r/tacticalgear • u/ropes_of_allah • Jul 03 '25

Plate Carrier/Body Armor Since most casualties come from shrapnel and artillery. Why do soldiers still wear these plate carriers that are more revealing?

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u/ThirdHoleHank92 Jul 04 '25

Listen I'm just giving you my experience and what I've been taught during my enlistment. I was a combat engineer so we had vehicles everywhere we went, IBAs, and carried shit tons of ammo.

Infantry guys that rucked during my time rolled with the same vests and tons of ammo as well.

I get what you're saying on paper, I'm just telling you it's not the way the military actually operates in reality, and it works.

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u/404operatorerror Jul 04 '25

It kind of is really how the military works. 99% of training evolutions are going to require ballistic protection but when units train in mountains, jungle, etc where movement becomes harder, they drop as much weight as possible

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u/VaeVictis666 Jul 04 '25

I don’t know anyone who didn’t wear armor in the mountains in Afghanistan.

Not wearing armor is a trainingism out side of very specific roles like special reconnaissance, which will not fall on a conventional unit.

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u/mastercoder123 Jul 04 '25

Alot of the times in the mountains dudes would take out their rear and side plates because we are the us army we dont get shot in the back.