Original Item: Only One Available. The Advanced Combat Helmet (ACH) is the United States Army's current combat helmet, used since the early 2000s. It was developed by the United States Army Soldier Systems Center, the U.S. Army Special Operations Command,[2] and the U.S. Army Research Laboratory to be the next generation of protective combat helmets for use by the American ground forces. The ACH is derived from the Modular Integrated Communications Helmet. The ACH is currently in the process of being phased out and replaced by the Enhanced Combat Helmet (ECH), an improvement upon the ACH derived from its design; however, both the ACH and the newer ECH are being replaced by the Integrated Head Protection System.
In most SOCOM units, at least since the early 2000s, pretty much everyone carries a radio. Peltor makes a sound amplifying, danger noise canceling earmuff communication headset that is basically Marine proof, but I (Paddy) have seen Marines prove this otherwise. You can crank it up to amplify whispers, while it auto cutoffs when sounds are above a certain decibel level so they act as hearing protection. And they have single or dual drop communication wires to attach to radios, so the communication is directed clearly and audibly.
But wearing those with standard helmets is nearly impossible, even the mid cut MICH/ACH/ECH style, which is better than the old PASGT helmet but still covers most of the ear. Traditional types of Peltors went over-the-head and required the helmet to come off before the headset could be removed. On top of that, it was a pain getting the four point chin strap interwoven properly with the earmuff, plus draping wires, etc. Wearing them like that meant the Peltors stayed on most of the time, which meant directional hearing was poor, wearing them in 120-130 F heat with 100% humidity 24/7 isn't fun at all and had led to lots of ear infections and other issues. Later models of Peltors had a neckband mount that would slip up under the helmet and would use velcro on the helmet cover to stay up, making it much easier to slip on and off without taking off the helmet, but even with those they fit, but the helmet as a whole just wasn't designed to accept earmuffs, the part that covers the ears was just too close to the head for comfort.
In 2005, Ops Core made the Future Assault Shell Technology (FAST) helmet that was high cut, specifically to enable comms. They took the idea of the older Combat Vehicle Crewman helmet and applied it to the existing MICH helmet and added a rail system that separated the ear muffs and attached them individually to rails on the side of the helmet, allowing them individually or together to be swiveled away. As the 2000s turned into the 2010s, more and more SOF units started using them and now they're trickling into conventional forces inventory, who are also wearing more and more Peltor or similar style earmuffs.
This example is an “early” model is it was done by hand, which was a very common sight to see in the beginning of the GWoT campaign. The helmet is complete and in beautiful condition, it even has the more comfortable gel pads instead of the issued helmet pads. The NVG SL3 (missing elbow) is fully functional and able to be removed from the baseplate. The desert camouflage is spray paint applied, which is the easiest method in which we applied camouflage. To add the “designs” we would use our mesh laundry bags or sections of cammie netting. This helmet was camouflaged by way of the mesh laundry bag, which can be identified by the symmetrical smaller holes.
This is a fantastic helmet and comes more than ready for display or use!
