Avid military historian and collector, focusing on Global War on Terror. Also a volunteer at American Armory Museum (as Desert Storm-GWOT exhibit specialist and Graphic Designer)
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Equipment used by SEALs during the invasion of Iraq:
Modified non-ballistic Skateboard Protec helmet. Typically worn in VBSS/maritime operations or in any circumstances where weight and speed matters.
The plate carrier is MBSS system by Allied Industries. It could either carry ballistic plates or flotation panels. It was lower profile alternative to SPEAR body armor which was also used at the time.
The DCU has Naval Special Warfare (NSW) modification. (Pockets on sleeves and Velcro in certain NSW style).
Blood types on Velcro. Goggles are strapped onto helmet via 550 cords. Notes: The black pouch is for HABD (Helicopter Aircrew Breathing Device), essentially mini oxygen cylinder for emergency during maritime operations. the glow stick affixed to the helmet may have been used for friendly/for identification during a nighttime raid. Merrell Sawtooth- Special Operations community’s favorite private purchase boots. Central Command Area of Responsibility (May 24, 2003) — SEAL (Sea, Air and Land) Team members board Joint Venture, High Speed Vessel Experimental One (HSV X1) for a Visit, Board, Search, and Seizure (VBSS) training evolution by fast roping from an HH-60H Sea Hawk helicopter assigned to the ÒIndiansÓ of Helicopter Anti-Submarine Squadron Six (HS-6). SEAL Team members conduct various training evolutions with Joint Venture and are both deployed to the Central Command Area of Responsibility in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. Operation Iraqi Freedom is the multi-national coalition effort to liberate the Iraqi people, eliminate Iraq’s weapons of mass destruction, and end the regime of Saddam Hussein. U.S. Navy photo by Photographer’s Mate 2nd Class Michael J. Pusnik, Jr. (RELEASED) A photo of SEAL in Iraq with similar set up as the display. Image Source and full context are unknown. Found in open source.
The 5th Special Forces Group was deployed to Iraq in 2003 for the invasion of Iraq. They infiltrated into Western Iraq in advance of the main invasion forces to conduct reconnaissance, harassing Iraqi forces in the area, capturing Iraqi airfield at Wadi al Khirr, as well feinting attacks to create distractions.
The primary item you may have noticed on this display is the helmet. The helmet is Gentex Military Motorcycle Helmet II. This is a ballistic helmet with integrated communication equipment- In the HMMWV General Mobility Vehicle (Or GMV in short, a Special Operations version of Humvee) as well other vehicles; ODA team members wear this helmet in conjunction with vehicle intercom system.
Another equipment to highlight: Hellcat MK2 chest rig made by SO Tech. At the time, chest rigs weren’t widely issued so those had to be bought out of pocket. The chest rig has early “yellowish” tan material as well “seatbelt” straps. The chest rig was innovative and cutting edge for its time as it has pockets for magazines built in to make it easy and quick to draw. Standard issue desert pouches from MOLLE equipment mounted on it for additional ammo and gear. The chest rig is worn over Safariland SPEAR body armor.
The desert camouflage uniform has Velcro so Special Forces soldiers could remove patches if discretion is needed. This simple velcro modification seemed to be common for 5th Special Forces Group at the time.
Hellcat chest rig in action. Image source: Unknown. MMH-II in action. Image source: Unknown. Image source: Unknown. Note the DCU with Velcro for patch.
Below is the excerpt from a book Danger Close by Steve Call about the TACP Brian Wilchenski. The book is highly recommended for anyone who is interested in learning about USAF ROMAND, JTAC, TACP, and CCT.
(Excerpt begins)One particularly intense example of TACPs unexpectedly coming in handy occurred near the town of Khowst as Operation Anaconda was winding down. S.St. Brian Wilchenski had been a conventional TACP with the 20th ASOS before 11 September, and when they couldn’t find enough SOF TACPs to meet the needs of the SOF ramp-up for Afghani-stan, Wilchenski volunteered to go through the crash course to become an augmentee. Wilchenski was accepted, trained, and deployed to Afghanistan around mid-December 2001. He worked at TF Dagger headquarters for awhile, and finally joined a SOF team in early February. While with this team he pretty much ran the gamut of SOF duties. Most of it was quite routine, even boring, but Wilchenski was looking back on it as one of the most rewarding experiences of his career. His tour was nearly over when, as often happens, he had his closest brush with death.
This was right around the third week in March at the tail end of An-aconda. We all went to sleep [on our] third or fourth night back in Khowst… About midnight all of a sudden things start exploding. We had mortar rounds and automatic weapons fire coming in from four different directions. … As I’m heading out of the building, frickin’ tracer rounds start bouncing off the wall right in front of me. … My body armor and helmet were already turned in and locked up ’cause I was going to leave in a couple of days. [Amazingly, this is standard practice-two or three days before troops redeploy home they turn in all their equipment, including protective gear, which then gets packed up and sent to the shipping terminal.] As I get up on top of the roof … I hear a snap, snap. There’s different sounds you hear when you’re in battle. A zing is, you know, it’s close, it could be a couple yards away. A snap is a near miss. You heard a round snap, what it’s doing is breaking the sound barrier over your head and it’s usually only a couple of inches away. A round snaps here and a round snaps there and I’m like, “Oh damn!” I got no helmet and no body armor on and I lay on my back, “Oh, this sucks!” I get on the radio and I just happen to say, you know, it’s like calling God, “Hey, is there anybody out there?” and all of a sudden an aircraft checks in and he says, “Yep I’m here.” And it was just a big, “Phew, yeah!” He goes, “I’m a B-1B, and I got .. “I’m like, “Oh man, let me guess, you got like twenty-seven Mk-82s and eighteen JDAMs. “Yep, that’s what I got.” I go, “Hold on, they’re way too close to us. We’re right in town and I really can’t have you dropping bombs.”….. “What do you need from me?” he asks, and I go, “Listen, I need you to do a flyby. I need you to come down as low as you possibly can. I need you to [kick in] your afterburners and pop flares,” you know, so the people attacking us would know that we’re certain to do business. “All right, l’ll be in there in thirty seconds.” He comes down and he’s just rocking the whole compound ’cause the B-1B hauls ass. …And he comes rolling in and frickin’ all of a sudden kicks in afterburners right over my head. Woooshhhhhhhh! You know, and the building shook and everybody’s screaming, “Yeah! Wooo!” Everybody’s pumped up. And as he’s pulling up his afterburners are freakin’ flashing the [compound]. He probably got down to five hundred feet, I mean, he got right down. He popped flares as he pulled off and everything got quiet-for about a minute. It didn’t last very long. “How was that?” he asked. “Fucking awesome! It was awesome That did the job!” Everything’s quiet for a couple seconds, then they started firing again. He’s like, “All right, what can I do for you now?” “Listen, since you have direct [communication] with the AWACS, I need to know when the [AC-130] can get here. I need the gunship because these guys are in close. I got guys within two hundred meters right now shooting at us.” He says, “All right, stand by. … He’ll be here in fifteen minutes.” Then he asked, “Well what do you want me to do till they get here?” “I need you to do another flyby.” He did another flyby just to keep their heads down till the gunship showed up. He did [a third] flyby and by that time, the gunship showed up. I got on the radio with the commander … and I tell him, “I’ve got a gunship showing up … I need to know where you want the fires.” We had a prison just to the north of us and we were getting the majority of our fire from the prison. He says, “I want the northwest corner of that prison taken out.” “All right, I’lI have rounds down in about a min-ute. ..” I called the gunship, “Listen, I need you to find our position.We’re halfway up the airfield on the north side, in the compound.” And he goes, “All right, I got your position. . . “”All right, I’m going to sparkle [designate the target with the laser] the [prison] 150 meters away.” He said, “Okay, I got your sparkle… “”All right, good, now I need you to go to the northwest corner and tell me what you see.” “Yeah, I got at least twenty guys in the corner, looks like they’re shooting. What do you want me to do?” I go, “Stand by,” and I get with the commander, “All right sir, I got twenty guys in the corner [of the prison] compound. I’m ready to lay fire, are you ready?” “Yep.” “All right, tell everybody to get down,” and I told [the gunship], “Fire for effect! You’re cleared to fire!” And all of a sudden they put down twenty-five rounds of 105, fifty rounds of 40-mm, and it was like fireworks! And all of a sudden the whole compound, the 101st [Airborne Division] guys, the SF guys, everybody was screaming, and I’m up on top of the roof, “Yeah! Hell, yeah!” We’re all pumped up. I mean everything was just like lighting up in the corner of that compound. We had rocks and stuff hitting the front of our compound. And then things got quiet. Pretty much the attack stops. … The commander got on the radio and said, “Ski, that was an awesome job. You probably saved a lot of lives tonight.”
Shortly after this episode Wilchenski went home.
The BDU came from the time of the story. It would’ve been his garrison uniform. Note the 20th ASOS patch and 10th Mountain Division SSI and Special Forces combat patch. At one point of Wilchenski’s career, he got transferred to 5th ASOS and attached to 3rd Stryker Brigade Combat Team of the 2nd Infantry Division. With that unit he would deploy to Iraq twice in 2003(?) then 2007. Eventually he returned to Afghanistan in 2012.
USAF Pararescue Jumpers (PJs) are airmen specialized in rescuing and recovering downed pilots in combat zones. As qualified medics, they also jump in the hot zones to provide medical assistances to troops. Because of those kinds of missions, they had requirements for load bearing vest (LBV) that could carry a lot of ammo, medical equipment, and various of rescue tools. To fill in this requirement, Eagle Industries created a specialized LBV, the Air Rescue Vest.
The vest is displayed with a DCU that came from a PJ. The veteran removed the name tape for privacy, however, the rest of patches are intact. You can see that he was Senior Master Sergeant and has badges to denote his qualifications: Master Aircrew Wings (Enlisted), Master Parachutist Wings, and Scuba.
Pararescuemen with the 301st Rescue Squadron return with a downed pilot from a successful rescue mission April 8, 2003 at a forward deployed location in southern Iraq during Operation Iraqi Freedom. – U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Shane A. Cuomo
The Ghillie suit worn by US. Army sniper who was in 25th Infantry Division’s Long Range Surveillance Detachment. He worn this in Eastern Afghanistan, where it is more wooded and greener than the rest of Afghanistan. He supported the Special Forces operations by over watching the objective and providing sniper support, and as well covering the extraction (exfil) routes. The LRSD’s core mission is surveillance of enemy activities and provide intelligence to the HQ of 25th Infantry Division.
Details about the suit: It is handmade with the materials such as a BDU set, fishing net, camouflage net, burlap, jutes, canvas, and few cans of paint. The canvas on front of BDU was from old cut-up Army issued duffel bags. It’s thick material reinforced the front of BDU so the sniper could crawl for long duration. The BDU was sized up so it can be donned quickly. It has recycled straps from ALICE ruck sewn on for resizing. The pants have suspenders taken from cold weather pants and tied on via 550 cords The cuff of blouse have one pocket moved for ease of access to ammo or other essential items.
Combat Vehicle Crewman (CVC) helmets were issued to armor units. It has communication headset affixed to it, which could be plugged into armored vehicle radio. This CVC helmet has been painted tan for desert. The stencil TC-C53 translated to “Track Commander, Charlie (company) 53 (vehicle number). “Butt stroke” may have been a nick name of SSG Avington, or written as a joke.
The Air Force desert combat uniform (DCU) has enlisted aircrew wings and medical technician badge, Master Sergeant ranks, named to Robbins. By researching the name online, the history and face behind this DCU were found.
Msgt. Jason Robbins was an Independent Duty Medical Technician, assigned to the 1st Special Operations Support Squadron/Operational Support Medical Flight. His squadron falls under Air Force Special Operations Command. He was a flight IDMT aboard air rescue helicopters and aircrafts including MH-53 Pavelow and MC-130. His job involves assessing, evaluating, diagnosing and treating patients in flight during rescue operations.
In 2009, he become Combat Aviation Advisor with the 6th Special Operation Squadron (AFSOC). Later on, he would become Chief Medical Enlisted Force at AFSOC headquarters.
Based on his ribbons on the published photo, he has seen multiple deployments to Afghanistan and Iraq.
(Disclaimer: the information found on the individual is available publicly via published articles, so I believe no OPSEC nor privacy was violated).
The modified uniform and equipment worn by Special Warfare Combatant-Craft Crewman (SWCC) from the SBT-12. US. Navy SBTs are part of Naval Special Warfare Command. Those maritime special operations boat teams have vessels of heavily armed small crafts, their mission typically involve but not limited to, infiltration/exfiltration of US. Navy SEALs and other Special Operation Forces (SOF).
OD Green infrared flag patch and SBT-12 patch in subdued colors on NSW modified BDU. Full color version of SBT-12 patch. Maritime CIRAS body armor made by Eagle industries. It has a useful feature for sailors on small water craft: A pull cable (on collar area of vest) can quickly disconnect the front and rear panels in event of emergency. Individual First Aid Kit (IFAK) in sealed and waterproofed bag. Made for Navy small watercraft crewmen.Photographer: MC2 Michelle Kapica; Credit: U.S. Navy; Copyright: Public Domain
The Desert Combat Uniform (DCU) and beret belonged to SFC Shawn McElravy, who was NCO (Non-Commissioned Officer) in charge of the 1290th Psychological detachment. The detachment was made up of men from 361st Psychological Company. The 361st is part of the US. Army reserve unit, 12th Psychology Operations Battalion. The unit was activated in 2003 then deployed to Mosul, Iraq in 2004-05 to support the 25th Infantry Division’s Stryker brigade. The detachment provided valuable support: Information war. The detachment would utilize press equipment such as large printers and heavy duty industrial paper cutting machine, with capabilities of printing flyers, airdrop leaflets, and posters. They also utilized various tools including but not limited to, broadcast equipment and loudspeakers. They used any tools that would enable them to deliver the information to local populations. More information, details, and images can be found here: http://www.psywarrior.com/361stPsyopIraq.html
SFC McElravy’s beret, as worn by 361st PSYOP Company soldiers- the 12th POB distinctive unit insignia (DUI) on USACAPOC flash.
The DCU has United States Army Civil Affairs and Psychological Operations Command (USACAPOC) Shoulder Sleeve Insignia, the command 361st PSYOP company falls under, and a combat patch of 25th Infantry Division to reflect that he was deployed and attached with them. US flag patch is made of 3M type reflective material, mounted on Velcro. The Infrared reflective (IR) flag patch was adopted by Stryker Brigades at the time to assist soldiers with recognizing friendly/foe while wearing night vision goggles (NVG). DCU has air assault wing and Combat Action Badge (CAB). The CAB only awarded to non-infantry soldiers who saw combat, which indicated that SFC McElravy had his share of combat during the deployment.
US Army (USA) Soldiers from 1290th Tactical Psychological Operations (PSYOPS) Detachment (Stryker Brigade Combat Team), 361st PSYOPS Company (CO), Bothell, Washington (WA), load boxes filled with leaflets into a trailer for distribution throughout Mosul, Iraq, during Operation IRAQI FREEDOM. (Image: Released to Public Combined Military Service Digital Photographic Files)Nightscope shot of US Army (USA) Soldiers from 1290th Tactical Psychological Operations (PSYOPS) Detachment (Stryker Brigade Combat Team), 361st PSYOPS Company (CO), Bothell, Washington (WA), loading boxes filled with leaflets onto a USA UH-60 Black Hawk for distribution over Mosul, Iraq, during Operation IRAQI FREEDOM (Image: Released to Public Combined Military Service Digital Photographic Files)
The display is currently on loan to American Armory Museum for their Operation Enduring Freedom exhibit.
Anti-Taliban leader Gul Agha Sherzai’s Pashtun force liberated Kandahar from Taliban’s control in late 2001. There were still pockets of Talibans and (foreigners) Al Qaeda fighters throughout the city. Sherzai’s forces captured few wounded hard core Al Qaeda fighters, who were then brought to Mir Wais hospital for treatments. On December 7, 2001 nine Al Qaeda fighters overpowered their captors, armed and barricaded themselves in a wing of hospital, besieged it. Al Qaeda fighters handed over two of their severely wounded fighters who weren’t able to fight, to Sherzai’s forces. One of fighters committed suicide by blowing up himself with a grenade. Six Al Qaeda fighters remained.
US. Army 5th Special Forces Group (Airborne)’s ODA 524 team had arrived in Kandahar just two days earlier to replace another team, ODA 574 due to heavy casualties from accidental friendly air strike incident. When ODA 524 arrived on scene, Pashtun leader Sherzai insisted that Americans could not enter the Mir Wais hospital but insisted they train and prepare Sherzai’s own force for assault. With the siege ongoing, the ODA trained the 15 best fighters selected from Sherzai’s force for assault. For a few weeks, these Pashtun fighters were trained in urban warfare and Close Quarter Battle.
Men from ODA 524. Note the “I love NY” pins. Image source: Getty images
The ODA emplaced and blew breaching charges on the hospital wall creating an entry point for Sherzai’s assault force. The breaching caught Al Qaeda fighters off guard however, Sherzai’s assault force moved too slowly, allowing Al Qaeda fighters to recoup and put up a heavy resistance. At one point during the assault, a grenade blew up wounding multiple Pashtun assaulters, forcing them to retreat. On the second assault attempt, the remaining Pashtun assaulters were no longer motivated, requiring the ODA to step in. The ODA conducted this second assault themselves. After tossing multiple grenades and heavy gunfight, they successfully took down all the six Al Qaeda fighters. The men of ODA 524 ended a 50 days siege without taking casualties.
The two severely wounded fighters were treated and transferred to United States’ Guantanamo Bay Naval base in Cuba for the high security detention camp controlled by Joint Task Force- Guantanamo (JTF-GTMO).
Aftermath of successful assault. Image source: AP photo and the BBC News article.
The equipment on the mannequin display: Pakol hat and Chinese made “Chicom” chest rig commonly worn by Afghans; also worn by Special Forces soldiers to blend in their allied fighters and local population. The “I love NY” pin was worn by ODA members as a tribute to 9/11. The desert camouflage uniform (DCU) was modified by relocating pockets to sleeves for ease of access while wearing vest or chest rig. Strips of Velcro were added so branch/name tags can be removable for anonymous reason and Velcro squares on sleeves were for reflective/IR squares with purpose to distinguish from friendlies to foes. Under the modified DCU is Extreme Cold Weather Clothing System (ECWCS) fleece jacket.
The “barrack” photo taken by Special Forces soldier showing how he utilized his “Chicom” chest rig. Image source: Unknown/ Open source
GWOT museum 