Whatever the rational (and I'm sure there is one even if I'm not aware of the details), I think the Regiment will be well served by whatever Ops-Core comes up with. I've been told that Rangers are already rocking out the Ops-Core helmets and Special Forces are getting them as well. I could tell that Rafael understands the end-user and gets that the details do in fact matter to those who have to live with his kit for 6+ months at a time during deployments.
New "skull crusher"? About time if you ask me.
Rafael show me the Gunsight Mandible
Not shown: a new maritime helmet for SEAL Team Six. It's lightweight and provides protection from shrapnel but not ballistic protection. That's well and good if the operators desire it, but I did have to roll my eyes at one thing. Inside the helmet are pictures of cartoon pin-up girls. Apparently they had also requested "morale" elements in their order. I never thought I'd say this, but if DOD is cutting their budget, maybe ST6 needs a line item audit. There are soldiers carrying shot out M4's, so maybe the "morale" money can be best spent elsewhere.
*Update 1: I was recently contacted by someone from Ops-Core who wanted to clarify and make a few corrections. I reported what I was told by a company representative at SHOT, but it seems that some of this information was inaccurate. Please excuse the errors, we try hard to get the facts straight, but sometimes these things happen.
-The picture of the helmet liner is not the one made to specifications provided by the Ranger Regiment, rather it is the mesh one you see in the background of the picture
-The maritime helmet mentioned above DOES in fact provide ballistic protection up to 9mm.
-The pin-up girls in the maritime helmet were put there by Ops-Core on their own initiative. This was not something that was requested or something that SOCOM was billed for.
Kit Up! contributor Jack Murphy is a former Ranger, Special Forces Soldier and is the author of the military thriller Reflexive Fire.