Gloves- I had oredered a pair of the Hatch operator CQB gloves with the FROG-10 rappelling over-glove about a month prior to our field problem. They must be a popular item because they were back ordered till like next month!!

So I opted for a pair of the Blackhawk Hellstorm Fury-Kevlar gloves. Simply because I could get them at the local pawn shop. Only in Killeen TX will you find cool gear in a pawn shop.

Same basic design as the original Hatch Operator gloves. They feature full Kevlar protection from grubby little paw tips to the wrist. The elastic on the glove was a little tight getting on, but fine once it was on. The cuff was loose, but tight enough to keep debris out. The trigger finger has a patented quad stitch to enable custom finger sensitivity without the rest of the finger unraveling. The Hatch gloves have a similar stitch but it is only in one location instead of four. The palm had a good leather grip with good dexterity in the fingers. On the heel of the palm is a small pad for comfort. Also the webbing between the thumb and trigger finger has additional leather coverage to reduce recoil chafing. Price $42

I found myself actually using the Hellstorm S.O.L.A.G.-Kevlar (Special Operations Light Assault Glove) more through the MOUT (Military Operations Urban Terrain) training than the Fury's. Before purchasing the Kevlar version of the SOLAG's I had tried on a pair of the originals with synthetic material. To me the synthetics have less dexterity and felt bunched underneath the first joint in the trigger finger. The leather/Kevlar were much more comfortable and had more dexterity.

The Kevlar are the back of the hand allowed cool air in to the hand. I also left the top-of-the-hand strap open unless doing an assault from the wood line. This aided in cooling and comfort. When it's Texas summer and you've got full load and a flak jacket on, any cooling helps. The SOLAG's worked very well for me. They also have the trigger finger stitching. I left both pairs intact. I felt no need for extreme sensitivity considering most our shots are reactive in a MOUT environment and accuracy can still be achieved at such close distances. Price $41

Also suggested by the Blackhawk website that you order a large if you think you need a medium. They've found many people actually fit the large better and were getting a ton of orders for medium.

You may find both of these gloves at www.blackhawk.com

Also used during the rainy portion of the exercise (about four days), I used some Serius neoprene three season gloves I picked up from Clothing and sales a couple years back. Excellent for rainy or cool climates. I used these during my entire tour in Colorado with no problems. Although the ski slopes are another story.

Goggles- Oakley E-Frame Sun, Wind, Dust goggles. Very comfortable. Much better than issue goggles. Only problems I had were, tint is the only lens, the cleaning cloth/carrying case is white, me having a small face they closed the upper portion of my nostrils slightly when wore properly. So other than a little bit of a stuffy nose feeling, they performed flawlessly, and didn't fog at all. For about $20 at clothing and sales, it's not a bad deal. Price $20

For a cover to the lens I used Eagle's Goggle cover with liner. Very nice cover, protected lens nicely. Unfortunatley it was a pain in the ass to operate quickly. Also due to the size of the Oakley goggles, I pretty much had to take the goggles off to put it back on. The Velcro backing to keep it laid bad worked fine, except the other end would just slide up. I would still purchase the cover for any goggle that will take heavy use, or will be stored with other gear. I ended up sticking the Oakley's in my butt-pack. Lens stayed clean and scratch- free with the cover on. www.eagleindustries.com Price $17

Wiley-X SG-1. Available with both a strap and temples that are interchangeable. Also comes with clear and smoke lenses. With the strap it was possible to use over the helmet, but the lenses were an inch or two away from the eyes. Not the best scenario for ballistic or S, W, D protection. The strap on the head under the helmet provided a nice tight fit to the face but had the possibility of being pushed down by the helmet liner and causing some pressure on the ears.  The lenses tended to fog quite easily while under physical stress. There is a new version now out called the V-cut that is suppose to eliminate this. Other than this they performed as advertised. Full ANZI and military specs. Price $60

Wiley-X CQC goggles. These are a slim line goggle that fits well within a helmet. But they DO NOT fit when over a helmet. When place over a helmet like traditional SWD goggles, they just sag and droop down due to the dimensions and construction rigidity. Other than that they are similar to the SG-1 as far as performance is concerned. They fog much less if at all. I did have a problem cleaning them once dirty. A little pre-planning would have prevented this. For those of you doing night ops or interior searches, make sure to have the clear lenses in. I was the only one that could see at night since everybody else either used the issue smoke shooting shades or weren't smart enough to buy a non-smoke lens for their personal eye protection. Actually the Oakley E-Frame's had a light enough tint to use at night without to much dimming. Price $60

Both may be found at www.wiley-x.com

Lights- Surefire G2. Those of you familiar with the 6P will appreciate this little light for the field. Same light output, size and integral components. Only difference is it's more rugged and cheaper. Save your 6P for the house or for myself, my other jobs. For those of you not familiar with surefire lights, these are tactical lights, NOT I lost my keys or general purpose lights. If you use them for that, then don't whine when it eats up batteries. Price $35

LED Micro lights. I bought Red, White and Blue, go figure huh. Anyways, the red was perfect for night time use. Putting out almost as much light as those crappy issue crook lights. The blue is a little bright for light discipline in the field, and the white is for the rear only of course. The only problem I foresee is they are small and as such can be lost easily. I purchased the OD green. Price $6

Everything else- Blackhawk enhanced butt-pack. A traditional butt-pack but with heavy duty materials, stitching IVS closed cell foam back, water resistant drawstring closure and BTS attachment points. There were quite a few guys toting the Spec-ops SOB. It looked like a pretty good pack. I may have to get one. Price $30

Spec-Ops X-System pouches. Available in 2, 4, and 6 mag capacity. I purchase two of the four mag pouches for extra gear. I really like them because they are both MOLLE and ALICE compatible. So new or old, you attach it. Only thing I didn't like was they were a little tricky to close one-handed. Only because the buckle has a little length to it. Other than that, they are great. I also recently bought two 6 mag pouches and attached them to my large ruck. Perfect for that little essential gear you want access to quickly. Like the Charmin and baby wipes. Price $15/4 mag, $17/6 mag

Spec-Ops Better BDU Belt. One piece design makes it quiet and practical. It also fills in the belt loops. Definitely felt more secure than traditional belt. Price$15

Spec-Ops Mamba Sling. Helluva lot better than trying to tote your rifle over your shoulder and having it slipped off constistentley. Enables two handed jobs, like eating chow to be performed with ease. The webbing was fairly snag-free and made for smooth weapon transitions or sling to back. After everybody saw me and my other COLT chief with them, they all ran to clothing and sales first chance they got. They really wanted to be like us, but sadly they are still just pogues. Price $25

All Spec-ops gear may be purchased at your local clothing and sales(If they are a combat orientated post like Ft Bragg) or from their website www.specopsbrand.com If you have a military email account, you can use that and mention in comments when you order that your military and you'll get 20% off.

A couple of websites that'll save ya some change, first is the Brigade Quatermaster through AAFES centric mall. Going through the AAFES site will save you a minimum of 10% off merchandise and 20% off shipping. Go to www.aafes.com , Log in, on the right side in the middle you should see a list of stores through centricmall.com, click on Brigade Quartemaster and shop away.

The second site I have for ya is www.lapolicegear.com The have some of the best prices on Blackhawk and SureFire I've seen. Although it says LAPolice, it's just as much for military and any other civil service worker. They also can do some group discounts. So get the guys together and buy cheap.

Other essential gear every troop should have. A good folder. I've had a Spyderco Endura with 50/50 straight/serrated blade my whole career, except when some idiot barrowed it and lost it. But I got a new one. Love it like no other. 550 cord. A multi-tool. I also got a pair of mini-binos. They had almost the same field of view as our issue Steiner's, but without the reticle.

I have more gear that has come in since being in the field, so you can expect future reports. Please let me know if these helped your purchase decisions. If anything needs clarifying, let me know, so I can update it. All prices are estimates and are what I paid, whether from EBay or clothing and sales.