Full Description
A complete illustrated guide to everything that Vietnam-era American GIs and their allies carried into battle including all the belts, pouches and packs.
Over the eight years of the Vietnam War, US forces used three major types of equipment sets, with numerous modifications for particular circumstances. Different equipments were also used by Special Forces, the South Vietnamese, and other allied ground troops. Written by a Special Forces veteran of the conflict, Vietnam War US & Allied Combat Equipments offers a comprehensive examination of the gear that US and allied soldiers had strapped around their bodies, what they contained, and what those items were used for.
Fully illustrated with photographs and artwork detailing how each piece of equipment was used, this book will fascinate enthusiasts of military equipment and is an ideal reference guide for re-enactors, modellers and collectors of Vietnam War memorabilia.
Contents
Introduction: the Vietnamese environment, as it affected personal LBE - listing of 'Free World' (allied) forces which used US equipment in Vietnam
Development: background and development of the US Army M1956 LBE
M1956 Load Bearing Equipment - description and use of this most widely seen pattern
M1967 Modernized Load Bearing Equipment, developed specifically in response to experience in Vietnam
US Marine M1961 Load Carrying Equipment
ANZAC web equipment - description of British and M1956 LBE copies used by Australian and New Zealand forces
Special reconnaissance equipment - description and use of specialized equipment by MACV-SOG, Special Forces, and Long Range Reconnaissance Patrol units
World War II & Korean War vintage equipment - as used mostly by South Vietnamese forces, but in some use by US forces
Indigenous equipment - description and use of low-cost equipment for Vietnamese forces, provided by the CIA's Counterintelligence Support Office
Life in the Boonies - use of the equipments in the field, as shaped by differing terrain, climate, evolving weapons and procedures, and personal preferences (covering, e.g., procedures for movement, bivouacking, preparing food, perimeter defense and security, outposts, ambushes, etc.)
Conclusion
Select Bibliography