Out with the old and in with the new!
2017 was a big, big year for military fashion, from the end of the Army’s legendary gray PT uniform to the embarrassing $94 million in forest camo that Uncle Sam ordered up for Afghan soldiers in largely forest-free Afghanistan. But with the Army’s latest four-year uniform transition periodnow winding down, 2018 will be an even bigger year for soldiers as the branch fields its latest gear and weapons upgrades.
So what will be the things they carried in 2018? Here’s a brief guide to all the swag headed downrange next year
New guns
But it’s not just new pistols rolling out to soldiers. A spokesman for the Army’s Project Executive Office Soldier told Task & Purpose that the branch has upgraded a total of 241,361 M4s to M4A1s, half of the roughly 483,000 upgrades envisioned under the service’s M4 Product Improvement Program. The Army plans to have all those upgrades completed by the end of 2018. (No word yet on when the branch’s new 5.56mm body-armor-defeating ammo will be ready to go, though.)
The Army has also approved 1,111 M3E1 recoilless rifles as a lighter replacement for the standard 84mm M3 Multi-Role Anti-Armor Anti-Personnel Weapon System (MMAAWS) — better known as the M3 Carl Gustaf — after more than a year of tests for the upgraded bazooka.
New uniforms
The Army announced in October that it planned on fielding the lightweight Improved Hot Weather Army Combat Uniform “within a year.” The first lucky soldiers to break in the uniform — which sacrifices extra fabric and pockets for an airy feel — will be in the Hawaii-based 25th Infantry Division, which has also been testing 30,000 pairs of New Army jungle boots since March. (Read more on those kicks down below.)
Officials plan to issue 65,000 pairs of the new (four sets to each soldier) to the rest of the 25th ID by January, but the IHWU won’t just be reserved for jungle deployments: According to PEO Soldier’s Brig. Gen. Brian P. Cummings, the branch wants to make the new uniform available for purchase by all troops through military retail outlets.
New boots
New protective gear
As of November, Army officials planned on rolling out the new Modular Scalable Vest (MSV), a major component of the next-generation Soldier Protection System, by summer 2018.
The MSV is part of a torso and extremity protection system (TEP) comes with a scalable vest, ballistic combat shirt, pelvic protection system, and battle belt; altogether, the MSV is a whole 5 pounds lighter than the current improved outer tactical vest — and it’s more adjustable to new mission requirements.
The Army is still working on an Integrated Head Protection System to replace the existing Enhanced Combat Helmet — it and likely will be until 2020 at the earliest. But the branch did unveil spiffy new eyewear: Transition Combat Eye Protection, glasses that automatically switch to a darker or brighter tint, depending on light levels.
New night vision?
As Task & Purpose…