Series: Battle Gear | Publication Date: December 15, 2006
The slosh of water in a canteen, the rustle of a uniform, the jangle of extra clips of ammo, all the clinks and clanks of jostling packs of equipment—this is the soundtrack that accompanies fully loaded soldiers humping through the bush to their next assignment. Battle rattle is the stuff a soldier carries to get through the day, from mission-specific gear to general supplies. In short, what the soldiers on the ground affectionately call “our crap.”
This book takes a close look at the commercial revolution in military clothing, packs, and equipment—soldiers buying from civilian companies instead of settling for government issue, customizing their gear to perfectly fit their needs and preferences. From boots and gloves to helmets and eyewear, from ponchos and packs to knives and rifles, Battle Rattle shows what the modern warfighter is using to fight the fight.
New Gun Week, March 2007 "This 128-page hardbound volume details the equipment, not all of it issued, the US warfighter carries into combat...This tome is lavishly illustrated with color photographs. The photos are sharp and detailed, with excellent captions, and feature both gear and combatants wearing or using the gear...Anyone interested in learning more abou 'the stuff a soldier carries' should read this book. It provides a look behind the scenes at the preparations which never make the news."
IPMS Journal "This hardcover volume offers a snapshot of American infantry uniforms and equipment of the Operations Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom era. Modern figure modelers will find this book a neat addition to their reference libraries. Items of interest include the crisp, clear images of new uniform patterns, new weapons and gear, including some sourced from the civilian adventure market. Figure modelers who are benefiting from the release of several new OIF/OEF figures on the market from manufacturers and figure sculptors themselves will find this book to be a welcome reference, as will modern armor guys adding crew gear to their bustle racks. Although thousands of pictures are available from the Internet, nothing can beat big, clear photographs from a book. The text, while informative, does not mire the reader in what can be dry information ... I highly recommend this book to figure modelers and anyone with an interest in military uniforms and equipment."
Tactical Weapons, September 2007
“This is one of the first books I’ve read where the writer fully understands just how much weight a real infantryman carries … This is a great book that should be mandatory reading for anyone getting ready to deploy for the first time to a combat zone.”
Book Description
With close-up photos and hands-on descriptions, Hans Halberstadt details the weapons, gear, and other supplies currently used by the men and women of the U.S. armed forces. Includes a foreword by Eric Graves and an afterword by Stephen Hilliard, both former soldiers who have since put their military experience to use in the gear industry, developing better battle rattle for those with their boots on the ground.
New Book About to Hit the Street: US NAVY SEALS My "author copies" of the new edition of US NAVY SEALS just showed up last week and that's a pretty good sign that it will soon show up here on Amazon and in the bookstores. This seems to be my 66th book, although it gets hard to count when revisions and second editions are considered. Part of it includes a discussion of the story behind the story of the Osama bin Laden mission, written with a little help from several friends in the SOF community but including some educated guesses. At the time, the mainstream news media were dishing out the usual BS about it all, based on misleading information from the WARCOM public affairs shop. But a lot has changed in the Naval Special Warfare community since my first book on the subject and it was time for an update. If you read it and have comments -- good or bad -- drop me a line, but be sure to sign your real name, please, because I will answer your note no matter what it says.
AN ODD HISTORY FOR A WRITER People often ask how I became a writer and generally assume that anybody who has written a lot of military books must have a passion for the process. The awful truth is that I was a poor student in high school English classes and became a writer entirely by accident. The accident was a happy one, though, and I love writing about the men and women of our modern armed forces. I really learned to write while in the Army when I corresponded with several very pretty girls. Writing those letters without an English teacher poised to pounce on every error became fun, and it paid off, too -- I am still friends with a couple of them many years later.
My training is in documentary film, a discipline that requires a lot of writing and a good ear for conversational speech. My first books resulted from documentary film productions, the first on stained glass (STAINED GLASS -- MUSIC FOR THE EYE, with Bob and Jill Hill). The book was Bob's idea and was a huge success thanks to a sweet review in Newsweek magazine. A public relations film for Exxon led to a chance meeting with Capt. James Shanower, a US Coast Guard officer who invited me to spend some time on his ship, the Morgenthau. That experience accidentally resulted in my first solo book, USCG -- ALWAYS READY, for Presidio Press, published in 1984.
Well, it was all downhill from there -- next, a book about the Army's Airborne, then another on Green Berets. "Let me do one on Army aviation!" I begged Richard Kane at Presidio Press. "Please!" He tossed me a contract for that one, then another for a book about tanks. I was hooked! Pretty soon I was neglecting my film projects and writing books instead. I thought I could quit any time and get back to honest work, but I couldn't help myself. One book followed another. I tried a twelve-step program for people who write too much, but they threw me out when the leader discovered I was taking notes for a book about it all.
In case it matters, I have lived in California most of my life, am married to a gorgeous babe named Miss April, and have lived in the same neighborhood for thirty-five years. I belong to a few organizations -- E Clampus Vitus, the UDT/SEAL Association, Association of the US Army (Life), and Author's Guild. I am working on a book about brothels and bordellos, but that's another story from Your Faithful Scribe, Hans Halberstadt.
This review is from: Battle Rattle: The Stuff a Soldier Carries (Battle Gear) (Hardcover)
From canteens to ammo clips and uniforms, 'battle rattle' is the stuff a soldier carriers to survive the day, and is here thoroughly explored in a book which examines changes in military clothing, packs and equipment. BATTLE RATTLE is more than an analysis of modern equipment: it also covers items soldiers purchase from civilian companies to supplement government issue and focuses on approach loads, equipment issues, and technological achievement alike, blending all together with vivid color photos throughout. Perfect for the military library.
Diane C. Donovan
California Bookwatch
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This review is from: Battle Rattle: The Stuff a Soldier Carries (Battle Gear) (Hardcover)
Ever wonder what all that stuff a soldier is wearing while watching news clips from Iraq and Afghanistan? It's all answered here in Battle Rattle. For one with no military experience, I was enthusiastic to learn about a soldier's gear and weaponry, how it's packed and minipulated in the field, and what goes vs. what stays. The book is tall with large color photographs so the reader can easily understand the function of each piece of equipment. As well, the book contains several informative combat stories as told by war vets. A great read!
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This review is from: Battle Rattle: The Stuff a Soldier Carries (Battle Gear) (Hardcover)
Every soldier who's every humped a ruck is going to love this book. Hans Halberstadt, along with fine contributions by Graves, Hilliard and others, has finally come out with a definitive work on the current evolutions of personal military equipment. Halberstadt's world class photography covers everything from boots to buckles and rucks to rifles, complimented by gear critiques from operators fresh from combat. Once a soldier, always a gear junky, and this book's a keeper.
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