US Soldier's outfit, Vietnam Era

hank_rearden

hank_rearden

Joined
Jun 7, 2002
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Shown below is a (romanticised) illustration of Lt Col Anthony Herbert in his autobiographical novel "Soldier."
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My question is that knot of rope around his waist. What practical / emergency use did a soldier have for it? I'm assuming the drawing is Vietnam era, because of the M-14.
 
Going to go out on a limb and say since he was a paratrooper he has rope on all jumps in case he lands in a tree and needs to get himself and his gear down without breaking anything or lands and needs rope to get up over some obstacle or descend down some drop off?
Or he forgot his belt.
 
Looks like about 12’ of rope (?) Enough to tie between 2 trees as a ridge line for a makeshift shelter perhaps (if there are trees where he’s going) or to lash branches together for a shelter or to suspend a pot over a fire etc
 
I actually read that book. The author was really quite a guy, the only foreign soldier to win the Turkish medal of honor during the Korean War. He later served in Vietnam. I believe the rope is a improvised sit harness for climbing/rappel/belay used with a carabiner.
 
That part wherein he said "when a Turkish army unit is surrounded, it's the other side that's in trouble."
 
I wonder whether they had tubular nylon webbing back in his day, for the Swiss seat. Rope harness would have been pretty uncomfortable 😣
 
heresthedeal said:
Swiss seat, for rappelling
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Swiss seat loops around both legs. But you can see what looks like the tails are moving toward the right front pocket (as it would be in a Swiss seat)... Wearing a real Swiss seat makes your uniform bunch up and look really unprofessional which would distract from the purpose of the image. A self recover rope for an airborne jump is a good theory... but that really doesn't look like enough rope to lower himself from a height of any significance. My guess is that the rope is for the rugged look of the image.
barleywino said:
I wonder whether they had tubular nylon webbing back in his day, for the Swiss seat. Rope harness would have been pretty uncomfortable
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They still teach the Swiss seat with rope and make you repel in it; it's just as bad as you'd imagine.
 
StoneAndSteel said:
Swiss seat loops around both legs. But you can see what looks like the tails are moving toward the right front pocket (as it would be in a Swiss seat)... Wearing a real Swiss seat makes your uniform bunch up and look really unprofessional which would distract from the purpose of the image. A self recover rope for an airborne jump is a good theory... but that really doesn't look like enough rope to lower himself from a height of any significance. My guess is that the rope is for the rugged look of the image.

They still teach the Swiss seat with rope and make you repel in it; it's just as bad as you'd imagine.
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Putting too much thought into it, it's a Swiss seat, you have to carry the rope around with you or you won't have it when you need it. Only time you don't do that is when you're in basic training or AIT. If you're in the field or on a maneuver you carry it with you, not wear it in a Swiss seat usually they're coiled and attached to your web gear. Some people, French Germans and even some of the Brits wrap them around their waist. It's a fucking Swiss seat, that's all.
 
heresthedeal said:
Putting too much thought into it, it's a Swiss seat, you have to carry the rope around with you or you won't have it when you need it. Only time you don't do that is when you're in basic training or AIT. If you're in the field or on a maneuver you carry it with you, not wear it in a Swiss seat usually they're coiled and attached to your web gear. Some people, French Germans and even some of the Brits wrap them around their waist. It's a fucking Swiss seat, that's all.
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Easy brother. If you’re right and it’s just wrapped around his waist, it’s a rope FOR a Swiss seat. A Swiss seat is an improvised harness. If it is not wrapped around his legs/waist and properly routed it is currently a rope.
 
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