We all know Marines are really cool. They have the best tattoos and they can chew up a box of crayons better than anyone. They are even cooler now that they make up a big part of the special operations community. Part of being cool is having the latest tactical gear. You know, stuff that makes your average grunt totally “jelly.” This article is going to discuss exactly what kind of equipment Marine Raiders are currently rocking from guns, to frag pouches.
Before we start we need to lay some ground rules. This loadout is going to be for direct action style mission and will only be sustainable for a few hours to one day in the field. There will be separate articles covering sniper, and reconnaissance loudouts in the future.
Helmets and Night Vision: $16,010
These systems and equipment are almost always some of the more expensive pieces that are issued to any service person. Currently Raiders are rocking an Ops Core helmet, with Hight Threat Hearing pro from TEA.
Raiders are also rocking some very expensive night vision goggles. They are generally seen with the latest generation PVS 31 goggles which come in at a cool $13,099. Hey how’s it feel to be wearing a Hyundai Elantra on your face?
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Body Armor/Accessories: $11,765
This is another big chunk of the equipment budget. The two biggest ticket items are the armor plates, which I’ve estimated to cost $3600 for front and back as well as two side plates, and the radio. The radio is the ubiquitous Harris PRC 152, which comes in around $6,700.
The plate carrier you most often see on Marine Raiders is the Crye Precision, Cage plate carrier.
They are often pictured with the full assortment of Crye pouches that comes in the Crye Smart Pouch Suite. Compared to the radios, the Crye Products are small potatoes. The plate carrier is $392.20 and the pouches are probably going to be around the same price.
Of note if you dig long enough you will see a variety of setups. Some of the gear these guys are wearing is standard issue Marine Corps and some is highly specialized like the Crye items.
The Raider Uniform: $1,213
You might be noticing a trend here, but again Marine Raiders are favoring Crye Precision. While in garrison, they often wear Marine Corps Marpat, but down range they are often seen wearing Crye Combat Tops and Bottoms in Woodland pattern.
The pattern may be old, but it sure as hell works. It made a strong comeback due to frequent deployments of Marine Special Operations Teams to Afghanistan. Believe it or not there are some fairly green areas there, and the woodland pattern does quite well.
It’s great news that Marine Raiders favor Crye, because you can purchase these types of uniforms straight from Amazon, and that means you can take your LARPing to a whole new level!
The Guns: $6,146
This category covers both the rifle and pistol as well as the most common accessories that you will see mounted on them. Like the plate carrier, you will seem some fairly diverse variations in optics, and smaller items like slings on each weapon system.
You will see some older images of Raiders down range rocking the SCAR heavy weapon systems, but that seems to have fallen out of favor. Most often you will see a Daniel Defense Mk 18 SBR or longer barreled variant as the primary rifle system.
For CQB operations you will invariably find an Eotech XPS on the rifle. You will often find other optics like the Elcan Specterdr. This is pretty cool because it has two settings; one power, then with a flip of the switch it’s four power, with illuminated reticle.
You will also find the PEQ 15 or 16 used for illumination purposes. The PEQ 15 is only visible laser, and IR laser while the 16 has visible and IR lasers, with white light. When the PEQ 16 is not used the Surefire Scout weapons lights are most often seen on Raider rifles.
Marine Raiders just recently moved away from the 45 acp 1911, toward the Glock 19 that the rest of SOCOM is such a big fan of. It works really well, and can be used as a secondary pistol or for concealed as necessary.
The Grand Total: $35,957
This is pretty expensive for one person; however it’s not even as expensive as the NVG’s that Naval Special Warfare Development Group (DEVGRU), or the Army Special Forces Operational Detachement Delta (DELTA/CAG/ACE) wear. Those quad tube goggles come in at $42,000 by themselves.
If you want to see the full list with every detail like: boots, slings, watches and more then you should download this list.
All things considered, Marine Raiders, and Marine Special Operations Command (MARSOC) have done pretty well for their guys, and they are definitely rocking some Gucci gear.
But hey you can get the same gear all for free, as long as you pass years of rigorous screening and selection and you enjoy the fine taste of a fresh box of Crayons.
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