Thread by @spdustin

Coming up on Fox News: how-to tips for military cosplay fetishists.

https://twitter.com/lawrencebjones3/status/1113763507101741056

That’s an aftermarket AirPods case wrap, with a keychain holder. So, this cosplay isn’t that great.

That’s…that’s a backpack. That’s a “tactical” backpack with MOLLE attachment points on it, and he turned the backpack around.

He’s wearing a backpack…backwards.

On purpose.

You can't make this up.

There's an opinion piece calling this a "plate carrier", a vest-like garment (sometimes integrated with a backpack) with pockets on the front •and the waist• to hold armor plates.

Like the image below.

The Fox News reporter is wearing a backpack—no "cummerbund" plate pockets.

Follow-up: Armor Express contracts with CBP for their protection gear.

This page lists their plate carriers. Note that none of them look like Lawrence's cheap (backwards) tactical backpack.

armorexpress.com/product-catego…

CC to @AlexHortonTX, who wrote a story for WaPo's A&E section referring to Mr. Jones' backpack as a "tactical green plate carrier".

Alex: Definitely not a plate carrier. See above tweets.

The CBP Use of Force Policy Handbook, on page 53, describes CBP personal protective body armor requirements. Part of that description specifies that any armor must meet the NIJ standard of Level-IIIA protection. The backpack worn by Jones clearly doesn't.

cbp.gov/sites/default/…

A full list of NIJ-approved personal protective body armor is available online. While I did not evaluate every possible vendor's approved product, I was unable to find any approved product without cummerbund-style waist straps for armor plates.

justnet.org/app/tims/CPLRe…

The thin backpack-style shoulder straps are another dead giveaway. A single armor plate insert (avg. 1" thick) for a chest pocket can weigh anywhere from 2–8 lbs. For that reason, plate carriers have padded shoulder straps with thick, "MIL-spec" stitching.

I'll repeat: I did not check the complete list of approved products in the earlier link.

I'll also add: I'm not a law enforcement officer, nor a veteran. I may be way off base with my admittedly amateur analysis.

If so, I'll archive and delete my tweets and post a retraction.

Adding new info:

Gov't guidelines require, "the sides of the torso armor should always
overlap by approximately two inches front to back (i.e., the front panel should lie on top of the back
panel)."

Pg. 24, ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/nij/…

If this were a CBP-issued plate carrier (it very likely isn't), CBP guidelines would likely require this one to be replaced due to the fraying at the bottom.

I've messed with this thread on and off while getting other work done, but I can't think of anything else to add. Thanks for reading. I'll update with any new info as it becomes available.