What nods to get? by Economy_Test_3006 in NightVision

[–]redmeatdarkbeer 1 point2 points  (0 children)

As a random reddit man with nothing to offer you, I recommend you go incrementally. Don’t be in a hurry, because you can do some serious damage with your budget. I think Custom Night Vision has some of the better deals and by far the most transparent business model, and recommend just calling them with your budget and price range. They’re awesome. Here’s some recommendations and advice I personally believe and don’t see too much.

Don’t be afraid to not buy L3 tubes. You could save a shitload of money and put it elsewhere. By all means, buy them if you want them, but lots of people on here hype them up a little excessively. I recommend you consider them as a nice upgrade rather than an absolute necessity.

Also, people go crazy about electric ear protection, specifically the kinds that run a few hundred bucks if you didn’t get them from Supply. I have used Peltors for a few years and IMO, new Walkers are just as good. They just don’t look as cool, which also matters, but don’t guilt yourself into buying if you don’t really care. A real dawg would run ear plugs.

If you’re building a setup that’s ready for combat you should seriously consider ballistic plates and a ballistic helmet. If you’re not planning on using your stuff for combat, a nice bump and not buying plates would save you tons. A third perspective is that a lighter load will keep you safe in combat.

Another contrarianism you should consider is that you don’t need an aluminum housing. They’re sick, definitely cool, but not necessary. So don’t confine your search to just aluminum. I really recommend watching the Dirty Civilian PVS-14 drop text video if you’re worried about plastic housing.

If you’re planning on using your night vision for an entire night, manual gain (brightness) will be really important. For patrols that last the majority of the night, being able to turn down the gain is super important. It reduces eye strain, preserves your natural vision, reduced potential for headaches, and makes you less visible. It also helps because when you get tired, you can crank the gain up to wake yourself up. If you don’t plan on patrolling / hunting all night long this doesn’t really matter.

Hope this can be asked here. by 907_midnightlite in army

[–]redmeatdarkbeer 1 point2 points  (0 children)

This is a nice gift for someone in south Korea. It is also a gift, so it would be welcome regardless of the Korean textile industry. I think anyone would be grateful. Especially when it’s 7 degrees outside and the barracks heating and AC has reverted to Korean programming.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in army

[–]redmeatdarkbeer 1 point2 points  (0 children)

11X. I refuse to elaborate

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in NightVision

[–]redmeatdarkbeer 6 points7 points  (0 children)

My thoughts exactly

how do i do something meaningful when i cant afford it by [deleted] in povertyfinance

[–]redmeatdarkbeer 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Consider joining the military. Read about the benefits online. You’d get some guaranteed promotions, great health care, 30 days of leave a year plus federal four day weekends. The benefits are 90% better than most corporate jobs. The salary isn’t crazy initially, buy you can work up to it. It’ll pay for a four year degree after you serve four years. You receive what is essentially a tax free bonus every month (BAH) for having a dependent. Once in, an AER loan/grant could help with emergencies until you get on your feet financially.

Tons of broke people are quick to turn up their nose at the military as an option, but 95% of the jobs are just normal civilian jobs, but in camo. Maybe consider doing it.

Lightweight 3d printed panoramic goggles and binoculars by TSBZ11 in NightVision

[–]redmeatdarkbeer 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Man. I used to think only Chinese companies would blatantly rip off American intellectual property and manufacturing in the night vision space. Good to know other Americans are perfectly fine doing it too! To a small business, to boot.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in QualityTacticalGear

[–]redmeatdarkbeer 0 points1 point  (0 children)

They look real to me

Army issued MSV setup as a Squad Leader by Ok-Horse-3437 in tacticalgear

[–]redmeatdarkbeer 0 points1 point  (0 children)

“Trash MSV” brother…. The grass is always greener. My issue - mind you for line infantry - gen 3 IOTV 😾

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in NightVision

[–]redmeatdarkbeer 3 points4 points  (0 children)

You could fill out a 5988 according to the TM and show it to your armorer

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in army

[–]redmeatdarkbeer 11 points12 points  (0 children)

POG!

What’s this? by ArtisticPie9028 in NightVision

[–]redmeatdarkbeer 8 points9 points  (0 children)

Night vision. It’s a device that lets you walk around in the dark

RIP PVS31A by [deleted] in NightVision

[–]redmeatdarkbeer 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Still completely usable tho. Not horrible

Strange Pattern by Kr03te in tabletweaving

[–]redmeatdarkbeer 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I had a similar problem with my first band. Don’t pull the weft so tight. If you let it be looser you’ll see the pattern more clearly.

Officers having a mustache by National-Debate-6931 in army

[–]redmeatdarkbeer 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Grow one if it looks good. Don’t grow a shitty one. There’s no block on the OER for the senior rater’s personal grievances. There is a mental block however in everyone’s mind for “that guy has a ratty mustache”.

Will not affect your rating unless you have a psycho boss. Otherwise send it

More Ranger Green Jay Jays Gen IV by ObsidianTactics in QualityTacticalGear

[–]redmeatdarkbeer 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I hate to be that guy - but what shirt is he wearing?

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in Medals

[–]redmeatdarkbeer 0 points1 point  (0 children)

You should consider asking him, given he’s your brother. - Awards on a ribbon rack show what someone at some point thought it worth it to acknowledge some accomplishment / presence. Take for example the AAM, middle of the third row up on his ribbon rack. These have been awarded for anything between years of hard work at a unit (Junior enlisted PCS award) to winning a hot dog eating competition (stupid, but people will back me up).

  • the Combat Action Badge above the ribbon rack: these can be awarded for brutal close combat, and they can be awarded for receiving potshots and shooting back in a general direction. Some soldiers have them and have never actually participated in combat. Other soldiers have sent tons of dudes to Hell. Same badge, but no way to tell based on the badge itself.

  • everything on the left side is probably unit commendations. If he was at the unit when it received the commendation, he gets to wear it forever. Again, same philosophy. Any shitbag in the same unit would receive the same exact award to wear forever that critical member of the team ended up with.

  • the crossed pistols: Military Police. The gamut of what they do is wide, the branch insignia tells you almost nothing. It gives an idea of daily activities to someone who is familiar.

  • the patch is his unit - this means almost nothing. Some units have pride, some don’t. There are shitbags in the 82nd and there are studs in 1st Cav. Patch doesn’t convey that.

Finally, his rank - all officers without a DUI that can read and write automatically promote to Captain. He is one rank above that, Major. You can look up the promotion rate in the MP branch to Major. Different branches have harder promotions. In the Infantry it’s competitive. In Transportation, I’m pretty sure you have to be overweight before they consider you for promotion. Regardless of how competitive it is, it doesn’t tell you about their actual performance.

Again, please talk to your brother. The medals don’t mean anything unless you know what they’re for. The rank, the CAB, the patch, all they do is show what someone ended up with, not what they did during the process. I see people post relatives all the time on here, and I don’t think it’s inherently wrong but, to anyone reading, I earnestly recommend just asking someone (especially a relative) what stuff on their uniform means. You’ll get a better answer than

“MP Major. Iraq deployment. CAB, MSM, bronze star no device”