When the M320 40 mm grenade launcher began replacing the M203 in 2009, it put a brand new and more lethal weapon into the hands of the Soldier.
There was one question, however. How would she or he best carry it?
An equipment specialist with Product Manager Soldier Clothing and Individual Equipment, or PM SCIE, is making an attempt to reply that query. Darren Bean have been working on the Natick Soldier Systems Center since November 2012 at the M320GL Holster Soldier Enhancement Program, or SEP.
The detachable M320, named one of several Army’s top 10 inventions of 2009, comes equipped with a sling to hold it when not mounted to the M4 carbine or M16 rifle, in accordance with Bean.
“It was a one-point sling, so (the weapon) was type of bouncing around,” Bean said. “If you went all the way down to the bottom, you were dragging it during the dirt. The general public felt that protection was needed at some level because they were just getting dragged within the dirt and pounded on.”
Some Soldiers began searching for a higher solution than the sling for the M320, which weighs seven pounds with the butt stock.
“They decided they desired to be ready to put it in a holster instead of just shove it of their ruck sack,” Bean said.
The SEP allowed the acquisition of enough holsters to equip a brigade combat team. He said the “buy-try-decide” concept allows the military to check the functionality of kit without spending lots of time on research and development.
Bean found three commercial vendors who make M320 holsters, so PM SCIE acquired 167 of every.
“They’re of varying design,” Bean said. “All three of them were very different from one another.”
One model includes pockets for grenades but is bulky. Another is more streamlined but offers less protection for the weapon. The third is a cross between the opposite two.
Bean put the holsters inside the hands of a dozen Soldiers from the 75th Ranger Regiment at Fort Benning, Ga., who went through a fixed of standardized tests in mid May. The warriors filled out surveys after the testing.
The testing was to confirm it was realistic to move forward, Bean said.
“Now we will actually test them with a whole brigade,” he added.
Each one of several holsters has had small issues, in keeping with Bean.
“None of them have performed necessarily any better than the opposite ones,” Bean said. “They all have some small things that should be tweaked.”
Soldiers of the 10th Mountain Division (Light Infantry) from Fort Drum, N.Y., the 86th Infantry Brigade Combat Team of the Vermont National Guard, and Soldiers in Afghanistan are currently evaluating the holsters. The buyer Research Team on the Natick Soldier Research, Development and Engineering Center will collect data. PM SCIE officials will then make a recommendation to the Maneuver Center of Excellence at Fort Benning by the start of fiscal year 2014.
“The need is there, without a doubt,” Bean said. “I think the tip state of this could be that they’ll say, ‘Yes, we’d like a grenade launcher holster for this after we use it within the stand-alone mode.’”
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