History
The IIFS has design roots in combat and load-carrying vests designed by Natick Laboratories for use by United States Navy SEALs during the Vietnam War. The concept of a load-carrying vest is that the weight of the equipment carried by an infantry rifleman is more evenly distributed over the body than with the old "suspender and belt" load-carrying concept.
The IIFS tactical load-carrying vest is designed to replace the All-purpose Lightweight Individual Carrying Equipment or ALICE system individual equipment belt and individual equipment belt suspenders as well as the small arms ammunition cases . Trial versions are utilized with woodland camouflage pattern versions of the ALICE water canteen cover and field first aid dressing case. The ALICE system intrenching tool cover remains unchanged and is also utilized during testing.
In the original design, as well as testing, the tactical load-carrying vest had panels made of Kevlar to improve the protection of the infantry rifleman when worn with the Personal Armor System Ground Troops or PASGT flak vest. The weight of this prototype vest was too much to continue to consider this concept.
Along with the tactical load-carrying vest a new individual equipment belt is introduced with a black plastic Fastex quick-release buckle and redesigned adjustment system. It is decided that instead of contracting new ALICE components in the woodland camouflage pattern that existing ALICE components will be utilized with the IIFS. These being the water canteen cover, field first aid dressing case, and intrenching tool cover.
Like the ALICE system, the IIFS is broken down into a fighting load and existence load along the same design concepts as the ALICE system.
In the mid-1990s the tactical load-carrying vest is redesigned, due to problems with ventilation and redesignated the Enhanced Tactical Load-Carrying Vest or Enhanced Tactical Load-Bearing Vest or ETLBV with no change to the National Stock Number.
The IIFS continues to serve the United States Army to date, even though it is to be replaced by the Modular Lightweight Load-Carrying Equipment or MOLLE system.
Read more about this topic: Individual Integrated Fighting System
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