MODIFIED DCU....PROBABLE NAVY SEAL USED...

Here is a DCU I just got today...it came from the Virginia Beach area...In my estimation it was Seal used..according to the many photos I have of Seals in training exercises & on combat missions...The jacket is 1997 dated...trousers are 2000...ANYWAY at any rate not a bad $19.99 investment..

here is a reference photo...the only thing missing on my jacket is the upper piece of velcro on the pockets themselves...and the fact that their pockets are turned more on an angle...

I have some beefs with this.

1. It looks practically mint. Usually seal stuff was heavily used.
2. The color flag. Why would any respectable SF soldier wear a color flag over there?

Otherwise, it's a very neat coat.
Andrew

Andrew,
1. There are some minty Seal stuff you could find. Apparently I'm sure Seal operator got this DCU and modified it but never had a chance to wear it, probably once or twice in training before he retired or got it replaced with better gear. So he dropped some of his minty stuff at local military surplus because he doesn't have any usage for it anymore.

2.Special Ops do wear color flags. According to bond, it is dated 1997 so it made sense for its period (90's). Delta Force and Rangers in Somalia used color flags. I'm sure you could decide if you want to use subdued or color patch, depending on missions. Also, in the pictures Bond provided, flag patch appeared to be backed by velcro, therefore you could remove it as you wish for such mission.

Nice modified DCU!

Mercenary25 wrote:Andrew,
1. There are some minty Seal stuff you could find. Apparently I'm sure Seal operator got this DCU and modified it but never had a chance to wear it, probably once or twice in training before he retired or got it replaced with better gear. So he dropped some of his minty stuff at local military surplus because he doesn't have any usage for it anymore.

2.Special Ops do wear color flags. According to bond, it is dated 1997 so it made sense for its period (90's). Delta Force and Rangers in Somalia used color flags. I'm sure you could decide if you want to use subdued or color patch, depending on missions. Also, in the pictures Bond provided, flag patch appeared to be backed by velcro, therefore you could remove it as you wish for such mission.

Nice modified DCU!

OK, I see your points. But on #2, you really can't trust contract numbers for the dates the Govt used equipment.
Andrew

I can tell you this set is not mint....it is used & no idea on the flag....I can tell you that not all SEAL stuff is heavily used....just depends on various factors....also I am not 100% positive it is SEAL...but indicators point to it as such....and also the flag is velcroed....I will take pics of it later on...

Steven

here is the back of the flag....

Personally, I see no problem with this set. It looks like a good modified set....which I had in my "watch" section on Ebay. Steven just bid on it first or I would own this set.

As far as velcro and pocket placement, it could have been used by anyone in the USSF community. I can't tell from the pictures if the pockets are straight on or if they are slanted a bit. To me, it looks like one of the early modifications made for use in Afghanistan. Before anyone says anything else, the slant of the pockets on the sleeves does indicate the time period it was modified. There is no stead-fast rule or anything and there certainly hasn't been a book written on the subject, but the straighter the arm pockets the earlier the modification. How do I know this? I have over 50 examples of modified jackets in my collection and it is just something I have noted in my over 10 years of collecting these jackets. I have modified sets spanning the time period from Vietnam to the present. The straighter the arm pockets on the sleeve the earlier the modification. In general, you will see the arm pockets start slanting more around the Afghanistan time period. Like I said, certainly not a steadfast rule, but just an observation in my years of collecting.

Now, let me see......somewhere someone has a 173rd ABN modified DCU jacket that I NEEDED for my collection and this certain someone bought it at a certain surplus shop in Kentucky. I told this person I needed to complete part of my collection and he bought it anyway. Hmmmmmmmm......wonder who that was?
Arch

Forgot to add, the colored flag is perfectly normal. USSF personnel wore this in Iraq and Afghanistan for identification purposes. This is generally seen before the IR flags, but that is also not a steadfast rule.

Knowing that this set came out of Virginia, I would also say it was used by a SEAL. If it had come out of North Carolina....then I'd say Army Special Forces.
Arch

Arch...as evidenced by photo #5 which I will include here again...you can see the pocket is straight...not as slanted as on the photo of the SEALs...therefore it is an EARLY MODIFICATION...

PERFECT FOR SOME FALL/WINTER 2001 AFGHANISTAN FUN....

bond007a1 wrote:PERFECT FOR SOME FALL/WINTER 2001 AFGHANISTAN FUN....

Since the pockets don't have velcro closures, I would also place it in the 2001 or 2003 time period.

For those of you that are interested.....this is a link to a few of my modified sets.
http://www.usmilitariaforum.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=21963&st=0

WELL...I think that whole thing NEEDS to be posted here....or at LEAST we START our own...And I will add....I would LOVE to post some of the photos X has posted over there...especially the ones showing the RED/WHITE/BLUE flags being used on actual missions/in combat....So someone....ARCH....start us a thread on modified jackets....somewhere.....

Steven

Will do Steven. I think it is time to start the thread here. Perhaps it will be appreciated more on this forum.
Arch

Yes, I agree with bond007a1, you should post it here!

I RELOCATED THIS ONE HERE DUE TO THE JACKET DATE OF 1997 & THE TROUSERS CAME ALONG FOR THE RIDE..

It was actually a Federal crime to wear a US flag in any other form other than full colors. At least in theory In reality subdued versions have been unofficially and officially used until someone blows a whistle to stop it for a bit.

For you non-Americans out there... here's a bit of background on us Americans. We LOVE to make rules, we do not LOVE to follow them. Laws which no longer work well are usually ignored rather than changed. Our legal system is designed so that if a law is routinely not enforced then it becomes "unenforceable". For example, there are laws in many states about adultery and sexual positions which I shall not name here Yes, specific forms of sex between married people are actually illegal in some states!! But since these laws haven't been enforced in 200 years they basically can't be used by law enforcement. Occasionally you see some idiot district attorney try to do it and the courts throw it out pretty quickly.

Anyway, just some background on the flag thingy!

Steve