During the late 80’s and 90’s I recall carrying a protective mask much of the time, even at points I was not wearing LBE... but having access to a MOPP suit only at certain times, with it being generally being attached to my rucksack.
And I recall Warsaw Pact troops carrying pro-masks in various pouches/satchels with their LBE but not MOPP suits.
I think it was 9 seconds to get the mask on, if I remember correctly, and we trained on that regularly but we knew the masks alone offered limited protection from the nerve agents we expected.
But it was over 20 years ago now and it is a bit hazy.
It is surprising what little details can draw the attention of the subconscious and just look “off” even on a 28mm mini. Things like untucked laces, incorrect canteens, missing helmet bands. I mean, notice how quick I was to spot the helmet band on the image@JTam referenced for me. A Kevlar without a helmet band says Marine to me. Yet I can also see the little slits in the helmet camouflage cover that helps me to see it has a helmet cover. Those slits are a pretty tiny detail you may not consciously notice them at the “arms length” tabletop gaming range but you may see them on a subconscious level.
And they matter to me when I am painting, photographing and displaying the mini.
Edit: I wanted to add, I made a bit of a jump to illustrate my story but the camo on the helmet I chose to reflect how I used to look appears to have strips of burlap on the helmet rather than the plastic camouflage netting I cut up from my M106’s camo net. It is a tiny detail but the kind of thing I.. and I suspect@JTam and@Battle Specter to notice.
So mine was more like the soldier on the left than the one on the right, who has added the burlap strips giving the “shaggy, long hair” look.
Also, note the promask(protective mask, we were strongly discouraged from saying gasmask) bag on his left hip. It is the big, faded cotton bag/satchel that stands out from the nylon ALICE LBE (load bearing equipment, also called webbing or webgear). It has a strap that goes around the inner thigh (this is why I did not fuss the leg straps being on the ooh-rah minis) to keep the pouch from bouncing too much on the hip when running. Some guys tried to be clever and replace their promask with other things during deployment, such as extra MRE bits or a poncho liner but sharp NCOs would generally catch them out and there would be hell to pay. And yes.... I was a rather demanding, pain-in-the-ass Infantry Staff Sergeant back in the day but my troops generally did very well on deployment, in training exercises and in personal assessments.
Little details like this catch my eye and I am not the most observent person out there. I was admittedly looking at how berets were shaped, what unit badges/patches were worn, whether laces were tucked or not at a recent funeral I attended for a friend of mine in the German military. To me, details like these are an important part of military professionalism.
