US Marine Corps Combat Helmet with Night Vision Scope
name: label: user
content: Mathieson, Greg
notes: label: Description
content: This combat helmet was used by NBC photographer Greg Mathieson in 2003, during the beginning of the ground war in Iraq. It is a Personnel Armor System Ground Troops (PASGT) helmet, also known as a "K-Pot" or a "FRITZ", which was developed by the US military in the 1970s to replace the M1 helmet worn by soldiers during World War II, Korea, and Vietnam. The PASGT helmet was designed to fit the individual soldier, unlike the "one size fits all" M-1; it comes in four sizes: extra-small, small, medium, and large<sup>1</sup>;. The shell of the helmet is made of Kevlar to provide increased ballistic protection. As is common practice for soldiers in combat, the user's blood type, "B", is written on the cover.
label: Description
content: The pattern of the helmet cover is a pixilated camouflage pattern known as Marine Disruptive Pattern (MARPAT), created by the United States Marine Corps for use with the Marine Corps Combat Utility Uniform (MCCUU). MARPAT became standard issue in 2002. This is the desert pattern as is the woodland pattern, but the urban pattern has not been authorized by the Marine Corps for wear.
label: Description
content: Atop the helmet is mounted an AN/PVS-14 Monocular Night Vision Device (MNVD). This devise is used in observation and command and control missions, and may be hand-held, head-mounted, helmet-mounted, or attached to a rifle. In this instance, the night vision was employed by the user, a news photographer, to produce nighttime video footage of combat actions.
label: Description
content: <sup>1</sup> According to the book, <i>The Personnel Armor System Ground Troops (PASGT) Helmet</i> (Schiffer Military Press, 1999), the helmet fits 98 percent of all U.S. Army personnel, with the medium size fitting approximately 50 percent of all soldiers.
topic: label: related event
content: Operation Iraqi Freedom
setName: label: See more items in
content: Military and Society: Armed Forces History, Military
label: See more items in
content: Military
label: See more items in
content: Artifact Walls exhibit
label: Exhibition
content: Artifact Walls
label: Exhibition Location
content: National Museum of American History
creditLine: label: Credit Line
content: Gift of Greg Mathieson
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of American History
identifier: label: ID Number
content: 2004.0170.10
label: catalog number
content: 2004.0170.10
label: accession number
content: 2004.0170
objectType: label: Object Name
content: Helmet, combat
physicalDescription: label: Physical Description
content: kevlar (helmet material)
label: Physical Description
content: resin (helmet material)
label: Physical Description
content: rubber (helmet material)
label: Physical Description
content: cotton (helmet material)
label: Physical Description
content: leather (helmet material)
label: Physical Description
content: nylon (helmet material)
label: Physical Description
content: metal (helmet material)
label: Physical Description
content: metal (scope material)
label: Physical Description
content: plastic (scope material)
label: Physical Description
content: glass (scope material)
label: Measurements
content: overall: 7 3/4 in x 10 3/16 in x 15 3/4 in; 19.685 cm x 25.908 cm x 40.005 cm