MISCELLANEOUS Iraqi Army Plate Carriers
Although sporting no manufacturing tags, the plate carrier above is a good modern example of what the Iraqi army would have worn during the War on ISIS. It has space for both soft armor and ballistic plates, along with plenty of MOLLE for pouches. The black color suggests it was issued to the ISOF or Police forces. It was found abandoned in Tikrit, likely after ISIS captured the town in July 2014, so the style must have been introduced prior to that year.
This 2007 dated tan plate carrier was produced by Force One out of North Carolina and has space for both soft armor and ballistic plates. At least one photograph shows this exact model being worn around 2009, but its solid quality and MOLLE means it was used far after that. The example above was found abandoned in Tikrit, likely after ISIS captured the town in July 2014.
This particular Iraqi used plate carrier saw extensive use between the years 2005-2008, and the latest photographic evidence of it being worn was in 2011. It is very likely that remaining stocks continued to be used well after the fact, since there is a photo of a reporter wearing this vest in 2017.
The plate carrier sports a front and back panel, which both have inserts for soft armor, and another pocket to hold an armored plate located higher on the vest. A neck protector can be installed using Velcro located in the collar. The size of the vest is adjustable using velcro cummerbunds on the sides, and both panels can be completely detached.
Unfortunately, the tags on this piece were removed.
Photos courtesy of George Hougen
The plate carrier sports a front and back panel, which both have inserts for soft armor, and another pocket to hold an armored plate located higher on the vest. A neck protector can be installed using Velcro located in the collar. The size of the vest is adjustable using velcro cummerbunds on the sides, and both panels can be completely detached.
Unfortunately, the tags on this piece were removed.
Photos courtesy of George Hougen
This black plate carrier began service with the Iraqi Army in mid to late 2004, very shortly after the end of OIF, and supposedly began phasing out around the 2006-2007. Many leftover examples undoubtably stayed in use later, but it is unclear for how long. Since this does not have MOLLE or any pockets, it was almost always worn under a chest rig. A DCU camouflage variant has been observed in this exact style, which saw service around the 2010 mark.
This vest is very likely to be a plate carrier model called "Seven" which was manufactured by the Serbian company Mile Dragic. The unique design is identical to the one above, except for some Velcro additions which were likely requested by whoever ordered these vests for the Iraqi Army. This makes perfect sense because during this period, the Iraqis also imported other gear from Balkan countries, such as Slovenia.
The plate carrier has inserts for soft armor on both sides, and outer pockets for hard armor as well. The armor coverage however is lacking. The sides and shoulder area have no armor, and the soft inserts extends only a few inches outside the hard plate pocket, leaving a lot of areas exposed when wearing.
Photos courtesy of George Hougen
This vest is very likely to be a plate carrier model called "Seven" which was manufactured by the Serbian company Mile Dragic. The unique design is identical to the one above, except for some Velcro additions which were likely requested by whoever ordered these vests for the Iraqi Army. This makes perfect sense because during this period, the Iraqis also imported other gear from Balkan countries, such as Slovenia.
The plate carrier has inserts for soft armor on both sides, and outer pockets for hard armor as well. The armor coverage however is lacking. The sides and shoulder area have no armor, and the soft inserts extends only a few inches outside the hard plate pocket, leaving a lot of areas exposed when wearing.
Photos courtesy of George Hougen
This interesting vest was found abandoned in Tikrit, Iraq recently and was likely abandoned after ISIS took over in July 2014. It was produced by "Peace Keeper International" from the UK. It appears this company is now out of business. The vest sports minimal MOLLE and has space for soft armor and 2 ballistic plates. This is an older style vest usually seen pre 2010.