PASGT and MICH/ACH Helmet
PASGT HELMET
Personnel Armor System for Ground Troops, sometimes abbreviated to PASGT, was a combat helmet and ballistic vest used by the American military from the late 1980s until 2003, when the system was succeeded by the Lightweight Helmet, MICH TC-2000 Combat Helmet, and Interceptor body armor.
The Personnel Armor System Ground Troops Helmet, also known as the "K-pot" and also the "Fritz" helmet for its resemblance to the World War II German army helmet, is a standard infantry combat wear in the US Military. The shell is made from 29 layers of Kevlar, a ballistic aramid fabric treated with a phenolic resin system and is rated at a Threat Level II, and offers protection against shrapnel and ballistic threats. It meets the 1800 requirement of MIL-STD-662 E. It weighs from 3.1 pounds (size extra small) to 4.2 pounds (extra large).
The PASGT Helmet was developed in 1975 and replaced the steel M1 Helmet in US service during the 1980s and first saw use in combat in 1983 during Operation Urgent Fury in Grenada. The PASGT Helmet is currently being replaced by the Advanced Combat Helmet (MICH) in US Army service and the Lightweight Helmet (LWH) in USMC service.
The PASGT Helmet is typically olive drab in color and can be fitted with cloth helmet covers in varying camouflage patterns, which have included M81 Woodland, six-color desert, and three-color desert (as shown above), solid black (for SWAT teams), as well as the new Marine Corps MARPAT and Army UCP designs. The helmet is also used by various SWAT teams, wherein it is often black with or without covering, as well as by various United Nations Peacekeeping forces where it is often painted robin's egg blue to match the UN flag. When worn with a helmet cover, it is also often fitted with a band around it that has two reflective patches (sometimes known as cat eyes) on the rear intended to reduce friendly fire incidents. These bands are also used to hold vegetation or small personal items, as with the M1 helmet before it during the later decades of its service life. These bands can also have names and/or blood types printed on them to help identify the wearer. Some PASGT helmets also featured a patch with the wearer's rank insignia on it stitched to the front, and/or a second patch showing the symbol of his/her unit on the sides.
Available add-ons include a Helmet Mount Assembly that allows attachment of NE-6015 (AN/PVS-14 MNVD) or F5001B (AN/PVS-7B) night vision goggles. It can also be fitted with an acrylic glass visor for use in riot control operations.
In a demonstration of the Heckler & Koch MP7 on the Discovery Channel show Future Weapons, a PASGT helmet suffered a catastrophic armor penetration when hit head-on with one round of the MP7's 4.6x30mm ammunition. Similarly, the firearms testing site The Box o' Truth has reported that a 7.62x25mm Tokarev fired from a ČZ vz. 52 handgun was able to penetrate the helmet at 25 meters. In the same test, both the 5.56x45mm NATO and the 7.62x39mm were able to yield catastrophic penetrations through both sides of the helmet.
MICH/ACH Helmet
The Modular Integrated Communications Helmet (MICH), also known as the Advanced Combat Helmet (ACH), was developed by the United States Army Soldier Systems Center to be the next generation of protective combat helmets for use by the United States Army.
SERVICE
The MICH was originally part of a series of combat helmets designed for the United States Army Special Operations Command as a replacement for the PASGT helmet solely within those units. However, the Army later determined that the improvements presented by the MICH over the aging PASGT helmet warranted organization-wide distribution.
To date, the MICH has replaced the PASGT in active United States Army service. Some units of the Army National Guard and Army Reserve continue to use the PASGT, though its use will eventually expire.
The MICH is in use with all branches of the United States Armed Forces in at least some capacity. The MICH was officially adopted as the standard issue helmet of the Air Force Security Forces. The United States Marine Corps evaluated the MICH during its own search for a PASGT replacement, but chose to adopt a helmet that retains the profile of the PASGT, known as the Lightweight Helmet. However, a small number of units and individuals within the Marines are issued MICH helmets. Elite combat arms units of the United States Navy are also typically issued MICH helmets as warranted.
MICH helmets are available for purchase by law enforcement agencies and the public. They have become popular with various SWAT units and private security companies.
DESIGN
The MICH ranges in weight from about 3 pounds (1.4 kg) (size medium) to just over 3.6 lb (1.36 - 1.63 kg) (extra large). It uses a new, more advanced type of Kevlar and provides increased protection against handgun rounds.
A pad system and four-point retention system, similar to the cushions and straps found on bicycle helmets, replaces the nylon cord suspension system, sweatband and chinstrap found on the PASGT helmet. The change provides greater impact protection and comfort for the wearer. It can be fitted with a mounting bracket for an AN/PVS-14 monocular night vision device (MNVD) on the front, similar to that on the PASGT helmet, as seen in the above image. It can also be fitted with a pair of straps on the rear to keep protective eyewear in place, as well as cloth helmet covers in varying camouflage patterns including M81 Woodland, three-color desert, USMC MARPAT, US Army UCP, Crye MultiCam, and solid black for use with SWAT teams.
The MICH is also slightly smaller than the PASGT, providing 8% less coverage. This accounts for some of the reduced weight and allows for both greater situational awareness and less obstruction of the wearer's vision, particularly when combined with Interceptor body armor. Previously, soldiers had complained that the high collar of the Interceptor pushed the back of the helmet forward, in turn moving the helmet brim over their eyes when they attempted to fire from a prone position.
In 2007 the Army developed and introduced an armored "nape pad" that attaches to the MICH's rear suspension system and coincided with the introduction of the Improved Outer Tactical Vest (IOTV). The goal of the armor insert is to reduce soldier deaths from shrapnel wounds to the neck and lower head. It is currently being issued in RFI (Rapid Fielding Initiative).
Beginning in 2008, the Army's Program Executive Office Soldier outfitted soldiers of the 101st Airborne Division and 4th Infantry Division bound for Iraq with helmet-mounted sensors designed to gather data on head injuries caused during Improvised Explosive Device (IED) detonations. The data collected will help with the design of improvements to the MICH's suspension and chin strap systems.
