Recommended Gear

This is a recommended gear list for a patriot going on a patrol that will last up to 3 days. This is tailored to be for an assault type mission, maybe an ambush, or combat patrol. This is just a minimum standard for gear, and it is open to personal preference. This gear list is based on my experience and works for my team and I.




First Line Gear (The clothes you are wearing and the items in them)

 

•  Weather appropriate clothing (non-chafing)
•  Good quality boots
•  Good quality socks (wool preferred)
•  Non-chafing undergarments
•  Ball cap/Boonie/Beanie
•  Sidearm with at least one spare magazine(holster)
•  Knife
•  550 cord
•  Fire starter
•  Compass
•  Tourniquet

 Second Line Gear (Gear you need, but can ditch if you have to)

 

•  Chest rig/Plate carrier
•  Rifle Mag pouches (8-10 mags minimum)
•  Fighting knife/Tomahawk (Personal preference)
•  Blood type patch
•  Spare parts for primary weapon system
•  Tourniquet
•  Safety glasses/sun glasses
•  Comm gear

 

•   Battle belt
•  Rifle mag pouches (2 or more)
•  IFAK with blood type patch
•  14 gauge needle (2)
• CAT TQ (2)
• Chest seal (2)
• EMT shears
• Gauze (H&H, Curlix, Quickclot, 3” rolls) (2)
• Gloves, Nitrile (4 pair)
• Israeli Battle Dressing (2)
• NP Airway/Oral airway
• Quickclot sponges (2)
• Duct tape
• Sharpie
• Providine/Iodine 0.5 oz (4)
• Tape, Surgical 2”
• Trauma Cards
• Trauma pads 5” X 9” (3)
• Triangular bandages (2)
• Bacitracin 0.9g (8)
•  Gun oil
•  Fighting knife
•  Pepper spray (anti dog tracking)
•  Multi tool
•  Hearing protection (Amplified type)
•  Gloves, Tactical, or leather
•  Handgun magazines (2 or more)
•  Dump pouch
•  Handgun holster (or use a tac holster under BB)
•  Water filter/purification tabs
•  Water carrier/canteen
•  Storm proof lighter and tinder

Patrol Bag/Third Line Gear (Longer term sustainment items)

 

•  Spare ammo in mags (4-6 or more full magazines)
•  Water carrier(s)
•  Water purification (tabs/filter)
•  Rations (3 days minimum)
•  Eating utensils
•  Large Ziplock bag(s) for trash
•  Waterproof bag(s) for inside pack, to keep everything dry
•  Sleeping system
•  Hammock
•  Thermal tarp with 550 cord to hang it
•  Self-inflating sleeping mat (Without which all your body heat will disappear)
•  550 cord
•  Firearm cleaning kit
•  Gun oil
•  Socks X2 (wool)
•  Foot powder
•  Blister kit
•  Camo face paint
•  Seasonal spare clothing/rain gear
•  Gillie Suit
•  Shemag/sniper veil
•  Beanie/Balaclava
•  Gloves
•  Folding saw (coil hand saw)
•  Multi tool
•  Knife
•  Flashlight (with red lens)
•  Compass
• Maps of AO (in water proof case)
•  Flexi-cuffs (large zip ties)(at least 2 sets per person) 
•  Write in the rain notebook and pen
•  Medical kit
•  Bug spray
•  Small shovel to dig cat holes for poop
•  Baby wipes
•  Hand sanitizer
•  TP
•  Lip balm
•  Vaseline/petroleum jelly (to help mitigate chaffing)
•  Hard candy (to help prevent coughs and for morale/quick energy)
•  Caffeine pills (helps you stay awake on guard duty/patrolling)
•  Wind proof lighter/flint & steel/Tinder (Dryer lint works great)
•  Medications if needed
•  Mission specific gear: radios, batteries, wire cutters, breaching tools, long range weapon system, shotgun, flares, booby traps, thermal imager, tangle wire, early warning devices, drone (for scouting), burlap or camo for OPs

I personally put everything in my pack in ziplock bags, then most of my gear in the main compartment of my pack also goes into a water proof/float bag. Please use this list for you and your team. Modify it for your own use/AO.



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Gear for the American Patriot: The Tactical Patriot Store
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Body Armor / Plate Carriers

By: Max Velocity

I am a fan of body armor. In any kind of 'kinetic' situation when receiving incoming small arms fire, it will significantly reduce the chances of sustaining a penetrating wound to the torso. Such wounds are often not survivable. 

In basic terms, you have the 'soft armor' portion and the 'plates" that insert front and rear. If you have a plate carrier, you only use the plates. This gives you less protection than if you include the soft armor, but the soft armor does not protect against high velocity (rifle) rounds.

So it is a balance, between levels of protection, weight, bulk, and heat retention. The levels of protection are:

Soft Armor:

Type IIA (9 mm; .40 S&W)
Type II (9 mm; .357 Magnum)
Type IIIA (.357 SIG; .44 Magnum)

Plates:
Type III (Rifles)
Type IV (Armor Piercing Rifle)

The calibers listed are the rounds that this level will protect up to, inclusive of lesser calibers.

Personally, I have a set that I had for working in the Middle East. It was a 'low profile' set that still had front and rear plates. The soft armor portion is level IIIA and the plates are level III. You don't actually need level IV plates, unless you feel the need to protect against armor piercing rounds. Military armor has level IV plates. 

This set of body armor simply came in a soft cover, no pouches attached. It meant that I could wear it under a shirt, or more operationally I used to wear my gear over the top of it, depending on the low or high profile nature of the mission.

What I have now, on the civilian side, is a battle belt, an assortment of 'low profile' 'man bags' that can carry magazines, and I have taken the soft armor and plates out of the cover and put them into a plate carrier that I bought online. It mirrors the military gear I used to wear. So it is no longer low profile, unless I replace the armor in the original soft cover. I have a full tactical vest set up. If I wanted to go low profile, I can replace the armor in the soft cover, wear it under a shirt, and carry a 'man bag' with spare magazines in. With the tactical vest, you can get ones that take soft armor (level IIIA stops powerful handgun/shrapnel) and/or plates. So you can get a plate carrier, or a full set with soft armor. A simple plate carrier will be lighter and cooler, but offers less protection. The soft armor gives you greater protection, just not against high velocity rounds.

So what? Decide what sort of rig you are looking to set up. Research the NIJ levels that you want. You can buy the stuff in a civilian style soft cover and put it into a tactical vest if you want. You definitely want the plates, and you need to decide if you also want the soft armor too.

Body armor can be heavy, hot and sweaty. If you have a 'MOLLE' style tactical cover you can set up a full tactical vest by attaching ammo pouches and the like to the body armor cover. This makes it heavier, but it allows you to carry your gear. If you are contemplating being involved in any kind of tactical kinetic situations, you need to get over the whole hot, heavy and sweaty thing. Suck it up and drive on. Do more PT/drink more water. You will benefit from the protection and you need to carry your ammo and IFAK anyway, plus ancillary gear.

If you are working in the heat, and you want to compromise, use a plate carrier. This gives you the same high velocity rifle round protection but without the greater soft armor torso coverage that will protect against handgun rounds and shrapnel.

Don't go the other way and simply wear the soft armor, like cops do under their shirts. This provides protection against handgun rounds and some can be anti-stab vests also. But there is no protection from high velocity rifle rounds. You can still wear a set with plates under a shirt if you need to be a little more low profile, for instance if driving through a hostile environment trying to remain low key.

And there we have my two cents on body armor....

Velocity, Max. "Body Armor / Plate Carriers ." Max Velocity Tactical.

Blogger, 28 Nov 2012. Web. 4 Jun 2013. <http://maxvelocitytactical.

blogspot.com/2012/11/body-armor-plate-carriers.html>.

The Tactical Patriot online store

Hey readers, I just wanted to put a shout out for our new online store. There is tons of stuff here that will get you to where you want to be with your preparations.

The Tactical Patriot

Check it out, I know you will find something you can't live without. :)

The Tactical Patriot Online Store

Hey guys and gals, since I have been doing this blog, and my Facebook stuff, I have found that there is a need for good sources of gear and equipment for my fellow patriots. So in response to this need, we have decided to open up an Amazon online store for all of your tactical needs.

We will carry everything from: Chest rigs to Uniforms, Boots to Hats, MOLLE gear to Knives, and every thing we can find to list. This should become your go to source for all things tactical.

Patriots, Oathkeepers, III%ers, Militia, Paintball, Airsoft, Survivalists, and many more will find this store to have what they need. We will constantly be adding new products, so check back often, and please support this patriot owned business.

Thank you for your support.


The Tactical Patriot Store

Leveling your gear; 1st Line Gear

First Line Gear

I have read some of the posts regarding what some patriots carry in their rucks, etc.
It is obvious that some of those gear lists contain much more than what goes in a ruck.

There is a philosophy regarding how one wears gear, and where one puts certain gear items. It is called the 'layered' approach.

There are THREE basic levels or lines. They are simply - 1st, 2nd and 3rd Line.

The objective of these posts will be to define what 'layering' or 'leveling' gear is, and why it is done.

 This first post will address '1st Line Gear'.

 First Line Gear is the stuff that you want with you no matter what. Lets say you were doing a river crossing, and you lost for footing. Guess what, you will ditch your ruck, your rifle and your load bearing gear(LBG) so you can swim to shore.
 Or you are on the run, and have already ditched your ruck and since you are out of ammo you have ditched your rifle and LBG . You know, run away and live to fight another day.

1st Line Gear:

Compass (Silva Ranger Type or Lensatic)
Map of AO (factory folds, laminated, no additional marking - so if you lose it, it does not TOTALLY compromise the mission)
Small Red LED flashlight (this is to read the map with at night)
Riggers Belt
Watch (waterproof)
Swiss Army Knife/Multitool
Fixed blade knife on Drop Sheath  on week side
Strong Side Drop Holster Side Arm
1 Spare Mag for Side Arm
Water holder (small canteen or 'Platypus' 1 liter container)
Small First Aid Kit (Band Aids, Small Tube of Neosporin, Couple Aspirins/Motrin, Compress/Tampons)
Small Survival Kit (Fish Hooks, Fishing line, Sinkers, Fire starter (flint/steel/etc.), Packets of Top Ramen Mix WITHOUT NOODLES, Snare Making Material (64 gauge brass wire), Empty film canister full of dryer lint)
Water Purification
550 cord on Boonie Hat (25')
Blast Match
Flight Gloves
USGI Triangular OD Bandage worn 'bandit style' around neck

TOTAL WEIGHT OF 1st LINE GEAR IS 9 POUNDS!

ALL of this stuff is carried on YOU. In your pockets, on your belt, etc. NOT IN YOUR LBG or RUCK!

 Remember to 'dummy cord' everything to your body, so when you need it, it is still there. With these items you can literally survive to fight another day. Without them, your survival odds just turned against you. Now this 'list' may vary somewhat from yours depending on your AO and different needs, but this list is a good guideline to start from.