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Army Requirements AR 670-1

armygf

Oakley Beginner
1
51
hi all! new to the forum for a quick question...figured you all are the experts and might know the answer!

my boyfriend is in the army, and i am planning on getting him some new oakleys as a gift since he has misplaced his. i'm not sure if the army has any specific requirements regarding oakleys? i was looking at the half jacket xlj, but can't decide between jet black vs. matte black frames or black iridium polarized vs. grey polarized. any opinion will be appreciated. thanks!
 
Well, Oakley provides discounts to Military service men and women through https://secure.usstandardissue.com , however you do have to send in a copy of your military id and become verified(which I believe takes 3-4 days). I don't know if you were planning on surprising him or not. If you aren't I would definitely check out the site. I believe all of the glasses on there meet military specs, and the discount is about 40-50%, which is awesome! Though I'm pretty sure the normal Half Jackets from Oakley.com still meet military specs.

I would definitely go with the XLJ, also check out the Flak Jackets they are very similar to the Half Jackets. As for frame colors, thats just a matter of choice does he prefer normal back or matte black. For the lenses I would go with the Black iridium Polarized, in my opinion they are better because they offer the Iridium coating which reflects the sun and puts a mirrored look on the lenses.

Hope he enjoy's the glasses and thank him for serving our country!
 
i'm not sure what requirements the army has. but as far as the lens and finish, one thing to consider is the matte black will not reflect light like the jet black. so less likely to make your presence known. the same with the iridium coating on the lenses. they grey will not reflect light like the black irdium. i think this is why almost all of the oakley military edition frames come standard with matte black with grey lenses. definitely give the standard issue website a look as oakleyboss said. you will get out a lot cheaper. i own the half jackets, but not in the xlj model. i love them. they are the most comfortable out of all my oakleys. i have the matte black and black iridium polarized lenses. i chose matte black because i like the looks better and they dont show finger prints and smudges like jet black.
 
Do a google search for AR 670-1. He may or may not be able to wear them in formations. I'd ignore what the Reg says regarding wearing them in the field. We always did. Although I agree with the previous comment about the grey lense vs the reflective black iridium, I'd suggest black iridium if he's not going to take them to the field or he is just a FOBBIT.

I was issued a pair of M-frames before I deployed with grey, persimmon, and clear lenses. The issue with large lenses can be that they get in the way of the buttstock of the M-4 carbine or M-16 rifle. If he wants to use them during weapons qualification, you may want to consider smaller lenses like M-frame Hybrid S lenses, or the standard Half/Flak jacket lenses vs the XLJ. Having said that, depending on his job, he may only have to put his face to the buttstock for qualification. When I deployed, I had a holographic sight so I didn't need to put my face on the buttstock to fire effectively.

If he wants increased contrast like many weapons ranges require (some targets are in shade, some not) then he may want to consder G30, VR28, or possibly the persimmon lenses. This may help pick out targets better.

Do you know what he does? Depending on if he's Combat Arms or Support that would also dictate. Regardless the SI Matte Black frame is probably the way to go. All Oakleys are sufficient for safety lenses. There is a cool video you can look up on youtube where they drop a metal spike from 6 feet and the lenses are barely dented. They hold up remarkably well.
 
most of the time the matte black is the one thing they tend to care about but at the same time ive had guys come in to my store and say it doesnt really matter. i would say matte black with grey is your best bet. u can go polarized but some guys have told me they have trouble with seeing screens and stuff like that. standard issue is awesome but had a couple guys telling me they have been waiting weeks to hear back form them about getting registered. just what ive seen and heard.
 
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