CBC: "An 'embarrassing' gear shortage has Canadian troops in Latvia buying their own helmets"

[medicineman]

Husiff = Housewife = Sewing kit

The CAF actually issues a pretty good one. I carried a pretty beefy one myself.

I've even seen them extend to including crochet needles for, you know, whiling away the hours in the back of a Herc on a long insertion to a remote DZ

1944 Pattern Hussif

In the past we have looked at the standard British Army hussif or housewife; tonight we are going to consider the version produced as part of the 1944 pattern tropical kit. In the jungle a sewing k…

talesfromthesupplydepot.blog

Like "Ffolkes" and his kitty kat needlepoints?

 

[GK .Dundas]

A brilliant piece of British cinema.

 

[OldSolduer]

Random thoughts from a long retired infanteer. I have tried to follow a logical sequence but...

Anyways - what SHOULD an infanteer carry on ops in a war? The short answer is "it depends".

It depends on the type of operation. Attack, Advance? or Withdraw and Defend?
It depends on the length of the task. For arguments sake lets say 24 hours or less is short term. 24-72 hours is medium and 72 + is long term.
It depends on the type of mobility - foot including snowshoes? Armored vehicle? Soft skin? Airmobile? Ski doo? BV 206?
It depends on the season and environment - arid? Temperate? Jungle? Arctic? Winter, summer spring or fall?
It depends on the terrain. Hilly? Desert? Moutain? Arctic?
It depends on human factors as well such as health and fitness - mental and physical.
It also depends on what that particular soldier's task is within his or her unit. Number one rifleman's, 1 Sect, 1 Pl A Coy task is far different from the Pl Signaller's task or the LAV driver's task. The recce patrolman's task is different than the Anti Armor gunner's task.

FWIW it can't be easy doing section battle drills wearing all that armor. It is bad enough with the old 82 pattern web gear and zero armor. Actually I preferred that over the tac vest.

Yes D & B every soldier needs to carry a hussif. And a bayonet. Just to you know...poke things.

 

[KevinB]

Random thoughts from a long retired infanteer. I have tried to follow a logical sequence but...

Anyways - what SHOULD an infanteer carry on ops in a war? The short answer is "it depends".

It depends on the type of operation. Attack, Advance? or Withdraw and Defend?
It depends on the length of the task. For arguments sake lets say 24 hours or less is short term. 24-72 hours is medium and 72 + is long term.
It depends on the type of mobility - foot including snowshoes? Armored vehicle? Soft skin? Airmobile? Ski doo? BV 206?
It depends on the season and environment - arid? Temperate? Jungle? Arctic? Winter, summer spring or fall?
It depends on the terrain. Hilly? Desert? Moutain? Arctic?
It depends on human factors as well such as health and fitness - mental and physical.
It also depends on what that particular soldier's task is within his or her unit. Number one rifleman's, 1 Sect, 1 Pl A Coy task is far different from the Pl Signaller's task or the LAV driver's task. The recce patrolman's task is different than the Anti Armor gunner's task.

FWIW it can't be easy doing section battle drills wearing all that armor. It is bad enough with the old 82 pattern web gear and zero armor. Actually I preferred that over the tac vest.

Yes D & B every soldier needs to carry a hussif. And a bayonet. Just to you know...poke things.

You had me until you said bayonet.

 

[childs56]

One of the big challenges on kitting the infantry is the 3 mafias. A basic exemple is the test that have been made for a pair of gloves. 2 testers from each regiments, 6 pairs of gloves, the choices went by cap badge.

We can’t agree for a pair of gloves, tac vest, light, mech, with or with out armour and even less on which type of armour the infantry would preferred. We are not able the make the vehicle buyers understand what type of LUV we would like for Light bn. We are not even able to have the same CADPAT in a unit (I still see the first version with the buttons out).

Are you really surprised of what happening?

I wonder if each were thinking of where they lived and the area they worked.
A pair of gloves for Operations in BC coastal is different then a pair of gloves for BC mountain, different for Alberta prairies, different for Manitoba Winters, along with Ontario and Eastern Canada requirements much different then summer time in each area. Or task, driving, shooting, digging etc.

I use to wear one of 4 types of gloves for work depending on the weather, job required/ dexterity etc.

While in the Army I would wear the black Deu gloves if needed in the field. They gave a bit of protection from the Scottish broom and concertina wire. Sometimes wore the green nit ones if my hands were chilly or I couldn't put my hands in my pockets.
Other wise I rarely wore gloves
Some guys liked the flight gloves.

In the Airforce I wore flight gloves in the summer during checks, and black DEU gloves in the winter.

 

[OldSolduer]

You had me until you said bayonet.

The bayonet was an add on - just to fvck with y’all

 

[SeaKingTacco]

The bayonet was an add on - just to fvck with y’all

Suuuure it was….

 

[WLSC]

I wonder if each were thinking of where they lived and the area they worked.
A pair of gloves for Operations in BC coastal is different then a pair of gloves for BC mountain, different for Alberta prairies, different for Manitoba Winters, along with Ontario and Eastern Canada requirements much different then summer time in each area. Or task, driving, shooting, digging etc.

I use to wear one of 4 types of gloves for work depending on the weather, job required/ dexterity etc.

While in the Army I would wear the black Deu gloves if needed in the field. They gave a bit of protection from the Scottish broom and concertina wire. Sometimes wore the green nit ones if my hands were chilly or I couldn't put my hands in my pockets.
Other wise I rarely wore gloves
Some guys liked the flight gloves.

In the Airforce I wore flight gloves in the summer during checks, and black DEU gloves in the winter.

It was down to too many wishful wishes of brand, with or white out knuckles protections, brand, style etc. The test was for a basic pair of glove to replace the leather CADPAT one.

My point was more on the fact that infantry Corps can’t agree on anything quickly. There’s always one of the 3 that is not willing to play the game on any subjects, so everything is slooooow. And that’s not because some really good and motivated leaders are not trying really hard to make things better. Nothing is a better show stopper than institutional inertia.

 

[ueo]

An infanteer - a rifleman in a rifle section has seven battle drills - eight depending on what doctrine the Army wanted at the time.

One of them is reaction to Effective Enemy Fire - dash, down, crawl, observe, sights and fire. Once you're organized and have a plan you need to attack .

Tactical bounds - which are very short - are exhausting even to fit soldiers and will be made more exhausting when you carry excess kit.

Just a thought or two from an old guy.

Another thought- was trained at the "Old RCSofI" by a vet (WWII and Korea) that a helmet was great for ceremonial parades but was second item misplaces after gas mask, amongst survivors. Jusy saying.

 

[dimsum]

One of the big challenges on kitting the infantry is the 3 mafias. A basic exemple is the test that have been made for a pair of gloves. 2 testers from each regiments, 6 pairs of gloves, the choices went by cap badge.

Well there's one way around that...

Royal Australian Regiment - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[Halifax Tar]

Well there's one way around that...

Royal Australian Regiment - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Stand by for heavy rolls

 

[dimsum]

Stand by for heavy rolls

Oh everything is secured for sea already.

 

[Halifax Tar]

Oh everything is secured for sea already.

 

[FSTO]

Well there's one way around that...

Royal Australian Regiment - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

That should have happened in 1968, you know what I'm sayin.

 

[FSTO]

^^
Edit to add, if that fucker Hellyer was so hell bent on destroying identities he should have made the Army take a fucking hit as well.

 

[Halifax Tar]

That should have happened in 1968, you know what I'm sayin.

 

[Halifax Tar]

^^
Edit to add, if that fucker Hellyer was so hell bent on destroying identities he should have made the Army take a fucking hit as well.

He had a special hate for the Navy.

 

[OldSolduer]

^^
Edit to add, if that fucker Hellyer was so hell bent on destroying identities he should have made the Army take a fucking hit as well.

What was done cannot be undone. Its been 60ish years and still......

 

[rmc_wannabe]

What was done cannot be undone. Its been 60ish years and still......

Try me...

crosses fingers for the C&E Branch dissolution

 

[FSTO]

What was done cannot be undone. Its been 60ish years and still......

True, and I was only 6 years old when this happened. So therefore I shouldn't care right? But since I'm such a history nerd, I've read into the events that lead to that eventuality and the whole affair (unification, not the rationalization of common tasks) was so underhanded, soul destroying and un-necessary and that we are still trying to un-fuck it (around the edges). In light of how our current institutions work in this country today, executing policies is still done in a mainly secretive and underhanded manner with no real conversation of what the expected benefits to the nation are? What are the metrics? How are they measured? What is the end result?

What was unification supposed to do for Canada? Has it done any of these things?

#1 - Save Money
#2 - Make the CAF agile fighting force
#3 - ?