USASOC recently made a $5 million purchase of Ops Core ballistic helmets for their troops, a worthwhile, if expensive, investment at retail price of $882 each. Any soldier will tell you that the MICH was light years ahead of the K-Pot and now SOF is taking the next step with the Ops Core ballistic helmet.
Weighing in at just a few pounds, the Ops Core helmet delivers in several key areas that SOF personnel have been calling for in recent years. We used to look with envy at Delta and Ranger Reconnaissance Detachment soldiers who had their cut down MICH helmets which made it easier and more comfortable to wear Peltors under. As a sniper, I would take my MICH off whenever I could to obtain better cheek to stock contact while in a firing position. The low cut of the MICH made it difficult to get into the proper firing position behind a long gun, the problem becoming exaggerated further while in the prone position.
The Ops Core helmet corrects these issues with its lower profile and resolves a number of others as well, including a flaw in night vision mounts rather than in helmets. When soldiers attach their night vision device to the swing arm, which is in turn snapped into the helmet mount itself, the result is that the NODs rattle back and forth. To fix this rattle, soldiers have been improvising a tie down with rubber bands to hold their NODs steady. Ops Core looks for a more permanent measure by introducing an elastic lanyard that cinches down the NODs for you.
Another solution improvised by Special Operations troops was attaching LED lights to their helmets with Velcro, a necessity while searching buildings or working on casualties. Later, Surefire came out with a decent helmet light but it was too easy to accidentally discharge the IR light and unknowingly drain the batteries before actually needing to use it. Ops Core has provided mounting brackets on their helmet, making it easier for soldiers to attach their preferred light source or even a helmet camera if the mission calls for it.
Initial reports from soldiers serving overseas are very favorable. Let’s hope that SOF continues this recent trend of adopting lighter, more streamlined gear for their troops.
Kit Up! contributor Jack Murphy is a former Ranger and SF Soldier and is the author of the military thriller Reflexive Fire.
{ 33 comments… read them below or add one }
If you're going to conceal a operator's face don't put what looks like a pile of crap on him and then make his face look like the elephant man's below the crap.
Yeah, that's kinda freaking me out.
Yeah, looks like a turd
+1
No kidding. I thought this was an article about some kind of new battle-mask whose sole job it was to completely gross out the enemy.
Lol, I spent about 30 seconds trying to figure out what that was
Come on guys, I understand your concern and I can’t say I disagree, but again let’s make comments about the blog. Christian is working hard to keep this blog the best on the net, let’s support him and keep comments on point!
On another note, this is great news! Many operators around the world have already been using the ops-core helmet including members of USASOC. The fact that they are now buying these for our operators means that money will not come out of shooter’s pockets and they will now have the best helmet on the market! I have used this helmet quite a bit in testing and have already bought the Bump (the non ballistic version) for myself. As far as helmets go, the Ops-Core is amazing. I wish I would have had this helmet when I was going over to Afghanistan.
i agree about commenting on the article not the possible minor mistake.
i had the privilege of using the ops-core ballistic helmets and they are the best on the market! the fit, the weight and the dial in adjustment strap setup worked awesome. it never got in the way of sighting down any weapon i fired and they work well with all different com setups. kind of pricey but worth it for the best out there.
Now all the airsoft kiddies will have to buy replica Ops-Cores :D
I think this is a great step forward.
With BIG cuts coming expect alot of programs and buys to stop for a long time.
Is the 75th Ranger Reconnaissance Detachment a Tier 1 Unit? I know they have their own Selection Process and Operators Training Course, but are they labeled as a T1 asset? I have also heard there some "Long Tabbers" in that unit. Please only answer if you know what your talking about, no Call of Duty/Airsoft comments, thanks.
I have had limited experience with this unit, however I have been on joint missions where the RRD was involved. I can tell you that they are not considered tier 1 assets. However, these guys are extremely professional and have capabilities far beyond what you may expect. They get first priority on specialized schools and even have their own qualification course that lasts about 6 months. That’s 6 months! Highly trained to say the least. The RRD is comprised of a very small number of experienced Rangers, and have a contingency for each of the 3 battalions. In the Army LRS-D is considered to be the most elite of the conventional Infantry. RRD is the SOCOM version of LRS-D (so to speak) if that tells you anything.
Thanks for the information. Much appreciated.
They have gone through many changes over the last five years or so. They are now called RRC rather than RRD. They were still RRD back when I used to look at their kit with envious eyes though! No offense intended Former 18D, the information you posted was accurate back in the day but a lot of reorganization has taken place. I'm going to have to leave it at that for now.
Roger that.
Thanks for the updated info Jack. I left the service in 2007 while everyone was making changes, so some of my insight stops there. Great article, and keep up the good work!
Tier 1 in US military parlance is counter terrorism (hostage rescue, assassinations, close protection etc.)
Tier 1 is actually a reference to the amount of funding that a SOCOM unit receives, it doesn't actually have anything to do with their METL or task org. There is a lot of misconceptions about that.
FormerSFMedic is right in terms of what was going on in his days before he left. But circa 2008 – 2009, RRD (Now RRC) got it's Tier 1 status and all the benefits that come with it.. ($$$$). Part of the required changes in order to retain that status was that RRC has to open it's doors to anybody in the military. So now if a soldier from the big Army has graduated from RSLC and has a Ranger Tab and is I think a minimum of E5… they can attend selection to try out.
is anybody using the in-hear headsets from NACRE or Silynx? Peltors are heavy, hot and bulky….it seems like there are better solutions that would still allow for a helmet that has more protection at the side of the head….
Personally I like Peltors just fine, a far as more protection on the side of the head is concerned some folks complain that regular helmets just don't cut it for some sharpshooters. I used to hate shooting my long gun when I had to wear a regular issue helmet in 82nd. From what I hear Ops-Core is more comfortable when shorting long guns. I guess its protection vs. comfort argument.
That last post should read "in-ear"!
I'd like to keep this comment on the content of the post, but with a picture of turd face covering half my screen it's tough to overlook. Can someone change that?
Love the helmets, will pay the price, hate the terrible looooooooooong waiting period. A high cut helmet with a few add-ons is very similar if not exactly the same in protection and coverage, a little bit cheaper, and you can have it in 1 week instead of 120 days.
theres poop on his face
Jeez, enough with the pic critique!…
Fixed. Now can we stay on topic?
Only 5,668 helmets?
Does anyone know why they chose the FAST helmet over the AirFrame? I’m not saying one is better than the other, just curious.
Seems like SOCOM isn't the only ones that has taken a liking to Ops-cores. Judging by pictures circulating on the web, Ops-core FAST helmets has become the go-to lids for specs-ops units around the world.
But not only for spec-ops, The FAST-lids has recently been chosen as the new standard issue helmet for the Norwegian army, where they've been used by units deployed in Afghanistan for some time now.
Delivery is scheduled to be complete by the end of 2012.
anyone notice the camo on that hummer in the background?
The company only makes the 2001 cut that PJ/CCTs use which has been around for a while although not used by many DA units due to the inherit dangers by having the entire ear area exposed. CAG has been using the 2002 low cut model for years while the 2001 was available – so why switch now? Less weight? Doubt it..
If the company wants to sell some more, they need to create their version of the 2002. This purchase is going straight to the SF Groups. And we in the 75th would probably never steer away from the 2000s unless somebody gave us a good rate on the 2002s.
3/75
You sure 75th isn't getting them? It wouldn't surprise me for someone to decide they don't like the cut, but $5M buys a fuck load of helmets and SF only has about 4000-5000 actual shooters and the 75th about 1800 shooters at most. If USASOC is footing the bill and not taking away from unit funds…
06-10 1/75
we just realized our Ops-Core rail comms setup – check it out at http://www.threat4.com/threat4inearheadset.htm
its on right margin a couple of images down