Gear
Gear
Posted on Jan 24, 2016
What is the best FLC setup for a Troop/Company Commander?
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I am about to graduate from MCCC and want to redesign my FLC from when I was a PL to serve me better as a Commander. I know that having an admin pouch for example is probably more important than having 6-7 mag pouches. Does anyone have an example of a FLC setup that served them well in a leadership position?
Best Practices
Command
Gear
Posted 8 y ago
Responses: 5
I'll share with you what I had as an ODA commander in Iraq. Keep in mind this was during the surge, so more of a combat focus. Also, while a Captain position, an ODA Commander may be closer to the fighting than a Company Commander, so my gear needed to cover those contingencies. Lastly, an ODA can be far removed from all friendly forces, so more redundancy and robustness may be needed. Some of it probably doesn't apply to Troop/Company Command, so I'll also explain my general philosophy for context and you can take what you want to apply for your own situation.
First, think of your gear as real estate, with each area having a different value based on how easy it is to access. The easiest place to access is the highest value real estate, and so on. Assuming you are right handed, your rifle will obviously be on the right. I put all critical gear therefore on my left for quick access, and all secondary gear on my right, which assumes I'm not handling my rifle if I'm going there. So this is what I did:
1) Create a list of what is most important for you to access. Most likely at the top of your list is your radio. For me, since I was on a 12 man team away from friendly units, accessing my rifle was still important, so I put my radio where I can most easily access it with my left hand. Not only was my PTT there, but handling the radio itself is important for changing frequencies and troubleshooting. This anchors the rest of the gear.
2) After my radio, my GPS was most important. So this was placed at the next most convenient place my left hand could access (I used one of my mag pouches). I have no issue maintaining control of my rifle with my right hand and operating my radio or GPS with my left, so this worked well for me. If you are not as good with your left hand then you can put those on your right side, but then the rifle can get in the way. More notes at the bottom regarding the GPS.
3) Right behind the radio I had a general purpose pouch which held my backup GPS, a compass, and mission specific equipment. It gave me the flexibility to put in there what I needed for any particular mission when necessary.
4) I had an admin pouch near the top of my chest. This wasn't for something that I needed to access in an emergency, but became very handy for note taking on objectives, storing of frequencies, etc.
5) All the above I could access with my left hand in the dark and without looking, including in my cramped vehicle position. Other things I could easily access with my left hand were my flashlight, rifle/pistol mags, grenade (mission dependent) and tourniquet. I used the MOLLE 90 degree converter to angle certain things like my pistol mag and flaghlight to make it easily accessible by my left hand while retaining control of whatever I wanted in my right hand. Some people thought this looked strange, and perhaps it does, but in 3 years of use nothing ever fell out once, and by the end of my deployment, half my team was running it this way. Don't let how things superficially look affect functional decisions.
6) On my right side were things that I wouldn't be likely to access if I was actually handling my rifle. I had my pistol and knife in my drop holster. Next was was my first aid kit (mirror position of the radio), which I custom built and made easily accessible. I could also access chem lights, which I actually had on my upper left arm (IR lights can also be used for identification). Behind my first aid kit was a redundant radio, which I couldn't easily access, but was on and operating. I usually had this on a different frequency so I could monitor two channels at once (air assets, conventional units, etc.).
Side note on GPS: I see you are using the Garmin Foretrex, which I acknowledge is very popular in the military, even in Special Operations. However, it is 12 year old technology. It calculates your position way too slowly, loses signal way too easily, and gives you no map awareness. There is no reason these days why your GPS shouldn't have a map pre-loaded on it (really ever since 2006, but you kind of had to hack it then). There is no part of the world where you cannot easily pre-load a map. This includes different overlays for imagery, street, and terrain/topo, and you should have all three. You can even download those onto your smartphone and turn off your phone/internet feature to save battery life (or concern about giving off a signal). I created an overlay on my GPS with unclassified SIGACTS, intel reported IED locations, and areas of interest. I did this nearly a decade ago, and technology today is leaps and bounds ahead of where it was back then.
It still amazes me that people don't know that a smartphone is a better GPS than most GPS units out there. You don't need a cell signal to operate the GPS in your phone, you just need to download the maps through an app. I like Motion-X GPS for iPhone (in a ruggedized case). Just download the maps, put your phone in airplane mode, and go. There are benefits to a Garmin though, such as its use of AA batteries and general battery life. You should look at units like the Garmin Montana. Make sure to always use Lithium batteries when in the field, as they last way longer than alkaline, and never use AA alkaline batteries issued to you by the military if you can help it (they have a terrible battery life).
Also, I see you have the schoolhouse canteens on your gear. I definitely recommend just going to a hydration bladder on your back. The canteen space is far too valuable, and it's way too distracting to actually open those canteens (nothing should take two hands to do). I'm sure you know this, but just highlighting it. Also, a good lightweight hydration pack can serve many other purposes. Get the Camelbak military style nozzle switch and cover to avoid losing unnecessary water.
Lastly, on my combat belt I also had additional rifle mags, pistol mags, and a survival kit. This is probably more of an ODA thing (in case you become separated from your main gear, which should not be a concern for an infantry company). The combat belt was a 2nd tier supply system (1st tier being my full battle rattle). I also had a 3rd tier of light weight equipment on my direct uniform such as in pocket or sewn in.
First, think of your gear as real estate, with each area having a different value based on how easy it is to access. The easiest place to access is the highest value real estate, and so on. Assuming you are right handed, your rifle will obviously be on the right. I put all critical gear therefore on my left for quick access, and all secondary gear on my right, which assumes I'm not handling my rifle if I'm going there. So this is what I did:
1) Create a list of what is most important for you to access. Most likely at the top of your list is your radio. For me, since I was on a 12 man team away from friendly units, accessing my rifle was still important, so I put my radio where I can most easily access it with my left hand. Not only was my PTT there, but handling the radio itself is important for changing frequencies and troubleshooting. This anchors the rest of the gear.
2) After my radio, my GPS was most important. So this was placed at the next most convenient place my left hand could access (I used one of my mag pouches). I have no issue maintaining control of my rifle with my right hand and operating my radio or GPS with my left, so this worked well for me. If you are not as good with your left hand then you can put those on your right side, but then the rifle can get in the way. More notes at the bottom regarding the GPS.
3) Right behind the radio I had a general purpose pouch which held my backup GPS, a compass, and mission specific equipment. It gave me the flexibility to put in there what I needed for any particular mission when necessary.
4) I had an admin pouch near the top of my chest. This wasn't for something that I needed to access in an emergency, but became very handy for note taking on objectives, storing of frequencies, etc.
5) All the above I could access with my left hand in the dark and without looking, including in my cramped vehicle position. Other things I could easily access with my left hand were my flashlight, rifle/pistol mags, grenade (mission dependent) and tourniquet. I used the MOLLE 90 degree converter to angle certain things like my pistol mag and flaghlight to make it easily accessible by my left hand while retaining control of whatever I wanted in my right hand. Some people thought this looked strange, and perhaps it does, but in 3 years of use nothing ever fell out once, and by the end of my deployment, half my team was running it this way. Don't let how things superficially look affect functional decisions.
6) On my right side were things that I wouldn't be likely to access if I was actually handling my rifle. I had my pistol and knife in my drop holster. Next was was my first aid kit (mirror position of the radio), which I custom built and made easily accessible. I could also access chem lights, which I actually had on my upper left arm (IR lights can also be used for identification). Behind my first aid kit was a redundant radio, which I couldn't easily access, but was on and operating. I usually had this on a different frequency so I could monitor two channels at once (air assets, conventional units, etc.).
Side note on GPS: I see you are using the Garmin Foretrex, which I acknowledge is very popular in the military, even in Special Operations. However, it is 12 year old technology. It calculates your position way too slowly, loses signal way too easily, and gives you no map awareness. There is no reason these days why your GPS shouldn't have a map pre-loaded on it (really ever since 2006, but you kind of had to hack it then). There is no part of the world where you cannot easily pre-load a map. This includes different overlays for imagery, street, and terrain/topo, and you should have all three. You can even download those onto your smartphone and turn off your phone/internet feature to save battery life (or concern about giving off a signal). I created an overlay on my GPS with unclassified SIGACTS, intel reported IED locations, and areas of interest. I did this nearly a decade ago, and technology today is leaps and bounds ahead of where it was back then.
It still amazes me that people don't know that a smartphone is a better GPS than most GPS units out there. You don't need a cell signal to operate the GPS in your phone, you just need to download the maps through an app. I like Motion-X GPS for iPhone (in a ruggedized case). Just download the maps, put your phone in airplane mode, and go. There are benefits to a Garmin though, such as its use of AA batteries and general battery life. You should look at units like the Garmin Montana. Make sure to always use Lithium batteries when in the field, as they last way longer than alkaline, and never use AA alkaline batteries issued to you by the military if you can help it (they have a terrible battery life).
Also, I see you have the schoolhouse canteens on your gear. I definitely recommend just going to a hydration bladder on your back. The canteen space is far too valuable, and it's way too distracting to actually open those canteens (nothing should take two hands to do). I'm sure you know this, but just highlighting it. Also, a good lightweight hydration pack can serve many other purposes. Get the Camelbak military style nozzle switch and cover to avoid losing unnecessary water.
Lastly, on my combat belt I also had additional rifle mags, pistol mags, and a survival kit. This is probably more of an ODA thing (in case you become separated from your main gear, which should not be a concern for an infantry company). The combat belt was a 2nd tier supply system (1st tier being my full battle rattle). I also had a 3rd tier of light weight equipment on my direct uniform such as in pocket or sewn in.
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CSM Charles Hayden
LTC Yinon Weiss - Jessica Lynch's C n C should have had a 'tuned' GPS he was familiar with!
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Capt Tom Brown
Wondering how much water and how many mags you typically carried and about how much the outfit pictured weighed. I have also seen very large packs being carried by troops and wonder how they could move and maneuver if they came under attack. For some reason it looks like your entire piece did not open up. There was no 'see more' tag after 'and so on'.
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LTC Yinon Weiss
Capt Tom Brown - We're working on that bug. For now, please try to open in a different browser and see if that fixes the link issue.
On my armor I carried 5 rifle mags and 1 pistol mag. I had an extra 2 rifle mags and 3 pistol mags on my belt. I also carried about 3 liters of water in my cambelbak, though the way its distributed makes it relatively easy to carry. I think my total weight was around 40 pounds, much of which was the body armor plates.
On my armor I carried 5 rifle mags and 1 pistol mag. I had an extra 2 rifle mags and 3 pistol mags on my belt. I also carried about 3 liters of water in my cambelbak, though the way its distributed makes it relatively easy to carry. I think my total weight was around 40 pounds, much of which was the body armor plates.
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I think it really, really depends on the unit you go to. Lots and lots and lots of units have SOPs on how you'll wear your kit, giving you really limited options. Lots of other units will direct you to wear certain things in certain places but leave everything else up to you. Lots of other units will let you wear your kit however you want. I'd recommend asking your gaining unit what their "standard" is so you don't waste a lot of time and effort setting your kit up how you like only to show up and have the CSM or 1SG tell you you're all jacked up.
You are a tanker, so I'd guess you'll be going to a tank or cav unit. If you're going to be a TC, it's not like you have lots of room to add a lot of stuff to your IBA or plate carrier. You'll have to adjust to your mode of transport----there's just not much room in a TC seat (or a Bradley, or a Stryker, or a HMMWV, or an MRAp, etc) to wear the same sort of stuff a dismounted infantryman might wear.
The best techniques I saw in a mech infantry unit (for officers) was either to have a slick IBA with nothing on it for inside the vehicle and a fully-kitted out IBA for outside the vehicle, or to just wear the slick IBA inside the vehicle and throw the vest or LBE on prior to dismounting.
Four things I thought were key to have as an infantry company commander in Baghdad during the Surge: 1) a radio placed so that I could easily manipulate it on my own, ie, so I could change channels and change the fill and etc; 2) smoke grenades, for signaling and screening; 3) a digital camera; and 4) a map and/or operational graphics (we used a lot of special-made products, so I don't mean a big 1:50,000 map). I didn't carry a GPS; I had my RTO be my GPS guy. Now, with better, smaller GPS available in watch size products, I definitely would wear a small GPS. I also made a tiny map board that I could use to manage operations--map, graphics, timeline, pro words, etc, etc.
You are a tanker, so I'd guess you'll be going to a tank or cav unit. If you're going to be a TC, it's not like you have lots of room to add a lot of stuff to your IBA or plate carrier. You'll have to adjust to your mode of transport----there's just not much room in a TC seat (or a Bradley, or a Stryker, or a HMMWV, or an MRAp, etc) to wear the same sort of stuff a dismounted infantryman might wear.
The best techniques I saw in a mech infantry unit (for officers) was either to have a slick IBA with nothing on it for inside the vehicle and a fully-kitted out IBA for outside the vehicle, or to just wear the slick IBA inside the vehicle and throw the vest or LBE on prior to dismounting.
Four things I thought were key to have as an infantry company commander in Baghdad during the Surge: 1) a radio placed so that I could easily manipulate it on my own, ie, so I could change channels and change the fill and etc; 2) smoke grenades, for signaling and screening; 3) a digital camera; and 4) a map and/or operational graphics (we used a lot of special-made products, so I don't mean a big 1:50,000 map). I didn't carry a GPS; I had my RTO be my GPS guy. Now, with better, smaller GPS available in watch size products, I definitely would wear a small GPS. I also made a tiny map board that I could use to manage operations--map, graphics, timeline, pro words, etc, etc.
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I tend to hang my kit on my body armor, and reserve the LBV for training environments. As such, my LBV kit is centered around my radio, GPS, Green Book, and stuff related to command and control and keeping observations. Kit like mags, multitools, and flashlights are secondary gear that I just need to be able to access.
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