U.S. Army Special Forces Green Beret Kit (ca. Early 2000's)

I started working on this impression last summer after reading "The Hunt For Bin Laden - Task Force Dagger" by Robin Moore and watching several Youtube videos about the siege at the Qala-i-Janghi Fortress in Mazar-i-Sharif. The SF soldiers were tasked with bringing down the Taliban regime that controlled Afghanistan and more importantly, eliminating the Al Qeada terrorist network that was harbored in the region. Their objectives included linking up with the mujihadeen guerrilla forces known as the "Northern Alliance", bringing them together as a unified fighting force, and retaking the country of Afghanistan while leaving the victory to the Afghans themselves. The men of the Army's 5th Special Forces Group are responsible for the middle eastern region, meaning that they know the languages and customs of the people that live there, they know how to operate in the different terrains found there, and they are trained specifically to create and support guerrilla operations there. After school picked up again, I lost interest in the kit and airsoft altogether because I didn't have any free time. Now, after reading "Horse Soldiers" by Doug Stanton, I'm back to finish the impression.

The loadout is relatively light due to the fact that the soldiers were limited as to what they could carry. It came down to the bare minimums. Everything that couldn't be carried was called in by their logistics guy, airdropped from 20,000 ft. in the air. Since this is usually the case in airsoft, the kit is easily appliable and serves both for Direct Action and Strategic Reconnaissance missions. I think a team of 3 to 5 guys with this set up would be perfect for handling a wide variety of objectives at larger games such as Close Target Recon, Sniper Missions, Direct Action Raids, ect. Obviously if there was any tasks that included working with "indigenous forces", that would be our job. If you're interested in this look and you want to know more either about the gear or the real story of the SF guys, feel free to ask. I'd love to have a few guys in on this with me.

The essentials for the impression:
Three-Color Desert BDU RAID Shirt
Three-Color Desert BDU Pants
Tan Combat Boots
Hydration Backpack (Camelbak)
Brown Pakol Hat or Black/Tan Baseball Cap
Afghan Scarf (Shemagh)
Nomex Flight Gloves
Woodland Load Bearing Vest or OD Chi com
M4 Carbine or AKMS


Here's what I have so far (tan combat boots and OD 3-Day assault pack not pictured):





Right now I'm in the middle of purchasing an M9 Beretta, extra mag, pistol lanyard, black holster, 8 M4 mids, and a ALICE pistol belt. After that, all that's left is the brown Pakol hat, OD enhanced buttpack, PTT Surveillance headset and BHI Black M16 Drop Leg Thigh Rig. Maybe down the road get a AKMS and a pair of Merrell Hiking Boots.

just an observation of mine and take it as you will: green berets are required to operate behind enemy lines without being detected, therefore their dress and weapons are not usually US mil issue. their clothing in Afghanistan would be more along the lines of the pashtune fighters that they fight along side and they might carry their M4 but some if not most carry the AK for two reasons. 1.it helps them blend in more with the locals therefore drawing less attention to themselves and 2. if they get into a fire fight somewhere they are not suppose to be there are AK shell casings left behind not M16/M4 casings. the gear you have listed above is pretty good and your aiming in the right direction. just tweak it a bit and you will be dead on.

I like the load out.
however, I would change the radio to a VHF since it will cover more distance in rugged open terrain (not an urban setting) even though mazar el sharrif would have been a good choice for UHF when the breakout occurred since its a walled covered fort.
also, why do you need a calc in afganistan lol ? these fuckers trade with goats not dollars unless you use it to calculate ballistics but u would think they got smaller ones for trajectory solutions.

KJ, my dad is getting a deal with mike hawk (x green beret from discovery channel "man, women, wild") to go hunt for the tagearis indians again in the amazon within the next 3-4 months hawk is a good friend of my dad.
I just checked his website and noticed this picture so i think you are very close to the real loadout. hawk is the bearded guy on left.
https://www.facebook.com/?ref=logo#!/photo.php?pid=4777817&id=348188571499

ok i was wrong. i was actually thinking CIA when I was writing before

Predator2-58 wrote:

ok i was wrong. i was actually thinking CIA when I was writing before

Yeah, when I read your first message I figured you were talking about the CIA's SAD operators. They, infact, wore traditional Afghan shalwar kameez shirts and pakols, toted AK's and acted as the intel guys before SF arrived in October. Some accounts put them on the ground as early as 72 hours after 9/11 occured. You are definitely correct though, they were to be covert and "behind the scenes", not to stick out and compromise the CIA's presense on the ground. However, that all changed with the death of Johnny Micheal "Mike" Spann at Qala-i-Jangi. He was the first combat casualty of the first American conflict of the 21st century. After I complete this impression, I might throw together some sort of CIA operator in A-stan kit. It'd be even lighter than the SF look.

admin-AirborneShar wrote:

I like the load out.
however, I would change the radio to a VHF since it will cover more distance in rugged open terrain (not an urban setting) even though mazar el sharrif would have been a good choice for UHF when the breakout occurred since its a walled covered fort.
also, why do you need a calc in afganistan lol ? these fuckers trade with goats not dollars unless you use it to calculate ballistics but u would think they got smaller ones for trajectory solutions.

Thanks! Well, the only thing I'm playing off of is that in airsoft, most people use handheld walkietalkies so I figured I'd just go with that since it would be easy to be on the same channels. I'm not familiar with a VHF, do they use the same frequencies and what not? I also have a pair of ICOM radios from my dads work that look more "military" than motorola talkabouts, but they have special frequencies. Well, I figured the calculator might come in handy if range estimation ever came up or if we needed to calculate cords on a map. It's just added weight, so you're right, I'll probably end up leaving it out. My iPhone's half the weight and can do so much more anyways... I've heard of Mike Hawke, pretty famous in the SF ring as far as I can tell. And that is definitely the look that I'm going for, great find man!

It might be just me or the picture, but that vest looks obnoxiously green. It needs to get roughed up a bit or something.

If I had known you were looking for something like that, I would have sold you the vest I got on Saturday. It was eight pockets that could hold up to 16 m4 mags if you double stacked them. It was broken in and a little faded too. Would have been perfect. I ended up selling it plus a German flectarn vest to the gun nut next door.

Lol. Was it an LBV or what? Yeah it was just the lighting situation in my room at the time. It's not that green, although it does need some roughing up. I don't think I've ever used it in a game, just last fall for this:

The one I had was the exact same thing, but all of the pockets were full length. Same color, but a little more worn.

I think I've seen something like that before. Chicom though right?

Oh and Shar, them 'fuckers' actually do trade with dollars, and A LOT of them. When the SF guys hit the ground, they were toting several black duffel bags full of cash. Millions and millions. And of course, six bottles of vodka for General Dostum himself. The CIA guys were given a good amount as well... The goal was to bribe the hell out of the warlords to work WITH each other instead of AGAINST each other, as they had been doing for nearly a decade. SF was to run the usual "hearts and minds" operation. Money can't buy you happiness, but it sure as hell is a nice down payment.

Yeah. It was. Sold it plus the flectarn to the next door neighbor for $25. I was going to throw it up here or on FA, but that would have taken too much time.

Interesting. I've seen them in pictures, but never seen one in person or heard of anyone owning one.

So my impression has taken a turn. I've realized that the look that I'm going for isn't particular to any one designated A-team. Infact, it's a mixture of different gear from A-teams like ODA-595 and ODA-2085. I'm thinking that instead of slapping a label on it with a specific team, or SFG for that matter, I'm just gonna say it was "inspired" but the SF guys in A-stan. Picked up "Hunting al Qaeda" today too. It's an interesting read, made so by the guys of ODA 2085, 20th SFG. They're civilian soldiers, not career soldiers. They tell you all the things you weren't meant to hear, the things that guys in the convention army SF are bound by oath not to speak out about.

this is what the SF uses for comm acog
its called RADMOR tac radio. it has a UHF/VHF full spectrum capability, encrypted.
little guy usually for squad com and close range, the big guy is for arena com.
they would usually use the lower spectrum MHZ between 30-108 (where the VHF we have use 120-170mhz) this gives them somewhat of a range and they have real good batts in them.

Huh, I didn't know this. Great info, thanks Shar. Is that what you use?

he wishes, they are probably 800-10000 each and are most likely very difficult to obtain

the one I use is prob 1/2 the range but still double than most airsofters use (chinese FULL band VHF)
and I am trying to get one from a buddy of mine still in service in the israeli airborne.

I see. How much do they run you usually?

the ones I got are like 45 bucks bc they are chinese. the real life value is atleast 200 for an equivalent.

Ouch. Well, it's looking like the chinese copies would be the only option. Lol.