Since the creation of the army, humanity has lived with the military equipment. While the military uniform is essential in the military life of a soldier, military equipment is equally important as it provides the combatant with other characteristics. Like any other outfit, the army uniform has a lot of army accessories that are attached to the military uniform, for example, a little but very important piece is the beret. This piece of military equipment might not be seen as a significant part of the army, but it has been used by people for a long time to create a statement.
A little bit of history
The military beret that we know and has become an article of the army equipment comes from an old beret created around the year 1500, used mainly by farmers because it was so cheap to produce. Thanks to its resistance to cold weather, berets became part of military equipment. Berets are made of pressed wool which allows an easy to production and has led them to become a very useful accessory.
But when did it start to be seen as military equipment? It was during the year 1800 that it began to be used as military equipment when the Spanish Tomas de Zumalacarregui appeared wearing a red beret and it was also during this time that it got the name beret. In France, the “Chasseurs alpins” (the elite infantry of the French Army who is trained to operate in mountainous terrain and in urban warfare) created in the early 1880s was the first regular unit to wear the military beret as a standard headgear.
Another kind of military equipment
But there are other military accessories made by army textiles, which even though they are not relevant but they are essential to keep the soldiers head in the mission. Jackets, and pants are one of the most popular, but gloves are also an elemental part of the military uniform since soldiers work with their hands every time to manipulate different military items or any kind of kinds of stuff, so it is crucial for them to be protected, and that is why the military gloves have to be specially manufactured with leather-like fabrics and waterproof fabrics, are some of the features that gloves must possess to be considered as military equipment, they also must come in a wide range of colors and prints to match the army uniform and other military equipment.
Also, other articles of military equipment may be tactical vests, which allow soldiers to carry a large number of accessories that they will need at some point of the mission they are carrying out, in addition to being able to carry different types of devices in each of the pockets that the vests have. Generally, these types of vests are the same color as the uniform to keep the same color line, however, tactical vests should not be confused with bulletproof vests since the former only serve to load with diverse items while bulletproof, as the name implies, they serve to protect the soldier from bullet attacks by enemies.
Similarly, one of the items of military equipment that becomes essential during the night for the troops are sleeping bags. Especially, sleeping bags help soldiers to be able to conciliate sleep in any type of land, since sometimes, despite having military tents, there will be times when the soldiers cannot return and have to sleep away from the checkpoint. Sleeping bags are ideal to completely cover the body by protecting it from any external object, even insects. In addition, in cold times it is largely used to keep the heat of the troops and provide the soldiers with greater comfort while they rest.
How to keep the heat?
As we all know, sometimes soldiers work under very hot weather and in some places they must spend a lot of time under the sun, that being said, there is another fundamental piece of military equipment, it is called cap, but unlike the other military accessories we have mention, this one-piece can only be worn in the kind of weather that is mention before, it is made with polyethylene fabrics which makes it lightweight as it has to be worn on the head.
In the same way, the helmet can be part of military equipment because this is not essentially part of military uniform. Normally, the military helmet is used to protect the soldier’s head by an enemy attack. In the same way, the balaclava helmet is another important accessory of military equipment that soldier should to wear in special occasion. To protect the identity of the soldiers, they must use balaclava. Also, this accessory is almost used in a cold environment to cover the face from the icy winds, keeping the heat of the face and helping the soldier to withstand the mission and keep safe the soldier’s identity.
Importance of military equipment
Can you even imagine a situation where all the troopers have not the necessary military equipment? Only put this in your mind: Your soldiers are on an important mission but they don’t have the necessary equipment, so if they continue with the assignment, they may not be able to do it unless it’s simple. Military equipment is very important as it provides the necessary tools to the military troops to be able to do beyond a simple mission. If the environment is complicated, they may have the ability and the persistent to face any difficult without failing the attempt. About that, one of the most essential military equipment for a soldier is the military backpack. Military backpacks can carry everything a soldier can and could possibly need, be it spares clothes, food, supplies, gadgets, sleeping bags, personal cleaning items, even medications. These types of backpacks have too much space, in addition to having many pockets that make the space to increase considerably. This is the importance point of military equipment, to provide soldier to increase to possibilities of survive in any circumstances that normally military mission has it.