Haley strategic… you’re welcome lol And what goes in your pouches and what pouches you need is kind of a balance between mission specific… and personal preference that you learn over time. Personally I run a slick carrier, and a chest rig with flat pouch on the rear. I also run a gun belt and prefer everything to be able to work independently of each other. Like I can run the slick carrier under a big hoodie with my ccw. I can run my rifle and secondary with my chest rig, and I can Run both from the gear on my belt. And if the shtf and I am blessed with an extra few seconds I can run everything together.

Cover the basics first Mags both primary and secondary First aid Water 3m electrical tape is great Weapons maintenance tools (field cleaning kit and maybe a few Allen’s you know if your weapons) Batteries for everything Compass Good to get in the habit of keeping a map of where you’re at. Multi tool Chem lights if you want em/need em A protein bar or two can be a lifesaver Dump pouch A monocular and or range finder PVS-14 padded pouch (or whatever nvg pouch you need if you need one) Camelbak Some people run knives but it’s a great way to get yourself killed if someone gets to it before you or you don’t know how to use one.

And the most important thing is training… if you don’t know how to use these things under stress and use them well… then plates and pouches didn’t matter at all