Part of being cool is looking cool, and no one looks cooler than a US Special Forces operator. They are tasked with completing the most difficult and dangerous missions. To do this, they also use some amazing gear. This article is going to detail a full loadout for a US Special Forces soldier.

Before we get super into the weeds with the details of the full loadout, let us first discuss the ground rules. This loadout is going to be for an average Special Forces soldier who might be partnering with local forces, in an overseas war zone. We aren’t considering specialized gear like rockets, or sniper rifles, nor are we considering things like vehicles and aircraft. If your average Green Beret wouldn’t carry it on a patrol, then we won’t talk about it.

Now that that is out of the way we can consider the first key pieces of equipment that every Special Forces soldier will carry on a combat mission. The helmet, NVGs, and associated accessories.

Here’s the full spreadsheet with links to every item.

Helmet and Night Vision Systems: Total Cost $16,037

Recent photos of Special Forces operators show that they are wearing some version of the Ops Core high cut helmet. The image below depicts an operator wearing a helmet in a very common setup.

U.S. Army photo by PFC Aaron Schaeper.

As with many special operations units, there are allowances for individual preferences on equipment. We can see a helmet cover, Peltor Comtac communications headset, and a remote battery pack. In the very front you can also see an NVG mount. Normally you will also see an infrared strobe mounted on the helmet, so aerial platforms can identify friendlies at night.

The other big ticket item that is critical for mission success, especially at night, are the night vision goggles. From the photos I’ve seen, it seems that most Green Berets are wearing PVS 31A’s. These NVG’s are a lighter, better version of the original PVS 15 dual tube goggles.

Image Courtesy of 10th Special Forces Group

These head systems are by far the most expensive pieces of equipment that are issued to a US Green Beret. The NVG’s cost $13,099 alone. I should note that these are prices that are reflective of what a civilian could purchase the equipment for. I have no idea what the military or SOCOM is paying for individual equipment.

The Plate Carrier and Tactical Equipment: $10,345

This, by far, is the easiest equipment for average joes like us to purchase. Most of it can be purchased directly from Amazon, and will show up at your house faster than you can say Q course.

Finding the correct plate carrier took a long time. After examining dozens of images, it seems that there are a variety of factors that affect what plate carrier these operators are wearing. Some are wearing personally procured carriers, some have older carriers, but I have consistently seen SF guys wearing Crye JPC 2.0 plate carriers.

U.S. Army photo by PFC Aaron Schaeper

The guy on the machine gun is wearing a Crye JPC. It is a very popular plate carrier across many military and tactical police units, for good reason. Crye Precision has a reputation for building quality gear, even if it is a little pricey.

A standard load out for most operators will be a plate carrier, with 6 magpul PMAGS, 2-3 glock mags, and assorted pouches. Most of the pouches I’ve seen come from the Crye smart pouch suite, but this is one area where there is a ton of variance.

You will also see the ubiquitous Harris PRC 153 radio on every vest. It is the most common type of radio and it is incredibly expensive, costing around $6700 per set. If we discount the radio cost from the plate carrier, then we have a more reasonable $3,618 for plate carrier and all accessories. This figure includes around two thousand dollars for armor plates which are not publicly available. Now it’s time to cover the first line gear, and other equipment that every operator is using.

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Special Forces First Line Gear: $1,362

Special Forces soldiers are issued Crye G3 combat tops and bottoms in multicam. You guys are probably noticing that quite a lot of this loadout is made by Crye Precision. You know what they say, if it isn’t broke, don’t fix it!

Having worn standard Marine Corps camo utilities and Crye gear, I can 100% recommend the latter. They don’t rip when you bend over, and they are much more comfortable. I also quite like the built in knee pads. Insert joke here.

The next items on our list are the belt system, holster, and related gear. There is a ton of variability from operator to operator on the belt and under belt, but nearly every soldier is using the Safariland ALS holster for their pistol.

Photo Courtesy of 10th SFG

You’ll find that if you download the spreadsheet, every piece of first line gear can actually be purchased on Amazon, which kind of blows my mind to think that you can basically get world class gear to your front door the next day. I can remember waiting months for replacement gear in the Marine Corps!

Rifle, Pistol and Optics: $9,984

This is one area where the times are a changing. For years the vast majority of Green Berets used the issued Beretta M9, and the Daniel Defense Mk18. You will occasionally see these two items in circulation, but army Special Forces has awarded new contracts for both the rifle and pistol.

US Army Special Forces command recently agreed to buy new URGI upper receivers from Geissele Automatics. These receivers are mounted on legacy lowers which technically cost nothing extra. They are also issued Surefire SOCOM RC2 to suppressor. In the spreadsheet I have included a few hundred for a Colt lower. In the image below, you will see some SF dudes with those new uppers.

Photo Courtesy of 7th SFG

You can purchase almost the exact upper from Geissele, and you can also purchase the newest optic that US SOCOM should be distributing shortly. This optic is the Nightforce ATACR 1-8 low powered variable optic.

Like any quality optic, you’ll find that you end up spending as much on the glass as you do on the rifle it’s mounted on. The ATACR is a great LPVO with an illuminated center reticle, which can be turned down for night vision use.

You will continue to see legacy optics and red dot sights on many rifles for a long time, but low powered variable optics, are the wave of the future. Check out my review for more details on LVPO’s.

Likewise, Army Special Forces Command has determined that the standard sidearm for Green Berets will be the Glock 19. They have also started to transition to slide ride red dot optics, specifically the Trijicon RMR Gen 2. You can get both of these items up for your personal pistol, which I highly recommend. Mucho cool guy points.

The Final Tally: $37,729

This is quite pricey, especially considering that this is the basic gear that would be issued to everyone. This doesn’t even consider things like man portable drones, sniper rifles, or specialized thermal optics. With that amount of gear, those guys better stay away from rough neighborhoods. They might be robbed.

This price tag is right in line with previous loadouts for both Marine Raiders, and Naval Special Warfare Development Group (DEVGRU). However, DEVGRU does get the much more expensive GPNVG 18 quad tube NVG’s, which cost around $40,000 by themselves.

Don’t forget, if you want all the details then download the spreadsheet. If you have any questions or comments put them below. Now try not to spend all your allowance money of the best LARPING gear!

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