So you've got a rifle, a pile of associated crap, and an objective to hit. Rather than trying to hang all that stuff off your belt, putting all the weight on your hips, you could use a chest rig. Current industry offerings can carry from two to eight magazines worth of ammunition, plus radios, first aid kits, administrative supplies, maps, chemlights, batteries, snacks, and so on. Putting all this stuff into the rig and slinging your rifle, you can get to work.

In the past, load-bearing equipment has generally been belt-based, with suspenders or full vests being seen as weight increased. Interestingly, it was the Chinese communists who developed an alternate solution in the form of the Type 56, or Chicom chest rig. A hexagonal piece of cloth with three magazine pouches in the center and two grenade pouches on each side, it is worn across the chest and secured in place by straps going over the user's shoulders. The Soviet Union would make a modified copy of this and use it…

They say that they can never get to know me,
that I don't talk to anyone,
that I'm too quiet

What's the problem with that?
If silence is golden,
then I'm Midas reborn

Then they really get to know me,
and wish they'd bit their tongues earlier

Footwear That Fits - Lesson Four

They were a mismatched couple. He was shorter, heavier, with dark hair that was going to gray. She was taller, slimmer, her hair was what some might call dirty, or dishwater blonde. I'm not sure how we became friends of a sort. They never bought anything, but came in to chat about this or the other thing. He was a runner, perhaps that's why he had wandered into the store initially. He acted like he knew me, so I played along. One night I was working by myself.…