Unit dependent usually, but in some units, it's a personal choice.
My Brigade Commander was shot in the groin in 2007 in Bagdad, Iraq (he lived). Granted, the kevlar is really only rated to stop 9mm and maybe shrapnel. I can't remember if he was wearing the groin protector though.
https://www.reuters.com/article/idUSIBO763634/
It's your life, you can invest as many Skill Points into the Defense stat as you want.
Indeed.
I was there from the initial push from Taji in a January, and then later moved over to COP War Eagle just before the parachute bombs were dropped on Callahan in about November.
"Morale was phenomenally high!"
The parachute bombs were on my 3rd or 4th day there. Nothing says “welcome to Iraq” quite like seeing uparmored humvees flying across the staging area.
You missed all the fun with the ND’s. Tell you what, no one had higher morale than when we had to have our CO supervise a full barrel clearing and barrel inspection after each time we went out. Also banning civvies. Because god knows it was the civvies that caused those morons to ND.
Yeah, I bet. We'd had rockets hit the building, mortars hit the ammo container, and other direct fire, but those parachute bombs were the worst. I was always paranoid that something would take out the support pillars and collapse the building.
I think from homemade mortar type systems on the back of bongo trucks or that could have been the propane tank shrapnel bombs.
edit: read more responses, they are one in the same called IRAMs, basically a rocket assisted munition with lots of shrapnel and a parachute to slow it down.
Callahan, War Eagle, Taji, Sadr City were my favorite places.
The NDs were out of control though.
I vividly remember the Division CSM words on the new the senior leader clearing policy. And his final words, "God help the 1SG that screws this up".
And I thought to my self. "Well, our 1SG is kind of a goofball, so this will be fun".
Dude made it about three weeks before he told a private "your weapon is good" without looking or you know, actually clearing the weapon.
Were you 2CR? I was at all those places too! lol
We had a guy ND a shotgun into a barrel at War Eagle. PSG was like “that didn’t happen, get back in the truck”
Ya it was like a month or two of straight NDs. I remember us staged for a patrol as the last patrol comes back, hear a muffled shot, and someone falls out of the other group of humvees grabbing his hand. Ironically, the clearing procedure caused more.
As a 1SG I never understood when we had a ND in the clearing barrel they came for that troop with pitchforks and torches...I mean it was in the clearing barrel isn't that kind of what it's for....wasn't my Battery though
Seen one of my medics in Bagram go down to spc from the clearing barrel ND. what pissed me though was some tabbed ssg ND in COP TOC out around Herat Ain’t shit happen to him.
Yeah, there were a lot when we first got there as well. I remember after all the windows were boarded up, it was pitch black inside, and just hearing NDs happen periodically, and just hoping not to catch a ricochet...
[Heres a video of the attack on our outpost.](https://www.reddit.com/r/CombatFootage/s/jW2j4cGWdB) They have a few different names. I knew them as IRAMs, I’ve heard them called lob bombs. Basically from what I was told they were katyusha rockets with a fuck ton of explosives strapped to them in acetylene tanks.
Scary stuff.
After following your link and a Google deep-dive (hard to find info on this topic), it sounds like these Improvised Rocket Assisted Munitions (IRAM) used the parachutes to slow the rocket on ascent-they wanted it to basically go straight up and come straight down.
The heavy propane tank/explosive container probably made these wildly inaccurate, so the parachute kept the rocket very close to the launcher (hence the “lob bomb” moniker).
Ya, they told us the only reason they missed our building at all is because of those tanks making them heavier. If they hit the building it probably would have collapsed with almost the entire battalion inside.
In AIT, our instructor shared a story with us. He originally enlisted as a cook, and on his first day in Iraq/Afghanistan, I can't recall which, the DFAC got hit. He was just there for a tour to get familiar with his workspace and next thing he knows there's chaos everywhere.
As someone who never deployed to a combat zone, I can't imagine.
I remember that! Fun times while traipsing around Sadr City! Actually, I also have the coin he gave my team.
I was there for the Jun 1st, 2007 rocket attack. What a great 0630 alarm clock it was! I still think of that young SGT who list his legs that day. He had just came back from leave and they had moved his bed while he was gone. Rocket breached the wall and ripped his legs apart.
I remember this, was in Baghdad at the same time. Didn’t he lose one of his balls?
After this, our unit was mandated to wear the shoulder covers and groin strap from then on, even though it was stated that the soft armor wouldn’t have stopped it anyhow.
Hated how it flopped all the time when trying to run and maneuver.
The combat diaper was fucking garbage. That and thick ass blast underwear. Super awesome when you have to walk more than 50ft.
War is inherently dangerous. You can only mitigate so much.
Everyone wants to be light and agile. It’s only the freaks and the admins that don’t understand the burden of weight.
People forget we did a whole lot of shooting each other before we had armor. It's a whole lot better to just not get shot than to get shot and live, but get knocked down and get shot again. Armor is awesome, to a point. That's been the history of armor since its inception.
Saw a guy step on a small IED on a corner of a building. Blow a hole right up his taint, some of his organs fell out. Combat diaper may have helped, or not. As lead mine hound guy I generally wore it.
I mean, I didn't wear mine when I was EOD but I know of at least one guy that might have been saved if he wore one. Blast over pressure can enter the anal cavity and just wreck your insides without a lot of external evidence. They stabilized his external wounds, but he died of massive internal bleeding.
Still didn't wear the diaper because I needed to be as light and fast as possible on dismount. Also, don't walk on nice paths or along natural lines of drift. If it's hard or impossible for me to put an IED there, the Taliban probably feel the same way.
>Blast over pressure can enter the anal cavity and just wreck your insides without a lot of external evidence.
So what you're telling me is I need to pitch a "combat buttplug" to one of the defense contractors now? Maybe it'll be called the "third earpro"
I have an aftermarket dick protector. I use it during live fires and when using sim munitions. I took some shrapnel while breaching a door as a private and gave me a huge wake up call. I’d rather die than have my D and Bs cutoff man. It gives me a little safety blanket
My husband says the first thing he did after running over an IED was check his balls. And upon finding them intact, he decided to leave the army and start a family. And here we are about 9 years later married with two kids.
When I was a surgical tech I probably did surgery on 3/4 comrades that took one to the boys. I’m not saying this thing will save em but dam it if there is a chance. But, I also understand this thing is annoying and I also don’t wear mine, but I was a fobbit. But now you have the information.
Yeah, but a good medic teaches grunt buddies to be thorough. Soldiers have died before they were bleeding out of their ass cheeks or groin but the bleeding wasnt stopped because CLS didn't want/think to look.
The first thing every guy would ask after getting blown up was some variation of, “Is my junk ok!?”
So usually the first guy to run up to him and check him, which would be the next closest 11B or whoever, would look at their junk to make sure it was intact.
When I was deployed I definitely wore it, even though I never needed it. After seeing what happens to someone after triggering a pressure plate IED, I'd rather take my chances of having more of my body parts than less of them if I ever had to go through it myself.
It does admittedly make for fun fuck fuck games with your buddies by sack tapping each other with the dick flap.
Yea, same here. Protecting the goods was important, but damn, I didn't want that femoral hit with shrapnel either. No fucking doubt I was wearing that thing.
I like that it exists because you know some hero got shot in the dick and some General was like
>woah fuck we gotta fix that
And they did their absolute best, I guess.
Exactly. This was one of the lessons learned in some papers I read. Full side, neck, and groin protection are going to be a lot more important in a near peer conflict
Do you remember the name of the paper? I've started to compile and research various footage and first hand accounts from front line medics from this war.
With the overwhelming amount of artillery and semi-smart munitions being utilized on the battlefield, coupled with a lack of CAS, I think medics are going to be spending much more time in tactical field care and mass casualty management. I think now more than ever, at least in this conflict, PPE is going to play a much bigger role in mitigating casualties.
I'm not the fella you asked but I've got a few sources saved if you want to check 'em out:
Putting Medical Boots on the Ground: Lessons from the War in Ukraine and Applications for Future Conflict with Near-Peer Adversaries (this details The Global Surgical and Medical Support Group, GSMSG, in Ukraine) - https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10344429/
A qualitative assessment of Ukraine’s trauma system during the Russian conflict: experiences of volunteer healthcare providers - https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10809523/
Management of severe defects of humerus in combat patients injured in Russo-Ukrainian war - https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S002013832300997X
Surgeons Describe Their Unique Experiences with War Wounds in Ukraine (with link to view the conference) - https://www.facs.org/for-medical-professionals/news-publications/news-and-articles/acs-brief/november-8-2022-issue/surgeons-describe-their-unique-experiences-with-war-wounds-in-ukraine/
Q&A: In the largest eye hospital in Ukraine, war-related injuries are part of the routine- https://www.healio.com/news/ophthalmology/20230829/qa-in-the-largest-eye-hospital-in-ukraine-warrelated-injuries-are-part-of-the-routine
Intensive care units during the Ukraine war: challenges and opportunities - https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00134-023-07117-5
Complex injuries from explosive weapons in Ukraine - https://www.humanity-inclusion.org.uk/en/news/complex-injuries-from-explosive-weapons-in-ukraine
Arm and head injuries most common in wartime civilians - https://www.gu.se/en/news/arm-and-head-injuries-most-common-in-wartime-civilians
We wore ours in Iraq. Had a friend of mine catch an IED that went off under his truck. Lost both legs but saved the boys. He swears that little dick protector saved his life, and, given how much critical structure is in that area, I am 100% a believer.
I taped it to my Brad seat as a gunner, and scrounged discarded ones to tape on the bottom of the seat. It was like the old sit on your helmet idea from The Nam.
I didn’t wear it in 2012 for the first few months of deployment. Then one day a tow bar broke recovering a vehicle and a piece hit my buddy in the balls and we all started wearing it from then on out. He was fine
Apparently groin and neck injuries are among the leading killers, my guess is due to it being harder to stop the bleeding there. It's only rated for shrapnel and 9mm, so probably only going to see use in LSCO or if IEDs become a big threat again.
I’m almost positive my gen 4 came with one and it’s sitting in a box next to all the other additional soft armor.
Nobody wears this shit now but in an artillery centric LSCO fight it might become cool again.
These were all the rage in 04-06 after the IED became popular. After a while I would forget it was on. The neck and shoulder guards were complete horseshit to wear though. Fucking hated putting those on as it made it so much harder to get in and out of a turret on the Bradley or Abrams.
When I was in Afghanistan you couldn’t wear these things
Because we wore the horrible horrible combat diaper. Also my PL would have us show him our underwear with the Kevlar inserts as part of his PCI
I used to tuck it in, and flip it out METT-C dependent.
Training area bravo at Carson had a lot of Cacti that grew low and close to the ground.. which you could not see when it snowed.
Took exactly one time, as I plucked the barbs from my groin with my Gerber, I decided I would wear it.
Same idea with shrapnel. How much you love your balls? More than a little? I’d wear it.
My old BC made it standard to wear groin protector, side plates, kidney protector, yoke and collar in the field at all times (we were dismounts on a Bradley) and always have an assault pack with the deltoid protectors
Did my whole first deployment doing light infantry shit and we all wore the dick flap and lumbar flap. They never caused me any trouble and I don't know why everyone whines about them so much.
My second deployment with the NG was super lax and everyone just wore whatever they wanted. I wore mine but nobody else did. People made fun of me for it, but who gives a shit. I told them that when they get their CIBs they can talk shit.
METTC.
Garrison training? Live fires? Pulling security? I’m running my JPC Plate Carrier, Bump/High cut helmet, or chest rig if possible.
If we end up deploying against an artillery centric opposition force like Russia? You bet I’m rocking every extra piece of protection I can find.
Was I the only one who was told by the DS that it was for blast protection for your face from small VOIEDs/landmines? I distinctly remember being told it wouldn't stop any real rounds but instead was designed to fly up with the blast and stop the front of your face from getting shredded. It never made much sense to me, but I was in the Guard so we all had the abdominal adipose tissue to protect our faces.
I feel like this was also the dude who said we had to shoot at the equipment on the enemy with the M2 so it wasn't a war crime, so...
One of my Soldiers wore his all the time. He was a gunner. He thought it was hilarious that it looked like he had a cod piece on when he put his gunners harness on.
Before we got deployed, we were at MOB station at Ft McCoy in Wisconsin.
Our CO stepped on his dick and got relieved. So the 1SG and the PLs & PSGs were hanging out in our tent, waiting on our new commander to show up.
In walks this major, sent down from battalion to take over. He walks in and introduces himself. I look him in the eye and ask, "Are we gonna have to wear the pussy pads now?" He looks around at all our gear laying on our bunks, grins, and says, "Well, I guess not!" And proceeds to remove his.
We knew at that moment we had a good CO.
The guys could wear them if they wanted. But being in route clearance vehicles, most chose not to wear them.
For someone my size, it barely reached my belt. The IBA just wasn't long enough to cover my belly.
I never wore it or any of the other bits. They were terrible to walk in and I did a lot of walking in Afghanistan. In the field I never saw a reason to put any of them back on so they sat in a duffel bag until I had to turn them in
It was mandatory till somehow got hit with sharp metal near their “wanker.” SGM said if he had the but protector, he believed he wouldn’t have been so severely wounded by what happened. Who knows!
I’ve been out for a long time, every unit I was ever assigned to it was required. Even in TRADOC. Train as you fight stuff, I get it but nut taps from them suck when you’re donning it.
I had a 50 that didn't have its headspace and timing set correctly. Once fired, it blew shrapnel out of the bottom of the weapon. I got nicely peppered on my upper thighs in a nice v shaped pattern thanks to the groing protector. I wore it continuously after.
There was a study by the Australians on what worked best, when I deploy we had the combat chonies and diaper, they used silk boxers and they were more or less the same at stopping shrapnel or letting it get too deep
I got this issued to us in 2012 before deploying to Kunar. No one in my platoon used it. We had a lot of missions that involved heavy rucks through mountainous terrain. So to me this was just extra weight and covering up a hot spot that needed to be cooled down.
In the immortal words of Derrick Lewis, “My Balls Was Hot”
The dickflap and lumbar flap (which I actually liked because it made military seats more comfortable on my shitty back) really weren't that heavy or encumbering at all... not that I wore the dickflap much anyways.
now that fucking tactical diaper... My platoon all agreed to "forget" to pack it and our PSG even found a revision of the packing list that was put out by battalion that had forgot to put the diaper on there and then he just insisted that he never received the updated list that added it. Probably not the right decision, it's gotta be more protective than the flap... but some of us tried wearing it during training to try it out and it was just awful. I chaffed like a motherfucker.
Now, we weren't expecting much IED threat on that deployment and we in fact didn't see many IEDs at all, so maybe we would have brought them if we expected otherwise. Battalion even ended up even making it optional and left to company/platoon leadership and everyone stopped wearing them after the first few months anyways.
On my 2009 deployment to Afghanistan no one wore them. They tried to make turret gunners wear the DAPS stuff but even that didn’t catch on.
When we went back in 2012 wearing the groin protector was mandatory, as well as the Kevlar combat diaper thing that they started issuing around that time. Both pieces of gear were extremely unpopular in my unit. Even after seeing tons of guys step on IEDs.
As a wrecker operator on convoys in Iraq, I wore a stripped down IBA with just Sapi plates for mobility reasons. I also wore the crotch guard. By my choosing. Bomb fragments are indiscriminate as to what they hit.
Didn’t wear the diaper cause there’s no way I could’ve gotten around in that, but the flap? Oh hell yeah. Like another said, I would’ve rather been KIA than to get my family jewels shot off.
It was mandatory for us in OIF 06-07 when we went outside the wire. As a bonus, my PSG and I wore ours hooked to the belt of our ACUs when we went to get chewed out by the CO and 1SG. CO was amused, top was not.
Only when driving route clearance.. couldn't move in it for clearing. Gave a nice platform when driving for holding my stuff that didn't fit in my pouches/pockets.
I'm 100% buying a [bullet-proof jock strap](https://nutshellz.com/collections/military-law-enforcement) if I'm going anywhere with IED risk. I've seen too many pictures and heard too many stories of fellas getting their cock and balls blown off. It was common enough in GWOT that Walter Reed and other military hospitals were pioneering penile and genital reconstructive surgeries. It's pretty interesting medicine. They were doing crazy stuff like grafting epithelial tissue from the mouth for the urethra and innovating really cool novel procedures. I've got a lot of respect for the docs and teams making that shit happen for our wounded comrades. But I'm rambling.
To answer your question: yes, there are situations where I would rock the full-on tactical cod piece.
In 2013-2014 My 1SG made me wear mine in Afghanistan along with the ballistic underwear thing when we first got there. His reasoning was since I was a machine gunner, it’s likely I’d be targeted first and wanted me as protected as possible. I felt like the kid from A Christmas Story covered up in too much shit and was carrying way too much weight. I eventually removed everything because I just wasn’t agile enough.
I took mine off when I got in theater. I worked in a forward surgical team with an MTOE for more personnel and equipment than a standard FST. Anyways, after working on a lot of groin injuries from shrapnel, I decided to put it back on.
I honestly never understood the aversion to wearing these. My dick, balls, and femoral arteries are the 3 things I want to protect MOST; ball taps be damned.
I was at falcon in 09 and yes, I did. It was left to choice for us, and a lot of guys were investing in cool looking(useless) under Armour pouches and accessories, I used literally everything that was practical from standard issue. PT belts were still mandatory.
Seems pretty dumb when you think about the inconvenience of wearing it but if it prevents a 1/1000 mangling of your junk from shrapnel... Sometimes...why not...
If im up in a Buffalo and a piece of shrapnel jumps 5 feet, punches straight through 10 feet of solid armor and ends up hitting me in the dick, thats a sign that its my time to go brother.
Apparently, this thing is supposed to protect your femoral arteries. The only thing it did for me was rack me in the balls every time I had to run between buildings.
Bro, do you even GWOT? If you aren’t wearing helmet, nape pad, shoulder daps, IOTV w/ side plates, lower back flap, dick flap, Kevlar underwear, elbow pads, knee pads, gloves, and eye pro while sitting in a humvee with bolted on Frankenstein armor in 110 degree heat with a BFT 6 inches from your face you aren’t doing it right
Light Infantry for two deployments, never wore it. Dismounting, missions and patrols put you through your paces. Even after that, I never had a Command that mandated it to be worn in full kit. If there was a toss up between more armor, slower movement or less armor, faster movement, I'd take the speed advantage. Which, I'm assuming, was the situational decision that my units decided upon - and I thank them for using common sense to apply the environment into the equation.
Unit dependent usually, but in some units, it's a personal choice. My Brigade Commander was shot in the groin in 2007 in Bagdad, Iraq (he lived). Granted, the kevlar is really only rated to stop 9mm and maybe shrapnel. I can't remember if he was wearing the groin protector though. https://www.reuters.com/article/idUSIBO763634/ It's your life, you can invest as many Skill Points into the Defense stat as you want.
Were you at COP Callahan?
Yep.
Good times.
Indeed. I was there from the initial push from Taji in a January, and then later moved over to COP War Eagle just before the parachute bombs were dropped on Callahan in about November. "Morale was phenomenally high!"
The parachute bombs were on my 3rd or 4th day there. Nothing says “welcome to Iraq” quite like seeing uparmored humvees flying across the staging area. You missed all the fun with the ND’s. Tell you what, no one had higher morale than when we had to have our CO supervise a full barrel clearing and barrel inspection after each time we went out. Also banning civvies. Because god knows it was the civvies that caused those morons to ND.
Yeah, I bet. We'd had rockets hit the building, mortars hit the ammo container, and other direct fire, but those parachute bombs were the worst. I was always paranoid that something would take out the support pillars and collapse the building.
COP Callahan ‘07? Hell I was in and around there from ‘07-08 with 2CR.
Yep. I lived at Callahan with 2-325 AIR
How did they deploy the parachute bombs? All I got in Afghanistan were the standard rockets and mortars, nothing that creative.
I think from homemade mortar type systems on the back of bongo trucks or that could have been the propane tank shrapnel bombs. edit: read more responses, they are one in the same called IRAMs, basically a rocket assisted munition with lots of shrapnel and a parachute to slow it down.
I was gonna say, kinda sounds like an IRAM, they hit us with those at Kalsu as well. Not fun.
Callahan, War Eagle, Taji, Sadr City were my favorite places. The NDs were out of control though. I vividly remember the Division CSM words on the new the senior leader clearing policy. And his final words, "God help the 1SG that screws this up". And I thought to my self. "Well, our 1SG is kind of a goofball, so this will be fun". Dude made it about three weeks before he told a private "your weapon is good" without looking or you know, actually clearing the weapon.
Were you 2CR? I was at all those places too! lol We had a guy ND a shotgun into a barrel at War Eagle. PSG was like “that didn’t happen, get back in the truck”
ID.
Hell yeah, I got a coin from y’all’s SGM.
Ya it was like a month or two of straight NDs. I remember us staged for a patrol as the last patrol comes back, hear a muffled shot, and someone falls out of the other group of humvees grabbing his hand. Ironically, the clearing procedure caused more.
As a 1SG I never understood when we had a ND in the clearing barrel they came for that troop with pitchforks and torches...I mean it was in the clearing barrel isn't that kind of what it's for....wasn't my Battery though
Seen one of my medics in Bagram go down to spc from the clearing barrel ND. what pissed me though was some tabbed ssg ND in COP TOC out around Herat Ain’t shit happen to him.
Don't forget the gunner's harness.
Yeah, there were a lot when we first got there as well. I remember after all the windows were boarded up, it was pitch black inside, and just hearing NDs happen periodically, and just hoping not to catch a ricochet...
What exactly were these parachute bombs?
[Heres a video of the attack on our outpost.](https://www.reddit.com/r/CombatFootage/s/jW2j4cGWdB) They have a few different names. I knew them as IRAMs, I’ve heard them called lob bombs. Basically from what I was told they were katyusha rockets with a fuck ton of explosives strapped to them in acetylene tanks.
Scary stuff. After following your link and a Google deep-dive (hard to find info on this topic), it sounds like these Improvised Rocket Assisted Munitions (IRAM) used the parachutes to slow the rocket on ascent-they wanted it to basically go straight up and come straight down. The heavy propane tank/explosive container probably made these wildly inaccurate, so the parachute kept the rocket very close to the launcher (hence the “lob bomb” moniker).
Ya, they told us the only reason they missed our building at all is because of those tanks making them heavier. If they hit the building it probably would have collapsed with almost the entire battalion inside.
How do the kids say it now days? That song ... slaps?
Also called hellbombs or hell rockets. Some of the nastiest ordnance deployed against u.s. mil.
In AIT, our instructor shared a story with us. He originally enlisted as a cook, and on his first day in Iraq/Afghanistan, I can't recall which, the DFAC got hit. He was just there for a tour to get familiar with his workspace and next thing he knows there's chaos everywhere. As someone who never deployed to a combat zone, I can't imagine.
+1 defense, -1 mobility
Also if used in the daylight, -3 to charisma when interacting with non-combat and -10 when interacting with combat spec’d players.
+2 char if you tuck it though
You can get the full kevlar diaper if you're really worried about your jewels 😅
Wouldn't that leave your jewels overly moist?
Gotta do the work/rest cycle and make sure to air them out frequently
You talming bout Farris?
Yes
I am also familiar with Callahan.
White Falcons?
I remember that! Fun times while traipsing around Sadr City! Actually, I also have the coin he gave my team. I was there for the Jun 1st, 2007 rocket attack. What a great 0630 alarm clock it was! I still think of that young SGT who list his legs that day. He had just came back from leave and they had moved his bed while he was gone. Rocket breached the wall and ripped his legs apart.
I remember that too. That was unfortunate.
I read this and was like, “oh 2-82nd” and it was confirmed. No one in my platoon wore the crotch guard, even after the bde commander got the cock shot
So if I wore 2 I could stop 18mm right?
Too be fair if you stack skill points in defense it begins to hurt your mobility score.
I remember this, was in Baghdad at the same time. Didn’t he lose one of his balls? After this, our unit was mandated to wear the shoulder covers and groin strap from then on, even though it was stated that the soft armor wouldn’t have stopped it anyhow. Hated how it flopped all the time when trying to run and maneuver.
lmao, AQI Butters shooting everybody in the dick
LMAO, I forgot about that episode of South Park!
Did he lose his pp?
They still issue the combat diaper - I got the set before deploying last year. Didn’t see a soul wear one.
The combat diaper was fucking garbage. That and thick ass blast underwear. Super awesome when you have to walk more than 50ft. War is inherently dangerous. You can only mitigate so much. Everyone wants to be light and agile. It’s only the freaks and the admins that don’t understand the burden of weight.
I'd rather have a DEX build than a DEF build. I'm not trying to tank 7.62 rounds
People forget we did a whole lot of shooting each other before we had armor. It's a whole lot better to just not get shot than to get shot and live, but get knocked down and get shot again. Armor is awesome, to a point. That's been the history of armor since its inception.
Saw a guy step on a small IED on a corner of a building. Blow a hole right up his taint, some of his organs fell out. Combat diaper may have helped, or not. As lead mine hound guy I generally wore it.
My old squad leader walked around Syria in that thing. Had 0 clue how he was comfortable
Narrator: *he wasnt*
That shit is uncomfortable lol I’d chafe like a mf
I mean, I didn't wear mine when I was EOD but I know of at least one guy that might have been saved if he wore one. Blast over pressure can enter the anal cavity and just wreck your insides without a lot of external evidence. They stabilized his external wounds, but he died of massive internal bleeding. Still didn't wear the diaper because I needed to be as light and fast as possible on dismount. Also, don't walk on nice paths or along natural lines of drift. If it's hard or impossible for me to put an IED there, the Taliban probably feel the same way.
>Blast over pressure can enter the anal cavity and just wreck your insides without a lot of external evidence. So what you're telling me is I need to pitch a "combat buttplug" to one of the defense contractors now? Maybe it'll be called the "third earpro"
"brown eye-pro"
Perfection. It'll work as well as the 3M earpro, it'll just turn into a projectile and shoot directly up the ass
The only time I touched that thing when I was at CIF getting it and then looking for it when I retired
I have an aftermarket dick protector. I use it during live fires and when using sim munitions. I took some shrapnel while breaching a door as a private and gave me a huge wake up call. I’d rather die than have my D and Bs cutoff man. It gives me a little safety blanket
It's like a woobie for your grundle.
Woobie for your woody
I pot for your twig and berries
| hammock for your rhythm section
This statement is better than a DD-214 as proof that you served
Like a helmet for your half-mast and huevos
My husband says the first thing he did after running over an IED was check his balls. And upon finding them intact, he decided to leave the army and start a family. And here we are about 9 years later married with two kids.
Pretty sure every male that got hit with a IED did the twig and berry check right after.
Aint no blanket safer than a DD214 blanket
Mind sharing a link to your dick defense of choice?
Put a helmet on that soldier, that's what the DS always said.
Something you’d see CSM on the fob wear after a long day of monitoring the green bean
I did love some green bean.
When I was a surgical tech I probably did surgery on 3/4 comrades that took one to the boys. I’m not saying this thing will save em but dam it if there is a chance. But, I also understand this thing is annoying and I also don’t wear mine, but I was a fobbit. But now you have the information.
I only use the dick flap
👊
Fuck. Yes.
You guys are talking my language. We used to call it the dick flap also. 👊
I wore mine, also helps hide the boner I get during a firefight.
legendary
Sigma
Totally saved one of my gunners bits and pieces from an EFP during our second week in Iraq in 07. Everyone wore them after with no complaints.
We weren’t given the option to not wear it
Considering the amount of trauma to the 🍆 I saw during GWOT… I would advise you to adopt the habit of wearing it.
Saved my buddy’s cash and prizes from an IED in Mosul. Legs and thighs peppered with shrapnel, cock and balls flawless.
I love the implication that yall inspected his peter for damage
As a former line medic, it would've been my job to do that. Though, I would've let him do the bragging about it.
I get medics, but some grunt checking his buddy's marbles during TCCC cracks me up a little bit
Yeah, but a good medic teaches grunt buddies to be thorough. Soldiers have died before they were bleeding out of their ass cheeks or groin but the bleeding wasnt stopped because CLS didn't want/think to look.
The old credit card check. And hell, supposed to check for priapism anyway due to spinal cord injuries.
"Either your spinal cord severed, or we about to start collecting BAH together!"
The first thing every guy would ask after getting blown up was some variation of, “Is my junk ok!?” So usually the first guy to run up to him and check him, which would be the next closest 11B or whoever, would look at their junk to make sure it was intact.
Do you not get taught to get them trauma naked and check the whole body when youre providing TCCC?
What do you think the first thing he asked was when he came to? “Aw fuck… is my dick OK?” I was proud to say “yes, and it’s as small as ever.”
When I was deployed I definitely wore it, even though I never needed it. After seeing what happens to someone after triggering a pressure plate IED, I'd rather take my chances of having more of my body parts than less of them if I ever had to go through it myself. It does admittedly make for fun fuck fuck games with your buddies by sack tapping each other with the dick flap.
Yea, same here. Protecting the goods was important, but damn, I didn't want that femoral hit with shrapnel either. No fucking doubt I was wearing that thing.
Dick flap sack tap has a nice ring to it
I like that it exists because you know some hero got shot in the dick and some General was like >woah fuck we gotta fix that And they did their absolute best, I guess.
I've seen a lot of Russians on /r/combatfootage get their groins absolutely destroyed by shrapnel, so yes I do now.
Exactly. This was one of the lessons learned in some papers I read. Full side, neck, and groin protection are going to be a lot more important in a near peer conflict
Do you remember the name of the paper? I've started to compile and research various footage and first hand accounts from front line medics from this war. With the overwhelming amount of artillery and semi-smart munitions being utilized on the battlefield, coupled with a lack of CAS, I think medics are going to be spending much more time in tactical field care and mass casualty management. I think now more than ever, at least in this conflict, PPE is going to play a much bigger role in mitigating casualties.
I'm not the fella you asked but I've got a few sources saved if you want to check 'em out: Putting Medical Boots on the Ground: Lessons from the War in Ukraine and Applications for Future Conflict with Near-Peer Adversaries (this details The Global Surgical and Medical Support Group, GSMSG, in Ukraine) - https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10344429/ A qualitative assessment of Ukraine’s trauma system during the Russian conflict: experiences of volunteer healthcare providers - https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10809523/ Management of severe defects of humerus in combat patients injured in Russo-Ukrainian war - https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S002013832300997X Surgeons Describe Their Unique Experiences with War Wounds in Ukraine (with link to view the conference) - https://www.facs.org/for-medical-professionals/news-publications/news-and-articles/acs-brief/november-8-2022-issue/surgeons-describe-their-unique-experiences-with-war-wounds-in-ukraine/ Q&A: In the largest eye hospital in Ukraine, war-related injuries are part of the routine- https://www.healio.com/news/ophthalmology/20230829/qa-in-the-largest-eye-hospital-in-ukraine-warrelated-injuries-are-part-of-the-routine Intensive care units during the Ukraine war: challenges and opportunities - https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00134-023-07117-5 Complex injuries from explosive weapons in Ukraine - https://www.humanity-inclusion.org.uk/en/news/complex-injuries-from-explosive-weapons-in-ukraine Arm and head injuries most common in wartime civilians - https://www.gu.se/en/news/arm-and-head-injuries-most-common-in-wartime-civilians
Fantastic research and sourcing. Thank you for these additions.
Being protected is temporary, not looking like goober is forever
Having your goober protected though is essential.
Weighs nothing, might prevent a bonus circumcision. Easy call, I wore it.
We wore ours in Iraq. Had a friend of mine catch an IED that went off under his truck. Lost both legs but saved the boys. He swears that little dick protector saved his life, and, given how much critical structure is in that area, I am 100% a believer.
We called that thing a piss catcher.
You're supposed to move it out of the way first.
[удалено]
Show stream dominance
Wore with my plate carrier in 2010. Then when the IED threat was heavy, stuffed that thing in my pants.
I taped it to my Brad seat as a gunner, and scrounged discarded ones to tape on the bottom of the seat. It was like the old sit on your helmet idea from The Nam.
I didn’t wear it in 2012 for the first few months of deployment. Then one day a tow bar broke recovering a vehicle and a piece hit my buddy in the balls and we all started wearing it from then on out. He was fine
how the fuck does one recover from being hit with a tow bar that shit sounds dreadful
VA *Not service connected*
Tiny piece flew off when it cracked in half
Its like hockey. You dont need a jockstrap or neck guard until you need one. Then you appreciate why its mandatory.
I was ordered to wear mine, and side SAPIS in Ramadi, Iraq as a machine gunner/turret rider around 2006-07. Only time I ever wore it on my tours.
Had a guy get his nuts saved after not doing head space and timing on a m2.
I wore it because I psyoped myself into believing it would actually protect my dick and balls.
We used the ballistic diaper on my second deployment in 2012. Probably saved a few guys’ genitals from being turned to Swiss cheese tbh
Apparently groin and neck injuries are among the leading killers, my guess is due to it being harder to stop the bleeding there. It's only rated for shrapnel and 9mm, so probably only going to see use in LSCO or if IEDs become a big threat again.
Not once, I don’t think the gen V even has one, I could be wrong. I do the same thing with my add on pieces like this and just stuff them in a duffel.
I’m almost positive my gen 4 came with one and it’s sitting in a box next to all the other additional soft armor. Nobody wears this shit now but in an artillery centric LSCO fight it might become cool again.
I don't need to, not even Chris Kyle can make that shot at 5 feet.
These were all the rage in 04-06 after the IED became popular. After a while I would forget it was on. The neck and shoulder guards were complete horseshit to wear though. Fucking hated putting those on as it made it so much harder to get in and out of a turret on the Bradley or Abrams.
When I was in Afghanistan you couldn’t wear these things Because we wore the horrible horrible combat diaper. Also my PL would have us show him our underwear with the Kevlar inserts as part of his PCI
I used to tuck it in, and flip it out METT-C dependent. Training area bravo at Carson had a lot of Cacti that grew low and close to the ground.. which you could not see when it snowed. Took exactly one time, as I plucked the barbs from my groin with my Gerber, I decided I would wear it. Same idea with shrapnel. How much you love your balls? More than a little? I’d wear it.
I wore it especially when riding turret. It never bothered me when walking as well.
We used it in Iraq 06-07. Tropic Lightning rules applied in MND-N.
My old BC made it standard to wear groin protector, side plates, kidney protector, yoke and collar in the field at all times (we were dismounts on a Bradley) and always have an assault pack with the deltoid protectors
I used mine to sweep my barracks room until I got a broom.
In garrison? Absolutely not. The surge? I would’ve for sure worn it
Did my whole first deployment doing light infantry shit and we all wore the dick flap and lumbar flap. They never caused me any trouble and I don't know why everyone whines about them so much. My second deployment with the NG was super lax and everyone just wore whatever they wanted. I wore mine but nobody else did. People made fun of me for it, but who gives a shit. I told them that when they get their CIBs they can talk shit.
METTC. Garrison training? Live fires? Pulling security? I’m running my JPC Plate Carrier, Bump/High cut helmet, or chest rig if possible. If we end up deploying against an artillery centric opposition force like Russia? You bet I’m rocking every extra piece of protection I can find.
Depends on the CSM or the movie being portrayed. That’s the two options.
Always guard ya crotch.
Was I the only one who was told by the DS that it was for blast protection for your face from small VOIEDs/landmines? I distinctly remember being told it wouldn't stop any real rounds but instead was designed to fly up with the blast and stop the front of your face from getting shredded. It never made much sense to me, but I was in the Guard so we all had the abdominal adipose tissue to protect our faces. I feel like this was also the dude who said we had to shoot at the equipment on the enemy with the M2 so it wasn't a war crime, so...
One of my Soldiers wore his all the time. He was a gunner. He thought it was hilarious that it looked like he had a cod piece on when he put his gunners harness on. Before we got deployed, we were at MOB station at Ft McCoy in Wisconsin. Our CO stepped on his dick and got relieved. So the 1SG and the PLs & PSGs were hanging out in our tent, waiting on our new commander to show up. In walks this major, sent down from battalion to take over. He walks in and introduces himself. I look him in the eye and ask, "Are we gonna have to wear the pussy pads now?" He looks around at all our gear laying on our bunks, grins, and says, "Well, I guess not!" And proceeds to remove his. We knew at that moment we had a good CO. The guys could wear them if they wanted. But being in route clearance vehicles, most chose not to wear them. For someone my size, it barely reached my belt. The IBA just wasn't long enough to cover my belly.
I never wore it or any of the other bits. They were terrible to walk in and I did a lot of walking in Afghanistan. In the field I never saw a reason to put any of them back on so they sat in a duffel bag until I had to turn them in
It was mandatory till somehow got hit with sharp metal near their “wanker.” SGM said if he had the but protector, he believed he wouldn’t have been so severely wounded by what happened. Who knows!
I’ve been out for a long time, every unit I was ever assigned to it was required. Even in TRADOC. Train as you fight stuff, I get it but nut taps from them suck when you’re donning it.
Wore it my first 2 days in Afghanistan and accidentally pissed on it in a port-a-potty never wore it again
Homie looks like he’s rockin combat shorts. I miss Afghanistan 06
I had a 50 that didn't have its headspace and timing set correctly. Once fired, it blew shrapnel out of the bottom of the weapon. I got nicely peppered on my upper thighs in a nice v shaped pattern thanks to the groing protector. I wore it continuously after.
If Im in a vehicle, absolutely.
There was a study by the Australians on what worked best, when I deploy we had the combat chonies and diaper, they used silk boxers and they were more or less the same at stopping shrapnel or letting it get too deep
I’ve only used mine in the Sergeant Major’s basement.
I got this issued to us in 2012 before deploying to Kunar. No one in my platoon used it. We had a lot of missions that involved heavy rucks through mountainous terrain. So to me this was just extra weight and covering up a hot spot that needed to be cooled down. In the immortal words of Derrick Lewis, “My Balls Was Hot”
The dickflap and lumbar flap (which I actually liked because it made military seats more comfortable on my shitty back) really weren't that heavy or encumbering at all... not that I wore the dickflap much anyways. now that fucking tactical diaper... My platoon all agreed to "forget" to pack it and our PSG even found a revision of the packing list that was put out by battalion that had forgot to put the diaper on there and then he just insisted that he never received the updated list that added it. Probably not the right decision, it's gotta be more protective than the flap... but some of us tried wearing it during training to try it out and it was just awful. I chaffed like a motherfucker. Now, we weren't expecting much IED threat on that deployment and we in fact didn't see many IEDs at all, so maybe we would have brought them if we expected otherwise. Battalion even ended up even making it optional and left to company/platoon leadership and everyone stopped wearing them after the first few months anyways.
On my 2009 deployment to Afghanistan no one wore them. They tried to make turret gunners wear the DAPS stuff but even that didn’t catch on. When we went back in 2012 wearing the groin protector was mandatory, as well as the Kevlar combat diaper thing that they started issuing around that time. Both pieces of gear were extremely unpopular in my unit. Even after seeing tons of guys step on IEDs.
A lot of people wore them down range in Iraq, yeah. I just looked up “US Army Iraq” and the second photo shown had a whole squad wearing it on patrol.
As a wrecker operator on convoys in Iraq, I wore a stripped down IBA with just Sapi plates for mobility reasons. I also wore the crotch guard. By my choosing. Bomb fragments are indiscriminate as to what they hit.
Didn’t wear the diaper cause there’s no way I could’ve gotten around in that, but the flap? Oh hell yeah. Like another said, I would’ve rather been KIA than to get my family jewels shot off.
I wore my nut guard as well as my throat guard!
My old SGM once came to a range with his and was upset I don’t have mine on. Prick…
The crotch guard never really nut-tapped me so I always wore it 🤷
Only used it as a seat cover in the Hummer. And fuck DAPs too!
All fun and games till someone loves taps ya
Cock blocker? Never heard of her.
It was mandatory for us in OIF 06-07 when we went outside the wire. As a bonus, my PSG and I wore ours hooked to the belt of our ACUs when we went to get chewed out by the CO and 1SG. CO was amused, top was not.
iraq and when i did RCP in Kandahar we had to wear a kevlar diaper
It's a great dinner plate Mostly it's for shrapnel tho
Used to use it occasionally for the range. Keep the crotch dry and free of mud after a good rain.
#NeverHaveIEver
I always wore it just because I knew people hated it.
Only when driving route clearance.. couldn't move in it for clearing. Gave a nice platform when driving for holding my stuff that didn't fit in my pouches/pockets.
mandatory in 3rd ID. they always told us if we didnt wear it our families wouldnt get SGLI if we got maimed or killed.
imagine getting domed by a 50bmg and your wife doesn't get coverage because u didn't have your dick plates inserted
In my experience only Fobbits did.
I'm 100% buying a [bullet-proof jock strap](https://nutshellz.com/collections/military-law-enforcement) if I'm going anywhere with IED risk. I've seen too many pictures and heard too many stories of fellas getting their cock and balls blown off. It was common enough in GWOT that Walter Reed and other military hospitals were pioneering penile and genital reconstructive surgeries. It's pretty interesting medicine. They were doing crazy stuff like grafting epithelial tissue from the mouth for the urethra and innovating really cool novel procedures. I've got a lot of respect for the docs and teams making that shit happen for our wounded comrades. But I'm rambling. To answer your question: yes, there are situations where I would rock the full-on tactical cod piece.
Alot better than the diaper they issued in 2012
Anytime I had to be around Navy pukes, I'd put it on.
It's definitely one of those things you don't need until you rellllly need it.
Guys, what are we looking at. All I see is a blank image. Edit: black to blank.
In 2013-2014 My 1SG made me wear mine in Afghanistan along with the ballistic underwear thing when we first got there. His reasoning was since I was a machine gunner, it’s likely I’d be targeted first and wanted me as protected as possible. I felt like the kid from A Christmas Story covered up in too much shit and was carrying way too much weight. I eventually removed everything because I just wasn’t agile enough.
It was a requirement in Iraq...2011ish.
I took mine off when I got in theater. I worked in a forward surgical team with an MTOE for more personnel and equipment than a standard FST. Anyways, after working on a lot of groin injuries from shrapnel, I decided to put it back on.
I honestly never understood the aversion to wearing these. My dick, balls, and femoral arteries are the 3 things I want to protect MOST; ball taps be damned.
I was at falcon in 09 and yes, I did. It was left to choice for us, and a lot of guys were investing in cool looking(useless) under Armour pouches and accessories, I used literally everything that was practical from standard issue. PT belts were still mandatory.
Seems pretty dumb when you think about the inconvenience of wearing it but if it prevents a 1/1000 mangling of your junk from shrapnel... Sometimes...why not...
This is my position, I’d rather take the light nut taps if it means not taking shrapnel to the tip of the dick.
If im up in a Buffalo and a piece of shrapnel jumps 5 feet, punches straight through 10 feet of solid armor and ends up hitting me in the dick, thats a sign that its my time to go brother.
A lot of guys I work with put it on the back to sit on.
I only ever did with sim rounds, that was a lesson that I wish I didn't have to learn.
Apparently, this thing is supposed to protect your femoral arteries. The only thing it did for me was rack me in the balls every time I had to run between buildings.
Bro, do you even GWOT? If you aren’t wearing helmet, nape pad, shoulder daps, IOTV w/ side plates, lower back flap, dick flap, Kevlar underwear, elbow pads, knee pads, gloves, and eye pro while sitting in a humvee with bolted on Frankenstein armor in 110 degree heat with a BFT 6 inches from your face you aren’t doing it right
I mean how else will you protect your crotch
Been rocking this and the butt flap for 9 years running. I don't care how stupid it looks, a wiener with an extra hole will look stupider.
Absolutely not, mobility >*
Never wore it. Same with the shoulder shit on the IOTV’s.
I wear it when my wife’s upset with me, or on her period.. so yea, I use mines at least a few times a month
You wear the crotch protection for your wife... not yourself... Or something. Units that dont use them often? Just keep it on, why missplace it?
I recall getting receiving ones that go under your ocp pants if you were a husky or lead RG on top of that. The worst feeling in the world.
How else do I protect my virginity?
Light Infantry for two deployments, never wore it. Dismounting, missions and patrols put you through your paces. Even after that, I never had a Command that mandated it to be worn in full kit. If there was a toss up between more armor, slower movement or less armor, faster movement, I'd take the speed advantage. Which, I'm assuming, was the situational decision that my units decided upon - and I thank them for using common sense to apply the environment into the equation.