43 Essential Items Marine Corps Officers Bring To Battle | Loadout | Business Insider

I'm Captain Zachary McCormack, I'm a war combat instructor at the basic school station at Marine Corps Base Quanico and this is everything a basically trained officer would take on in a 72 hour field operation, the basic schools where every commissioned officer or designated W officer comes to train after his commissioning appointment before moving on to the Fleet Marine Force, so starting with what is in the

corps

from top to bottom, this is our kevar, This is our standard helmet that we wear and allows for additional protection whether on a firefighter. When performing any type of operation or task that involves heavy equipment, we usually wear one of these on top.

I have a 550 cable or just a paracord cable that allows me to connect this to any type of optic that mounts on the front of the Kevlar, whether it's a night vision optic or night vision goggles that would come on the front, it would come with your own standard uh standard list equipment to attach to the front and then this would attach to the item itself to prevent In any kind of situation, on the back we have what are known as C eyes, which simply illuminate illuminated pieces of fabric on the back that allow someone to see the back of someone's head even if there is no other lighting.

Whether in the room or outside, each Marine will have some type of eye protection, which they currently have stored in their backpack, or any type of gloves that we will use whenever we handle any type of heavy equipment, but especially when we are using any type of weapon system, whether it's our standard M4 M16 rifles, M27 rifles or even heavier machine guns, on my body is our standard plate carrier. This is Gen 2, this is most commonly seen throughout the Marine Corps. In front of it we have what is known as a kangaroo bag, which is really just a sewn-in bag that comes standard and allows me to store things like my note-taking equipment or any type of notebook I can or want.

It also allows me to store any type of maps, any other type of laminated pieces of paper or any other type of tools, I may need a knife similar to this one we have here, this one was given to me by my father, I think for my 21st birthday .an extra pair cable or 550 cable wrapped around it in case you ever need to use it to build a shelter or use it for any type of emergency situation. He has a serrated edge that allows him to cut the rope more effectively and then sharper. knife and tip at the end we try to teach that every

marine

has some type of multi-tool knife or something like that.

A handful in any type of situation you might find yourself in up here is the hose for my hydration system that connects to the The back of my Flack with an external hydration bladder so I can have water whenever I need it. Also, my body is our standard gas mask, allowing me to keep it in my bag so I can take it out at any time. Notice the patches on my face and wipe them away. This is so you can train against any potential Seab Bur threats. Seab Bur whether chemical, chemical, biological, radiological or nuclear. He will see ahead.

I have sort of a Cami network in order. to be able to camouflage it and hide it when we go to the tree line when I'm using it maybe not, but just to break up any kind of line of sight, any other kind of shapes that are not natural to the environment and allow me to have a best concealed position regardless of whether I'm wearing it or not by taking it off you'll see that they're actually two different backpacks that are held together by clips that we have here on top of what's known as an assault backpack or a day pack, normally I would use it to store any additional gear that couldn't fit in my backpack naturally, but I would also use it for any type of patrol or field operation of 24 hours or less in the interior.

I usually keep an extra water bag. system this is a smaller water system that we use for physical training uh or even shorter patrols. I also have an administrative bag here that allows me to contain any miscellaneous materials in here. I have what is known as the TBS Student Field Guide. Any others we may have taught here at the basic school can usually be found in this guide. This is only used as a quick reference manual. I also keep extra tools, knives, multi-tools, things like that here on top of a red lens headlamp that we usually test out. to keep it on like a red lens that way it just minimizes our signature if we ever need to use it.

Am I using heavier weapons or is it a scope or any type of thing. I usually carry additional ballistic eye-proof hearing protection, it should be that way. ballistically rated cannot be any type of reflective surface, it simply will not protect your eyes if any type of shrapnel or ammunition comes flying at you. 550 cable. I try to keep at least 50 feet cut into different types of strands when possible and then an extra roll in case I need to build a shelter, tie something to another object. I have extra bags so I can carry additional water sources in addition to the 3 liter camel backpack that I normally carry with me wherever a sailor goes.

They usually carry three to five liters of water only with their person, speaking of water sources. This is a standard canteen that fits inside a canteen bag and then we often use jeans and extra water sources if we want. We took more than what was standard. We always train using some type of tape or other additional camouflage that is kept here. I usually store my food that way if I need some kind of food, I eat quickly on the go without having to take anything out. more of my package here's a ready to eat meal or M that has everything I think it's about 1300 calories per standard m in case up to here we have everything that's needed for a normal meal whether it's carbs everything from Your carbs, your proteins, and your fats are all included here, as well as some additional sugars to keep Mor on top.

It has its own heating system to heat the main meals and other things contained here, where you simply add water. You put it in a bag and allow a chemical reaction to occur which will allow it to heat, alternatively to what you will commonly see in the Arm Forces and this is a jet boil. I don't have a gas can with me, but it's set up so that the pilot light turns on the gas to eliminate any type of liquid or material that I have in here and just allows me to heat my food a little more conveniently, not everyone will take them out. to the field just because it takes up a significant amount of space in your backpack on this side.

I usually keep it as a hygiene kit of something like this this way, it just keeps everything organized, I don't keep it organized in the backpack. I usually carry things like sunscreen, ibuprofen, foot spray and I can keep my feet if I could if it's wet or cold and keep my feet dry. I usually have a shaving kit, as well as baby wipes and a toothbrush or any type of ointment I can use. I may need it when I'm out in the field that way if I get any kind of quick cuts or bruises or I need to clean up Cami's paint, uh, real quick.

I don't need a COR, any kind of external support, I have those things. In my person I can stay in the fight for much longer. At the top is what we call the brain bag. What I keep here are extra gear or things that can be recharged quickly that I need to have, like extra batteries for a headlamp. or my Night Vision Optics Colder Weather Gloves, so these are typically provided for colder weather environments. You can still operate your weapons systems with these. They also come with accompanying glove inserts. It just keeps your hands cooler. It prevents hypothermia when it is all together, as well as any other type of additional.

I think these are more of a set of eye protection glasses. This is generally better if you are operating with an airplane because it seals to your face and prevents any type of wind or gust. fly into your face if you're trying to skirt around a plane or work around a plane, here's a field first aid kit, also known as ifac, in there where the tourniquets are kept and also the cobat H gauze bandages. Also I brought a quick reflective blanket. This is a good use to be able to use it as signaling, but also if it is dimmed within a sleeping system, which we will get to later, an additional source to be able to retain heat in case of emergency or I just need an extra heating layer this it's known as a combat load carrier or load vest uh it's the same nen class either way for the same system, but this allows me to use something that's a little bit lighter and a little bit more expeditionary if I don't.

I want to or if I'm in a work environment that allows me to not have to use a plate carrier or if I'm trying to be lighter or stealthier on a certain mission, but it will close and allow me to carry anything on my uh I usually have comments about if this is a magazine patch that will contain two magazines, that is a standard number three per Marine for six magazines total, that is a standard number of AC fleet wide Marine Force and two magazine pouches for the m67 fragmentation grenade , but I could attach it and Molly too if I ever try to operate in an environment where I need a little more stealth instead of Force protection.

I can do this, we'll separate this too and then if I untie these straps here. It will become your own individual belts, we commonly call it war belt. The reason I would do this is if I wanted to carry other additional

items

that I could Molly and by Molly I mean strap it through these type of GE straps and it would allow me to carry any of those pieces of equipment on this war belt or on this plate holder or even in some places in the backpack. I will also carry at least two smaller waterproofing bags, what I will normally keep here is any other type of clothing changes, warming layers, as well as the normal warming layers that we issue, this is a hat, uh, that works as a type of soft cover in colder environments, covers both ears and the front of my forehead, proper use. of the uniform that covers the hair in front of my face, as well as other warm-up layers, this is what is known as The Waffle top, it is supposed to go along with the base warm-up layer that you would have with your uniform.

I think it keeps me warm, at least it keeps me and allows me to survive when it gets colder, but this is usually used as a second or third layer when you wear these clothes. This type of material or known as the Frog material that you can see from the logo here will serve more, this will serve as another layer of underwear and that purpose is not really to keep you warm, it is more to keep moisture and everything bad out of your body , so if you're moving you're sweating and then you stop, this is meant to be able to remove that from your body and that way you have the other heating lights to keep you warm but you don't stay cold. and wet, this is to be able to prevent both from coming on the top and bottom, as you'll see here, this is the Frog top, just a long sleeve shirt of the same material and then these are the waffle bottoms that will go under your normal cies, you will have the base layer which is usually like the shirt or the Frog material like we see here and then the waffle material will go and then you will have your normal camouflage marpat uniform on top. and besides that, this is our rain gear, these are gortex material, these are the bottom, these are the pants and this is the top of the gortex jacket, these, uh, you wore them in the field , they are waterproof, they work, they are waterproof enough that where the clothes I wear underneath usually don't get wet unless I submerge myself in water, but this is quite effective at keeping me dry and therefore when it's warmer Cold as now, it won't stop me.

When developing hypothermia, it also traps heat inside, so if I use this, it allows something, if I'm already wet, to help me dry off a little faster. This is something similar to fighting and, as you saw, it has additional bags. It's where I'll store things like my extra map gear allows me to store maps here as well, similar to the kangaroo pouch that's on the combat cargo carrier, it has extra pieces on the side for knives as well and an extra pouch here for storage others. I usually still use utensils, but again, batteries, extra flashlights, just extra things I can carry.

This is the electronic tool or the entrenching tool. I can take it out, unfold it and then tighten it. Usually keep it tight and willing like here or me. I can unscrew it, hold it at a 90° angle, and I find it easier to dig trenches if I use it in this type of movement rather than like a normal shovel that was seen before on the edges, you'll see it's serrated. allows me to cutany type of roots, any type of rope or saw through any type of branches and all that, if I need to build a shelter or dig a fighting position, with this I could dig an effective combat trench for skirmishers, which is a hole about two of my kevlars wide and then about 6 feet long or whatever the individual fighting in them is how long does it take you to build to dig a skirmish position for the hasty skirmishers, if I don't mind the dimensions or uniform I can make one effective in about 10 to 20 minutes now moving on to the sleeping system we actually have two options uh issued by the Marine Corps they will always come in some type of waterproofing bag the first part is the outer layer This is what is Known as a bivouac bag.

It's a waterproof sack that opens up and has a net here so I can see out or be able to zip it up, especially if it's colder or I want to prevent any kind of bugs or anything from getting inside it. I can close this and it will be a full-body sleep system that covers my entire body. This is what is commonly known as wubby, but it is an internal sleeping system. a smaller portion and we also have the brown sleeping system bag. This is our medium weight sleeping system. The way it will work is that I will already have it open and placed.

I'll keep it inside the bivy bag. or alternatively if it's warmer and I don't want the full insulation of this I can use this and when I lay down inside I'll zip this system up and then I'll lay inside completely closed how? that works pretty well, it insulates me really well, but it does a lot better if I use this mat that we have here attached to the bottom, so I spread it out and it creates a buffer between my floor sleeping system with this on. On top, it insulates me from heat loss through my back when I'm lying on the ground.

This is effective in keeping my things waterproof. If I have it all in the bag, I can unpack it and place it on my equipment. now all my things are relatively waterproof. Alternatively, I could also use the bungees on the end as well as tent stakes that I can carry with me or sticks or something I can improvise or 550 rope so I can attach it to other trees and all that so I can create a hasty shelter. With it we also have an alternative sleeping bag, also known as the black bag. This one comes with its own separate waterproofing system, the reason we call it.

The black bag is black, it is much more insulated than the brown bag we saw before, but it works exactly the same with the bivy bag we will put it in to make it waterproof. Can this keep me warm in sub-zero temperatures? So

officers

typically take the M4 carbine rifle or as you've seen in the training here the M16 rifle, they also have the M27 which is our new automatic rifle system so this is the model 3 compass standard of the hotel that we deliver in the basic school. and a standard in the Marine Force fleet here, if you look at the face, it has different markers to have two different types of denominations of how it measures distance, either in degrees 0 to 360 or in Mills 0 to 6400, which is used for color artillery fire.

This element here that I'm turning on the face of the compass is known as the bezel ring. You'll notice the illuminated piece here that allows me to see it at night. It has nuclear material that allows it to illuminate no matter the conditions we are in. What this allows me to do is be able to navigate at night, each of the clicks here is called 3° uh while I turn it relative uh to start at zero is also part of It's a glass here and then if you look very closely, you'll see a crossing the center plate of the compass.

What this allows me to do is set it like this,

bring

the compass closer to my cheek and be able to call. what's called shooting a blacksmith, this allows me to orient myself on my compass and as long as I look down into the eyepiece of the compass, it matches the degrees, uh, with the line here, I know exactly that I'm moving in a certain direction. degree, let's say if I wanted to shoot it like this 20° and walk 20° from where I am, I would line it up at 20° on the compass, shoot it up, line it up with an object that matches the 20° and then just move toward that object, the thumb ring allows me to stabilize the compass better while using it and then here is a scale that allows me to make measurements on my map if the scale is one every 50,000 M. it means a 1 m at maximum and the scale would equal 50,000 M if it were expanded if it had one and 25,000 it means the map would be expanded much more and each item here will be used to teach lieutenants to train standard and be successful in the Marine Force fleet so the important thing is to repack things as soon as possible, yes, as you have right now.

We're doing it for demonstration purposes, but I pulled something out and no. Immediately putting it back in my backpack goes against the training we have here because, for example, if Firi suddenly explodes, all my stuff is gone and now I have to worry about putting it down or taking it. Should uh and deal with combat