KNOCK THE IRON SIGHT. Just because some non combat arms general was convinced to buy a million sights does not nmean they work. Yes they do look cool but you will be taught how to shoot closer quarters without sights.

I guess my point is not to get worried about gear. And don;t form opinions about things before you have tried it. All privates (my self included) thinks they know a better way to do everything. Listen to your NCO's. Find GOOD soldiers you respect and do as they do!

You will be fine. Just keep that motivation up when things are sucking!

Good luck

quote:

Originally posted by rangers lead:
i was wondering what weapons your allowed to buy and other combat things i know your supplied with a rifle but can you buy more weapons like an m4 or an mp5 if you dont want to use you standard weapon and can you own multiple weapons also what body armor are you allowed to buy and are, they gonna changed the greedy haliburton governed law of not allowing you to buy great armor like dragonskin and with body armor can you wear whatever you buy or do you have to stick by some uniform rule also same thing for tactical vests that you can carry clips in, plus can you buy any type of grenade you want and as many as you want, shippin off for basic soon and i wanna know the truth

Someone is in for a rude awakening.

quote:

as long as i got a sight other than just the iron sights im happy. god bless 11b

Previously posted
My best scores to date
right handed iron sights:39
left hand iron sights: 24
right hand reflex sight: 38
left hand reflex sight: 34
right hand 4X scope: 39

Reflex sights are great for close quarters, fast target acquisition, and off hand shooting. Unfortunately, they are not as reliable nor quite as accurate as iron sights. Scopes are mainly useful for longer range (200+ meters) accuracy and target acquisition/identification. They also have a trade off of being harder to aim at close up targets. Over all, every infantryman needs to be proficient in the use of iron sights because they are the most versatile and durable of the options we have.

Other sights augment the iron sights for specific situations, but should never be considered as a replacement.