Dismissed to load up he walked into his room and pulled on the Gear harness, tightening the straps and buckling on the external armor. the heavy composite panels slid into the recesses and pockets sewed into the combat wear. tossing the parade boots into the corner, he pulled out a much more rugged, and scarred pair, the leather having been exposed to everything the battle field could throw at it, and slogged through it all without complaint. turning them over in his hands, he inspected the soles, seams, and leather to locate any potential faults. aside from a rock in the tread, and a new scuff, they we fit to tour the field again. tucking the legs into the boots and lacing them up, he reached into his gear bag and retrieved his holster, attaching it to his belt and tightening the strap around his thigh. the last thing he put on was his 3L camelback, with everything else in his gear, he did a extra check to make sure he had everything. knife, pistol holster, armor, water.....yep. his firearms would be in his GEAR along with ammo and food.
walking into the briefing room he picked a seat and sat down. ghost stories and hearsay he thought. I could be a joke, or cover up for rookie mistakes, hell one of his buddies in recruit class tried to blame his gear shutting down on a gremlin, the little demons that are said to ruin engines. turned out he hit the emergency shutdown switch. in his opinion its probably some new tactic from the enemy forces, but its not his job to lead, only to follow and adapt.
with not much else to do, mike yawned and leaned back in his seat, waiting for the briefing to start.