Tactical Arm Bands
Something I have seen recently has been "tactical arm
bands" for sale by various vendors. I was issued one of these for a trip
to the Middle East several years ago. Mine was made by
the Krill Corporation and has a backlit panel for reading your information
stored on your wrist. These armbands seem to have come into fashion recently.
Mine is an Army Combat Uniform (ACU), camouflage pattern and
uses a CR123 battery to illuminate the inside. Two elastic straps and Velcro
fasteners allow you to wear this like a gauntlet on your wrist. For my purpose,
this was issued to hold a chart of: call signs, tail numbers and radio
frequencies for use during military operations. Since I am old school however,
my Rite N Rain notepad did just fine in its place. My go-to notepad used to be
the green "Memoranda" pads issued to many military personnel. These
were glued together like a scratch pad with ruled pages. The Rite N Rain
version adds a better cover and water resistant paper. The tactical armband was
supposed to be a replacement for my pocket notepad.
This arm band reminded me of something that a football
quarterback would carry to the field. I never used it in the field and thought
it was overkill for what it was. It has several layers of plastic with Velcro
fasteners on the edges and made a lot of noise when opening. I also noticed a
slight hissing sound from the electronic circuit that drove the electro-luminescence
panel. My other thought was getting the sand of the Middle East
into the barely protected electronic circuit. A small slot for a pen holder is
also included, as well as a panel to place a name tape.
Since the new uniform already had pen slots on the sleeve,
this seemed redundant and a waste of space. It was also another layer added to
your wrist. In cold climates this may be an advantage, but in 100 degree plus
heat, it is not. It could also rub your arm if you chose to wear it under your
sleeve. So this sat in my Battlefield Airman Module footlocker for several
years, unused.
Now I take this out, after posting a video on Youtube.com of
it. And after several responses, this is being sold under different names and
manufacturers once again. None of them have the illuminated back panel though;
many have no lights at all, or include a third party light attached to the arm
band by straps or clips. Now they are sold as an accessory you need for long
range shooting. Your bullet dope charts go here on your wrist now. I just shake
my head and wonder why so many people think you need more gear to take to the
field. Real operators do not need more "stuff", it is only a matter
of practicing the basics until you do it very well.
The basic dope chart as I was trained was to be attached to
the inside of the rifle's scope cover, or laminated and attached to the butt stock.
This way the information is attached to the weapon. If you were injured or
killed, someone else could use the chart on the weapon to fire it effectively. Now
it would seem that it is fashionable to place it onto your wrist.
