Why do the Special Forces Use Small Plate Carriers and Soldiers Use Big Armored Vests

📃 A hundred years ago body armor was an extremely rare thing. Today it has become a common part of the equipment of all modern armies. But one unusual detail can be noticed here. Why do soldiers in the army wear large armored vests, while Special Forces operators wear small plate carriers?

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#specialforces #lawenforcement #bodyarmor #devgru #platecarrier #tacp #soldiers #armoredvest #army #sof #sf #navyseals #dea #jtac #fbi #delta #usarmy

[prfwrx]

Fragmentation wounds are the #1 kinetic cause of casualties and fatalities in LSCO.

In direct action raids, reduced mobility gets you shot.

[ANukeWithLegs]

"Special Forces" Operators when they see me pull up in a Modified Bulldozer.

[echohunter]

Operators have to be able to move quickly and strike where an enemy least expects it while us Grunts have the duty of taking and holding terrain which means we’ll be in direct engagements with the enemy and additional protection has its benefits, we don’t have to be able to move quickly on foot for the most part.

[wisemankugelmemicus]

worth noting that soldier vests are getting smaller, the soldier in the thumbnail is wearing the MSV Gen II which is 25 lbs fully loaded, with magazines and plates compared to the IOTV which would be 40 lbs full kitted out.

The MSV was also issued (to me, at least) with a kevlar combat shirt which aids in protecting otherwise exposed areas. In truth, lighter plate carriers are comfortable and fundamentally better than IOTVs, and as technology progresses and plates become lighter and more protective, as well as cheaper, body armor is getting smaller across the board.

[kingpinstewie]

Conventional military = more shrapnel risk = more soft armor coverage
Special operations = fast targeted attacks + higher fire fights = light hard armor
Police response teams = more gun fire risk + short engagements = heavy hard armor

[OgumaL]

Short answer: The army uses heavier and less mobile equipment with a lot of explosion protection, since their priority is general military combat, and special forces use light, mobile equipment because they must perform quick operations that do not involve general military combat.

[aljonserna]

so for SOF, it's especially made for fast tactics like forays/raids and recon while in generic military style, it's made for more protection from possible injuries present in the battlefield itself

[alpine]

Most testimony from Marines in Fallujah says that guys were wearing as much kevlar as they possibly could during combat. Kevlar coverage makes the difference between a nick in your vest that you don't even notice, and a life threatening frag injury.

[RyuTheAsian]

We're also currently in a shift in mindset in terms of armour. During the early GWOT era, most militaries were obsessed with the idea of having as much protection as possible, so naturally rigs became large and encompassed much of the body. Same with helmets. Nowadays, more people gravitate toward more streamlined carriers as it's impractical to completely armour up every part of your body, as it's usually uncomfortable and more awkward to move and one of the key instruments to winning an engagement is having a maneuvering element to close the distance and eliminate a target. The IOTV type rigs are mostly leftovers from an old mindset and nowadays, comfort and mobility are becoming as much of a consideration as protection.

SOF units tho usually get more say in their gear and can adapt with differing mindsets more quickly as they have their own group of people (i.e NAVSPECWAR) dedicated to testing equipment tailored specifically to special operators vs standard infantry who has to rely on their particular branch to test and source anything, as well as any other duties that that particular branch may do. It doesn't help that often times, a branches funds are not just dedicated to the infantry kit and have to go to other avenues, such as logistics, vehicle maintenance, medical services, etc.

[nikoc]

id say because SF usually has the element of surprise and typically choses where and when their engagement takes place, so armor isnt as essential as mobility and reducing signatures. while the average soldier is far more likely to be the one engaged first from any direction, even indirectly, while sitting in a trench or on patrol; so more of their body should be covered.

[dimasakbar]

one thing to consider is that SOF often are early adopter, while on regular infantry, most of the times due to mass number required, they adopt something much slower.

During rearmament here during early war on terror year, i saw some previously unarmored unit get fully equiped by plate carrier sooner (bypassing IOTV style) while some infantry still in progress of phasing IOTV out.

[pyeitme]

Because more mobility than protection for SF/SOF operators.

[eaglet]

People need to stop giving the advice that pc is better. Just as armored humvees in later Afghanistan and Iraq, body armors saved countless lives. If you are don't have the mission requirements like the sf(mountainous terrain without transportation)as a average Joe, get your bodyarmor and stay freakin static or you will regret it.
Much more grunts died due to fragmentations and ieds shrapnels than bullets.

[regularguyprepper]

It's a balance of speed and protection. Also keep in mind operators are likely to be more highly specific mission focused and have more transportation methods. Infantry will have a need for greater long term sustainment and using what you can carry for days or weeks at a time.

Then there is maritime and parachute/airborne considerations.

[weird_dude]

Small plate carriers- When you don't expect getting shot, but still want to be safe.

[rioyr]

The main reason is because the plate itself won’t get any bigger if you have a bigger plate carrier, therefore you can save a lot of weight and bulk buy streamlining it down to just cover the plates.

Also soft armor.

[Taylor_Sen]

Incredibly helpful information. Thank you for taking your time to make this video, mate.

[erikjohnson]

Man, I have a lvl 4 rig, but same time I have buddy who got a Purple Heart after he got hit with a svd, 7.62/54 rimmed black tip, his lv4 ceramic plate is what got pushed into his heart. Somehow survived.

[sink]

You also have to think logistics. SOF will always have the best logistics in the game, so they don’t have to worry about carrying anything except what they need since the supply train is always right there.

Regular soldiers on the other hand may not get that resupply every day like SOF guys will, so when they go out they’ve got to carry a lot more on them.

[Grunt-vngt]

When I was in the Marines we used IOTVs in training and plate carriers in country. Drove us nuts with the switch up last second. But definitely liked the carriers over the IOTV. Better mobility with the same protection.