Agreed.

But it's more complicated than that - once one person goes off the moral path, others will follow as they realize that 'law and order' only exist in a vacuum of a high-trust society.  

Once people realize - or perceive - that everyone else is going feral in order to survive, panic sets in and morals and ethics and high minded thought go out the window as it's every man (or, more specifically, every GROUP) for themselves.  (Because EVERYONE joins a group of some kind in the end.  At least the ones who are still alive do.)

This is the problem with society - you cannot let the concept that law and order exists to falter.  One big emergency where people start to panic and decide to ignore such ethical things, and it all falls apart.  And we have been doing a bang-up job of destroying the idea of law and order here in America recently.

NICE!  He looks like a real trooper in that first photo, with the bandage on his hand.

Lol. Literally 2 seconds after I tell him to watch his step he trips and lands on a sharp stick.
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I didn't MEAN to!  

I’m a fan of the quilts too. The one I have compresses to about the size of a usgi poncho and is rated down to 0 degrees. That added to a R4.0 + rated pad and I’m good at colder temps.
It’s a bright color though:
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It definitely save on weight and bulk.

Yea, there is a good argument for a quality quilt setup.

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Set my camera resolution to 50% to get the file size down.

This "free soldier" tarp was like $36 shipped on sale and the stitching is actually not bad. I need to get it in a rain storm to see how it does wet.

If you have NODS, check how it works under night vision.  Some of the chinese stuff glows bright.

There ARE some decent chinese backpacking tarps, I forgot what brand it was I got.  But they are generally a bright color.  But they can make some good stuff.

There are some other budget options out there that have a good reputation if you are on a hardcore budget.  

Another tarp that is cheap but has really good reviews is this one.  It's grey, not camo like the one above, but it's also about half the weight.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B073GQXMM9?tag=arfcom00-20

I still suggest you get the nicer Aquaquest tarp.  A good tarp is a very important part of your gear, and you really want a good quality one.

EDIT:  The tarp ShootingDave has above is here:  https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08DXDQT3D?tag=arfcom00-20

Yeah. That cheap thing is not going to work miracles.

I got suckered into it, to see if I want to carry a tarp instead of my poncho. I think if I want to make the switch, I will get a nicer one but a size smaller than this one……

Get the 10' x 7' Aquaquest tarp.

There's nothing wrong with having a cheap backup / second tarp either.  I have a couple cheap ones for camp purposes.

That Wise Owl is the one I have. I’ve spent several nights out under it in my Wise Owl hammock, but so far only had a drizzle.

Going to have to plan to spend the night out side next time we’re supposed to have a good rain.

A little crafts project while my computer was down for work.

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Here are two sources I have been looking at for ideas for a minimalist setup:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LBd_UIwoY2E

https://www.nixieworks.com/post/the-lightfighter-rig-explained

Similar ideas to what is being discussed.

He puts out solid info on that Youtube channel. Good resource.

I looked hard at the Nixieworks rig. I think they are a very cool product and fill a need for some. I went with the Crossfire DZ rig for two main reasons. 1) Working with a ruck is a priority. 2) the harness looked like a better design. I believe I went the correct route, having about 50 miles of ground covered now with the DZ rig and ruck.

I like the nixieworks stuff.  It looks well made.  But it fits a VERY specific niche - you can't use a ruck with them.  I mean, you CAN, but it's not going to be optimal.  Which severely limits you're range away from any kind of basecamp or ability to operate in winter or away from water sources.

I DO see it as a decent option for Jungle stuff, where you don't need to carry much in the way of shelter or insulating layers.  It's probably a really good option there.

I appreciate what Nixieworks is doing and, like everything, your own situation and desired outcome must be weighed.

With the NW-LF (the gear and the concept), you won't be separated from any of your gear so long as you have your combat load. So no matter what side of the ambush you are on, you don't have to worry about dumping your sustainment load and re-collecting it later.

On the other side of the same coin, you can't just quickly unass your sustainment load when you just need to fight, and I might not want to have a mass of sleeping and snivel gear on my lower back when I am trying to not get shot and maneuver through brush, trees, rocks, etc.

So, in other words, no free lunch, still. At least that is a constant

Just a little trick of the trade that many of you won't know.  When we cross-trained with the Brits, they had two ways of rigging their bashas.  First was admin, with poles and such, rigged pretty high for comfort.  The second was tactical, which did away with any poles, and was tied down at nearly ground level on 3 corners, with only one front corner raised slightly for visibility, on a one-man position, and raised slightly on both front corners on a two-man position.  Huge difference in visibility in the field.  Yes it was a PITA to work in and out of, but just good fieldcraft.  They would also scrape out a "ranger grave" beneath it.

Some good stuff in here

I especially liked how they rig up the plate carriers in a vehicle

Exactly my thoughts on this.  Like I said, pros and cons.  If I were in the jungle or, say, Florida swamps, Nixieworks might be something I'd consider.

Yea, when I backpack I use a tarp.  I rig it up low like that, with one corner up on a pole.  I actually carry a 2nd tiny pole - like 4" off the ground - that I can prop the bottom corner up for ventilation.  Or I can pull it out if the weather gets nasty, dropping the bottom center corner all the way to the ground.

I also have the main pole with 2 lengths - I can rig it low, just high enough to clear my face, or up high for use during the day, mostly as shade / wind barrier.  

This is one reason I like tarps more than tents, they are more versatile.

I posted the Nixieworks link for both the rig and his gear choices. About 30 lbs including four mags. Not bad.

Yea, he has some decent gear choices.  I like his choice of Gatoraide bottles - they are popular in the backpacking world.  They actually work pretty well.  They are a really good choice for a budget water bottle setup to get someone up and running + to stock up for extra rigs / handouts / whatever.

I think what Nixie Works is doing goes to the crux of the Lightfighter concept.  Fighting in your load out.  But.  It is an advanced concept, especially for those today who might not have any scouting/camping background.  You have to be able to survive with only a poncho and liner, as both shelter and sleep system.  An acquired taste, to say the least.  But totally doable.  

You can essentially pull the same thing off with a Bum roll on top of your Diz rig.

Different tools in your tool kit.  If you are in the semi-tropics, and doing mostly short-range work, then a Nixie rig makes a lot of sense.  If you are in a more temperate area, and/or doing longer multi-day patrols, then a classic belt kit  makes a lot of sense.  Along with some sort of rucksack.  

But still n all, I think the tarp and "quilt" concepts are very applicable to the lightfighter.  Whether you have the high-end civvie stuff, or the USGI.  

It is good to see peeps discussing something else besides the PC and pistol belt kit.

Radio signals; team level.

First off, I will say that every team just needs a comms guy. This stuff is a pain in the ass, and programming digital radios is a pain in the ass. Learning how to build cables, use software, etc are all pains in the ass.

This is by no means a “everything you need, and need to know”. This is just an example of what you might expect to look into.

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The radio;

For the price I believe it is hard to beat the TYT-390 PLUS. This radio will do VHF/UHF, wide/narrow and digital/analogue. It is hard to program, unless you want to dedicate a day to learn how to do it. This post will not discuss what frequencies to use. Not the place for that discussion.

You should have a thumb drive or other backup of your programming resources, cables and a cheap laptop dedicated to nothing but radio activities if you are the radio guy. Maybe dont connect this laptop to the internet after being setup, so Windows updates cant ruin your settings. This will ensure things work when they need to.

The antennas;

The first purchase for your consumer grade radio should be an adapter to make it a BNC antenna connection. Standardize on this.

The antenna on your radio should be upgraded in the case of most consumer grade radios. There are a lot of options. The antenna should be tuned to the frequ you are using. Dont use a ham radio antenna for MURS/GMRS. Get the right antenna.

You should have a field deployable antenna that can be pulled up in a tree or hung off a structure. Feel free to google slim jim antenna or similar. Purchase the N9TAX antennas on ebay with confidence.

A directional antenna (ghetto one pictured made of PVC pipe and duct taped over measuring tape) will greatly increase your capabilities in many ways,

    - Increase signal strength to your target, while also limiting signal strength where it is not pointing.
    - Using as a receive antenna for direction finding signals.
    - Consumer grade options are available places like Arrow antennas.

Signals Intelligence;

Software defined radios are cheap and readily available. Software / apps are free. You should be looking into this. Start learning what signals are found different places in the radio spectrum. Learn what is normal and not normal for your area. For about $45, i can find and listen to signals on my android phone. Options are endless. This is by no means the best.

The plan;

You need multiple people who want to participate in an actual comms plan or radios are useless. You are better off learning the signals gathering information. Not everyone in a “team” needs a radio. Radios are a pain in the ass, and you should not volunteer to carry one .

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If anyone has further questions, you can send me a message and we can move to email. This is to reduce the amount of back/forth on the details in this thread. I will help in any way I can.

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Good post.  This is the kind of thing I'm wanting in this thread.

Can you explain (so newbies have some understanding) what this specific radio setup is used for, vs. 'hey i got a baofeng!' or other walkie-talkie style handheld setuip.

Generally speaking, an effort can be made at a patrol base, objective rally point, release point, etc to increase your comms with a small team that is about to go do something, that would need to radio back to you.

By having field antenna, or maybe even an amplifier (pictured), you will increase your odds of making comms substantially over just a handheld radio with a little antenna on it…….. and it is not even close.

For less than $100 you can increase your odds of success by orders or magnitude,

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Signals intelligence.

Well, there is no possible way for me to go into the detail required to do this justice. I think what I already posted will suffice, figure out what signals are out there and learn to find them.

( did you know retail stores sniff for wifi probe request signals from your phones to track foot traffic habits in their stores). Weird.

Or maybe you just start hearing mass amounts of Emergency Action Messages coming across Air Force HF nets.

I see the RTL-SDR as one part of a signals intelligence system (or system of systems...especially once you get into IP backhaul to push voice from remote receivers to guys in the field). Reliability, durability, selectivity, and software stability aren't nearly as good as a dedicated receiver. They're also quite a bit harder to use on the move. With all that in mind, I strongly recommend having either a handheld scanner or a secondary radio primarily intended for monitoring. The SDR (in conjunction with public databases) can serve to identify primary frequencies of interest to program that radio. Personally I have a VHF handheld (same family as my primary UHF so batteries and audio accessories are common) for this purpose, with the side benefit of interoperability with primary VHF users.

A side note on scanning: Unless the scanning radio supports priority scan with very fast lookback time, you're going to miss some traffic. Even then, you may find the first half-second of a transmission cut off. Try to only scan with one primary radio in the team.

Shootindave makes a lot of good points for optimizing VHF/UHF portables. In testing a variety of upgraded whip antennas on UHF portables, I have yet to find any that offer significant benefits over a good quarterwave whip. A half-wave whip, which I thought could be a silver bullet for its tolerance of poor ground planes, ended up having considerably more varied RSSI based on radio orientation - going prone with a radio is bad enough due to body attenuation, cross-polarization, and reduced LOS, but for the antenna radiation pattern itself to fight you is a problem. Quarterwaves are much closer to isotropic, not to mention half the size. You're more likely to see noticeable improvements on VHF; portable VHF helical antennas are a serious compromise. Roll-up J-poles are probably the best team antenna going. Their orientation will be very consistent and doesn't depend on the operator's position. Folding yagis are a neat capability as well. If you intend to use one for direction-finding, consider carrying an inline attenuator and selecting a radio with numerical RSSI display. You may not be able to tell a -70dBm signal from a -90dBm signal by ear, but the radio sure can and that will give you your line of bearing.

My personal comms equipment load is as follows:
UHF portable (VP6330): Primary UHF secure voice. Technically capable of IP packet data as well but the cable-fu and requirement to carry a Windows tablet make this less than practical in the field.
VHF portable (VP5230): Scanning and secondary VHF FM or secure voice. Mission-dependent, I don't always carry this.
UHF/VHF mesh device (Gotenna Pro X): Blue force tracking and cursor-on-target. These can be integrated with TAK but the TAK ecosystem is bloated, clunky, and has security concerns.
Android EUD: Running GrapheneOS for improved but far from perfect security. A small Android tablet without LTE is ideal, but the only phone-sized one I've found thus far is a Panasonic FZ-X1 that I removed the LTE card from. Unfortunately they only run Android 4.2.2, are pretty slow, and can't run most modern applications. I'm very open to suggestions for other devices.
Batteries/support: 1-4 spare portable batteries including one or two USB-rechargeable batteries, 74Wh USB battery bank, "Octopus" multi-charger cable. All communications equipment in this load has at least some capability to be charged via USB.

Programming and keyfill can run off a 7" Windows tablet and a handful of cables. That could go in a ruck if reprogramming and rekeying (beyond whatever TEKs are already loaded) are deemed necessary. I recommend spending a while on codeplug development; you should have repeaters and frequencies of interest for your region already loaded so you can grab-and-go without worrying about reprogramming. This is another point in favor of having a dedicated radio guy and standardized codeplugs.

See, this is why I just stopped at learning the basics of running a Baofeng and am going to be letting someone else do the radio stuff.  I'll stick to my lane and sewing cool gear and poking the hive for interesting discussions.

On a side note, the only reason I switched antennas on my baofeng is I got one of those super-flexible antennas, I forgot what they are called, that you can weave through your gear.  I didn't get it for better reception, I got it so that I didn't have an antenna sticking up anywhere to annoy me.  I can just run the antenna up my harness webbing and keep it out of the way.

Oh yea.  They do have some smaller non-cell phone enabled Android devices I've seen.  I've seen an android 'MP3 Player' that was basically a smartphone, but without the cell phone part.  I THINK the link below was one I saw.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09TRD3J8K/?coliid=I3QWFDZ4DHDFIJ&colid=2O86VLTQC8EMZ&psc=1&ref_=list_c_wl_lv_ov_lig_dp_it


Also, there are some gaming devices that are smaller, though not cell phone sized.  They are faster hardware.  They also make good drone control devices.  And of course, retro-gaming.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CCDN7RPN/?coliid=I1KCZG9FGKHWJJ&colid=2O86VLTQC8EMZ&ref_=list_c_wl_lv_ov_lig_dp_it&th=1

Here is an archived thread of mine concerning the making of a wearable antenna out of a simple piece of coax. I have multiple made cut for different frequencies.

https://www.ar15.com/forums/Armory/Homemade-Wearable-Antenna-part-1/10-542360/

Yea, I saw that post back when you did it.  I've got it bookmarked somewhere.

Leadership gear; Terrain modeling kit

A basic compact kit of items to model a “map” of the area of operation can be useful.

Here we can see some laminated cards you can write on, some plastic sticks to write on, golf tees, yarn, maybe some little cars or plastic army toys. Use your imagination.

Clean a spot on the ground to model the area. Roads, creeks, ridges, whatever. Limits of advance, rally points……. Give people a visual so that when you brief the movement, they have something to look at.

This can be stored in a little bag, so that it can be handed to other people or stored in your map holder. Or whatever.

Laminating a piece of grid paper can be handy too.

None of this costs much money, maybe $15 at walmart or the dollar general,

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I saw these different 3d printed unit markers.  Might be an interesting idea.

If you cant get leaves and twigs tangled up in your yarn, I am not sure how much fun it can be. Lol

A few dozen plastic toy soldiers works good for terrain models. Also an empty claymore bag makes a good terrain model kit bag.

Not trying to knock this idea - it's probably great for at-base and vehicle mounted stuff - but will this work for foot infantry without heavy vehicular support?

EDIT:  No problem talking about both options btw.

Eh well depends on how deep we dive.  Again when I crossed-trained with the Brits, their Ruperts had simple terrain model kits in their cmdr's pouches.  

On 5 Para orders, getting mixed signals here.  Will put up an example in the other thread for it.  But yeah even though it's not in the right place, it does a A place.

If It Is needed at a squad level id Say print something like this, laminate, cut and glue to a Coin so wind does not move them. Add a couple blank ones, a felt tip pen, few feet of colored silk ribbon like the ones used for wrapping presents and some garden stakes or wooden fruit picks. The whole minimal kit could fit in a zipper closed a6 punched pocket like this (there May be some thickness tho)

And Bingo.  I usually shoved mine in a cargo pocket, but a cmdr's pouch would work mo better.

I am thinking about seeing if a local kydex guy can make a shell for a thermacell to protect it better.

Maybe just the lower half were the gas goes in up to above the on/off gas slider. These things are nice but built shitty.

The mosquitoes are thick right now

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I'm apprehensive about this post. Anyways,

I think/believe that the lightfighter ideal is to figure out how to accomplish these troop leading procedures with field expedient shit, AND, to not carry more stuff.

Unless you are a young E5 TL or E6 SQL, you don't need to carry these things. The Light fighter concept is about not carrying shit.

The military symbols things? Why?

You already have a Sharpie, paper, leaves, etc.

If you are a young hard charger in the military; get this shit, learn how to use it. It impresses the brass and lazy SNCO's.

A competent leader can draw Operation Overlord in the dirt or sand.

DO NOT carry sensitive information on you. Some of you may not know what I mean. It's scenario related. You have to do a risk assessment on it. You may have to carry some shit for local government types, or other shit to slip through, well, whatever. I'm not a psychic.

Carry the least amount of stuff that allows you the freedom of travel necessary to meet your travel NEEDS. If you are doing spy shit, well, you already know.




A piece of paper saying "200 irregular infantry" is way more useful on a map than the little square with the X with a single dot over it.

You are right there. Just say the exact information. There's nothing the people with you don't need to know about your situation.





ETA-It will b hard to play dumb when you get captured with all this stuff. It's not goof for OPSEC.

Good points and I said the exact same thing to the Brits when they showed me their nifty kits.  However, over time I learned to appreciate having all that shit in a pouch versus scavenging around for shit.  But point taken, this is gonna depend on the level you're at, and the depth you need to go with details.  A company cmdr?  Absolutely.  A squad ldr?  Probably not.  If I am a dedicated ldr, it's probably more important to have tools to help me brief my guys, rather than more ammo n shit to fight with.  So my load out and weights will vary from a fighter.  

Opsec.  For sure.

Also these are all suggestions for you to pick and choose from.  No one is trying to sell you a cmdr's pouch here, or TAMs format.   Take what is useful to you.  

I can wip up a 5 para order from scratch and probably don't need all the cheat sheets.  But when I go down, and the next fella takes over, that might not be the case.

I completely agree with all your points there. I could only dream of a civilian group that equated to company size. (which varies widely in size which is why an exact description beats the symbol, especially at platoon level and lower)

A great sand table is a glorious thing. Information is as good as ammo. Mission briefings should be as exhaustive as optempo allows. The people listening to it need to be reminded to pay attention, deeply. It's not a business meeting at work. It's your chance to understand the mission intimately.

There's nothing more annoying thaan making a perfect sand table, in garrison, and having an exhaustive opord, and the fuckiheads "listening" to it look bored. Maybe combat orders are more closely listened to.

All that said, "Lightfighter" is about not carrying shit. What it weighs isn't even relevant. It weighs something. It has some mass and size.

On the opsec thing, you should have nothing on you except a map with zero markings on it. If you are a civilian in your backyard, don't even carry that.

Point well taken; this thread is about Lightfighter concepts.  The penultimate expression of this is Hawkeye in "Last of the Mohicans".  To see him tear-assing through the woods at a near-full sprint is exactly what everyone aspires to.  The perfect combo of light kit, and physical conditioning.  Oh I had to go there.

I'm glad I'm not the only one who fantasies about that.

My current struggle. I quit running at 30 and in my 40's I had some injuries that hindered my locomotion and I got pretty fat. Getting back into shape in your 50's is tough, but it's a worthy goal to work towards.

I'm 57. I cut back on the running to twice a week and do elliptical the other days. Really helps on the knees.

Definitely looking long and hard at what I really need to carry. Interesting discussion.

Fitness has endless benefits. Guys with ammo who can't run, or won't run, are problematic for any attacker.

Jokes, but,, seriously, for many, the best way to lighten the load is to lose weight.

To directly address the topic's title. Field expedient solutions to troop leading are key. A sharpie will write on rocks, leaves, etc. Do not carry other things if lightfighter is your chosen discipline.

Make due. Or is it "make do"? anyways

Don’t let perfect be the enemy of good.

You carry some things to make training evolutions go smoother, not because it is the most pure light fighter items.

We arent talking coleman tents and blackstone grills. Maybe some yarn, golf tees and laminated cards.

Perhaps stating things are for training would help remove confusion.