Personnel Armor System for Ground Troops
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PASGT (pronounced pass-get) is the abbreviation for Personnel Armor System for Ground Troops. It consists of the Personnel Armor System for Ground Troops Vest and the Personnel Armor System for Ground Troops Helmet.
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[edit] Personnel Armor System for Ground Troops Vest
The Personnel Armor System for Ground Troops Vest, also known as the "flak vest", was the United States Military's standard kevlar body armor from the early 1980's until approximately 2004, when it was replaced by the Interceptor body armor. The PASGT Vest replaced the Vietnam War-era M-1969 Fragmentation Protective Body Armor nylon vest, which in turn replaced the Korean War-era M-1952 Fragmentation Protective Body Armor. The PASGT Vest used Kevlar for the first time in the United States military's body armor, unlike the nylon used in the previous two models. While incapable of stopping rifle bullets, the PASGT Vest provided better protection against shrapnel and reduced the severity of injuries from small arms fire when compared to the M-1969. The PASGT Vest weighed approximately 9 pounds, a small increase over the previous model.
In order to provide protection against high velocity bullets, the PASGT Vest was, in 1996, combined with the Interim Small Arms Protective Overvest (ISAPO) pending adoption of Interceptor body armor. The ISAPO weighed about 16.5 pounds and consisted of a carrier to hold two protective ceramic plate inserts. A PASGT armor system with overvest weighed more than 25 pounds and was criticized by many US troops as unacceptably cumbersome in combat.
[edit] Personnel Armor System for Ground Troops Helmet
The Personnel Armor System Ground Troops Helmet—also known as the "Fritz" helmet after its resemblance to the German Stahlhelm—is a Kevlar helmet issued as standard infantry combat wear in the US Military. Commonly referred to by soldiers as a "Kevlar" or "K-pot", it is made from aramid ballistic fabric treated with a phenolic resin system, is rated at a Threat Level II, and offers protection against fragmentation and ballistic threats. It meets the 1800 requirement of MIL-STD-662 E.
The PASGT Helmet is said to have stopped rifle rounds on occasion, most commonly 7.62 x 39 mm (AK-47) rounds (in one account the PASGT Helmet is credited with stopping an AK-47 round from approximately 25 meters range). This performance would be closer to Level III or Level IV performance.
Available add-ons include a Helmet Mount Assembly that allows attachment of NE-6015 (AN/PVS-14 MNVD) or F5001B (AN/PVS-7B) night vision goggles.
The PASGT Helmet replaced the steel M1 Helmet in US service during the 1980s. Unlike the M1 Helmet, the PASGT Helmet cannot be used as a cooking pot or wash basin as these uses will degrade the Kevlar.
The PASGT Helmet is currently being replaced by the Advanced Combat Helmet (MICH) in US Army service and the Lightweight Helmet (LWH) in USMC service.
The PASGT Helmet is typically olive drab in color and can be fitted with cloth helmet covers in varying camouflage patterns, which have included US woodland, six-color desert, and three-color desert (as shown above), as well as the new Marine Corps MARPAT and Army ACUPAT designs. The helmet is also used by various SWAT teams, wherein it is often black with no covering, as well as by various United Nations Peacekeeping forces where it is often painted robin's egg blue to match the UN flag.
