US Army Special Forces in Change - Part 1

Member of the Army SF in the 1990s, probably during a training exercise.

Like all other units of the US military, the equipment of the ODA's of the Army Special Forces (SF) has changed in the last 10 years. Due to the increased frequency of deployments in two intense conflicts and several smaller operations, the gear of the operators has been steadily improved based on experience. A short round-up - written by Oxymoron, thank you very much! - gives the following overview.
1990s
Until the early 1990s, the ODA's were more or less kept on a tight leash due to the bad experiences in the Vietnam conflict and only gradually began to play small roles again in Grenada and the Gulf War. They regained a good reputation and were subsequently involved in all major US military operations. The opportunity to equip themselves with military gear and materials through SOCOM became increasingly relevant.
By the mid/late 1990s, an operator was equipped essentially 1:1 like any US Army grunt. ALICE/LC2 harness and backpack, PASGT helmet and vest. The early provision of night vision devices and M4/M4A1 Carbines, as well as the TLBV, distinguished the SF from regular Army troops.

SF Operator around 2000 with TLBV and ALICE-Kit, as well as early Hatch or Alta pads and M4A1 with QD NT-4 and ACOG TA01 NSN. The soldier in the background already wears an ELCS-Kit.

Early 2000s
In 1996, a suitably tailored equipment system for special forces was introduced for the first time. The Special Operations Forces Personal Equipment (SPEAR), aimed at meeting Advanced Requirements, was a kit comprising parts from several manufacturers. It consisted of a protective vest, a harness system with multiple pouches, and two backpacks. The centerpiece of the system was the then "State of the Art" protective vest, the Body Armor/Load Carriage System (BALCS). Unlike the usual PASGT Flak Vest, this protective vest could be equipped with SAPI plates against armor-piercing ammunition for the first time. The BALCS was manufactured by Ceradyne and was particularly notable for its unconventional vertical arrangement of the then-new PALS webbing for MOLLE gear on the front side.
A nearly identical version was used by the 75th Ranger Rgt., with its Ranger Body Armor featuring the usual horizontal arrangement.

Members of the 5th SFG in 2001/2002 in Afghanistan. The typical SPEAR components are recognizable. All operators wear BALCS (some with groin protection), the second from the right also wears the ELCS. Safariland 600Xers and Caps/Boonies are/were popular. MICH helmets were sometimes rarely worn.

The Equipment Load Carrying System (ELCS) produced by Safariland was used as the carrying system in the SPEAR kit. The ELCS consisted of a harness with optional slanted PALS webbing in the front, along with a back panel and a belt-like lower section with straight PALS webbing. The kit typically included a selection of pouches and additional MOLLE panels to modify the harness for various applications, as well as a Medium Backpack, the UM21 Patrol Pack. A distinctive feature of the ELCS was the partially black buckles and PALS webbing (especially on the backpack).
In the early 2000s, other equipment pieces also made their way into the ODA's. For example, the MICH Helmet, which was seen for the first time with the SF. Furthermore, the SOPMOD I Kit was introduced to the Special Forces before any other Army units and was fully issued at the start of OEF.

Find out more about the gear transformation in the Army SFs in the second part of the article.

HERE you can see the troop show "US SOF - Yesterday and today"

Special thanks to Oxymoron!

SF Operator in 2003 in Iraq with BALCS and ELCS, which were issued shortly before in 3col-Desert.