There has been a renewed interest recently in MACV-SOG (at least in my social feed). Lots of interviews, books, and discussions surrounding their missions, gear, and tactics. I know I’ve been reading up. I’ve completed 7 books in the last two months from Dick Thompson, John Stryker Meyer, Lynn Black, and John Plaster. I’m working on number 8. What they were able to accomplish with their small teams was nothing short of extraordinary. I think it also contains a lot of lessons for today’s prepared citizen.
Dirty Civilian did a good video the other day and sort of stole my thunder, but I wanted to touch on something I found interesting in several of the books – magazine carriage.
Dick Thompson and John Stryker Meyer both had unique ways of carrying magazines, but if you look at pictures of the day, there was a significant variety in how the men of SOG carried their mags. To understand why, we need to understand what was going on in small arms at the time. In the early to mid 1960s, the Army was transitioning from the M14 to the M16 and its derivatives. However, the ammunition pouch that was in the greatest production was the M1956 Universal Small Arms Pouch. As with many universal pouches, it fits a lot of mags “okay” and none well. As for the 20-round mags issued with the M16 and variants, they were very short for the universal pouches. You could fit four mags in the pouch, but you either had to fill the bottom with something or use a rigged “mag pull” to make the magazines more accessible.
There was a shorter version designed specifically for the 20-round magazines, but SOG didn’t seem to have many of them in the 60s, probably due to the sheer number of the universal pouches in circulation. So they made due. John Stryker Meyer preferred a WWII/Korean War BAR belt with the medic suspenders for comfort. The BAR belt had 6 mag pouches sewn on that could hold 4-5 magazines each (or other gear). There was also space for canteens and grenade pouches. The BAR pouches were still a little deep for the 20-round magazines, but significantly less than the universal pouches. Again, you could make them work with a “mag pull.”
Dick Thompson preferred a unique solution – canteen pouches. The M1956 canteen pouches could hold 6 20-round magazines each. As 30-round magazines became more available, Thompson would load 5 20-round magazines into his canteen pouches and then pushed a 30-round magazine in the center. He would grab the 30-rounder first, which loosened up the other 5 magazines to grab.
Some SOG members used captured Chinese AK chest rigs for magazines, primarily 30-round M16 or AK mags if they were carrying AKs. Others also carried extra magazines in bandoliers.
No matter which pouch they used, all SOG members jammed them full for two reasons: first, they needed all the ammunition they could carry. If they could fit more in a pouch, they did. Second, loose magazines rattle, and noise kills. So the tighter they could pack the mags, the less likely they were to rattle.
So how does this apply today? From a tactics standpoint, SOG carried far more magazines than you normally see soldiers carrying today. But they also fought in very specific terrain and under parameters that generally prevented resupply as opposed to modern warfare fighting from and around vehicles. So what they carried was what they had. And when 9-12 guys were trying to fight off a battalion of North Vietnamese, every round counted, even with air power available. Do modern prepared citizens need to carry that much ammo? Depends on the mission and support available. Are you planning on quick hits or long patrols with the possibility of running into large forces? It certainly wouldn’t hurt to think through how to carry extra mags if needed.
One possible inexpensive solution is a surplus pouch. And in an funny tribute to Dick Thompson, it’s a canteen pouch. If you look at the back of a MOLLE II canteen pouch, it’s actually labeled as “Canteen/General Purpose Pouch” and it just happens to hold 6 metal 30-round magazines or 5 polymer mags. Now, is it a perfect solution? No. It lacks a hook and loop patch to secure the flap once the side release buckle is open. So under a lot of movement, loose magazines may do what loose magazines do. I haven’t had a chance to test it yet at a run. I bring the canteen pouch up primarily because it’s a fairly inexpensive solution. They generally run under $20 on eBay.
Another option is the 200-round SAW pouch. Now, there are a few varieties, including the SFLCS/FSBE and several MOLLE II versions. There are advantages and disadvantages to each variety. The old school SFLCS/FSBE version has the ability to divide the interior into 3/3 and has two separate flaps that can be linked together. So, essentially you can set it up as 2 3-mag pouches.
The new Marine MOLLE II version only has a single flap, but has PALS webbing on the outside so that you can add small pouches. It also has an optional divider that splits the pouch into 3 2-mag sections. Both have hook and loop closures in addition to either snaps or side release buckles.
There is also a version that has neither the divider nor the hook and loop. Of the three MOLLE versions, I would say this is the least desirable option. It’s baggy, poorly structured for mags, and will definitely let the mags bang around.
Keep in mind that most of these options are more suited for a patrol rig/load bearing equipment setup than a plate carrier. Even a split rig, like those by Spiritus and other companies, may not be able to handle this many mags. So this is likely to be a dedicated rig for a specific mission, such as long-range recon with minimal backup.
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