You haven’t thrown 50 frags in a firefight? Cherry. Lol

Beat us to a Tim Kennedy joke before we could even make one

GWOT:heavy dude wearing light gear
UKRAINE:light dude wearing heavy gear

Imagine being so beloved in the space that people are cologne and the stuff you carried that’s pretty wholesome pretty based

It is interesting that Eugene Stoner's rifle, which is almost 70 years old now, is still the preferred rifle. It was modular before its' time and took ergonomics seriously when few others did.

Stating the obvious - we could "roll light" in Iraq and Afghanland because we had reliable logistics.
We would load up our humvees with cans upon cans of prefilled mags and grenades, so we didn't need to carry it all on our person.
If/when we started to run low, we could easily get a resupply (SF "Speed Ball"), though I've only seen it done once on a SF/Commando combined clearing mission north of the Kunar River Valley (I want to say Watapur along the Pech River, but my memory is a little fuzzy).

It has been amazing to watch how tactics and gear has evolved, and in many cases DEvolved, in the Ukraine conflict.

Great content - always looking forward to the next!
Charlie Rats!
Semper Fi

9:05 Ukraine is adopting the AR-15 in place of the AK because it includes advantages in terms of reliability and performance in harsh environments.
In fact, there is a video from the YouTube channel 4308.production in which a soldier from the 12th Special Forces Brigade “Azov” of the Ukrainian Armed Forces compares the AK-12 and the UAR-15. In the video, he points out that while the AK-74’s relatively open structure can handle small amounts of sand or dust in the trigger mechanism, it is highly susceptible to malfunctions when large amounts of sand or mud enter the internals.
He also explained that sand and mud easily accumulate in the gaps around the bolt carrier and locking recesses, creating excessive friction that leads to jams.
In contrast, the AR-15 is equipped with a dust cover that can fully seal the ejection port, a feature that Ukrainian soldiers rate very highly. Additionally, because the bolt carrier has tighter clearances and uses a Direct Impingement (DI) operating system, any sand or mud that gets onto the bolt carrier can often be blown out through the gas port during firing.
Tests such as the mud tests conducted by InRangeTV and Garand Thumb are well-known examples of this difference.
Furthermore, AK rifles have a steel receiver, which makes them prone to rust, leading to malfunctions — a potentially fatal issue. In Ukrainian trench warfare, where soldiers may spend days in the same position, especially during rainy weather, the AK’s rust problem becomes particularly serious.
In one case reported by the YouTube channel of the 4th Rapid Reaction Brigade (RUBIZH) of the Ukrainian National Guard, soldiers discussed whether the AK-74 or the UAR-15 performed better. According to their account, after spending several days in a trench, when Russian forces attacked, the soldier armed with the UAR-15 was able to fire without issue, while the soldier with the AK-74 could not shoot because his rifle had rusted and malfunctioned.

From what I hear in Ukraine the massive loadouts aren't so much about taking/holding ground it's more the fact resupply is very spotty. Drones are constantly prowling the back lines and units often get locally surrounded and cut off. If I remember correctly Valgear talked about having a similar approach to you about helmets, then a friend took shrapnel through the ear causing him to switch to the full style.

Tons of people in the Marine Corps these days issued a very similar weapons.
M4a1, VCOG, NT4 and an ergo rail extension.

I like to think Stuka clones were on their mind when started putting them together like this.

There are quite a lot of pics around showing full British style webbing belt kits and daysack combinations being used in Ukraine. This is not just to accommodate increased ammo/grenade scales, but also for sustainment and warm kit for when the troops are going firm on a position they’ve taken.

We really appreciate the review & your support since 2011! We’ve definitely improved a lot since then, and feedback like this helps us keep pushing forward. More releases coming soon, thanks again for the support.

What is interesting now is that drones are being used for resupply. You may be cut off from exfil, but quadcopters or unmanned ground based cargo drones can bring you ammo or sustainment.

Something else on the topic of helmets: according to some Ukraine vets, the earphones are not even useful on highcuts because they filter out the high pitched drone noise so you can't detect rhem.

Big fan of these shorter, multi-topic videos. I’d love more. Would also boost consistency tremendously.

8:50 One thing to add: the AR-15 design does a great job at not letting stuff like mud and debris into the action, whereas the AK, when the safety is off, has a hole that can let that stuff get into the trigger mechanism.

Man I appreciate your vids , even though im a dumb civilian,  I feel like i can have a good conversation with ya and not be judged, good  content

The Tim Kennedy slander will continue until morale improves

1:50 SF may have not needed a ton but line infantry we all carried 10+ mags with boxes more on the trucks

Ouch, You never threw 50 grenades in one firefight?

5:37 i’m a foreign volunteer PKM gunner in the 63rd Mech brigade in the Sloviansk direction. This is true but varies by area, the biggest casualty inducing weapons in Sloviansk direction are as follows;
1. FPV drones or drones in general, the Russians we have here are excellent drone pilots
2. Artillery, scary as fuck but we actually get a fair amount of warning before shelling starts
3. Small arms, the russian infantry here are terrible, drug addicts, alcoholics, conscripts etc. yet for some reason the russian government gives them new weapons like the AK12, however they dont maintain them so they make awful trophy weapons (rusty)

edit this information is true for the Sloviansk direction, in other directions it will be different

I carried no fewer than twelve magazines in combat, if I was going to need ammunition, I was going to NEED ammunition

The only ammunition authorized in our Gun Trucks was belted 7.62NATO and 50BMG, we were given the asinine reason by Fearless Leader™ carrying boxes of ready magazines in bandoliers for the M4 was "not allowed"

Not allowed by WHO? "Do some pushups!" Meaning he pulled it out of his Fourth Point of Contact, so I carried extra magazines

Even when threatened by Fearless Leader™ with an Article 15 to only carry a Basic Load

My response: "Yer gonna file CHARGES Sarn't, over me carrying AMMO . . . on combat missions?"

First Sergeant got wind of this and told him to back off . . .



Which only made Fearless Leader™ hate me more