PASGT Vest

The Personnel Armor System for Ground Troops (PASGT) vest is a ballistic vest used by the United States military from the early 1980s until the mid-2000s, when it was replaced by the Interceptor body armor.

The PASGT vest utilized Kevlar for the first time in the United States military's body armor, unlike the Ballistic nylon that was used in the models of body armor that preceded it. While generally incapable of stopping rifle bullets, the PASGT vest provided better protection against shrapnel and reduced the severity of injuries from small arms fire when compared to the M-69. Despite its ability to stop pistol rounds, including 9×19mm Parabellum FMJ, the vest was only ever designed or intended to stop small fragments without injury to the user. The PASGT vest weighs approximately 9 lb (4,080 g), a small increase over the previous model.

The PASGT vest itself is covered with Woodland pattern nylon fabric (a very limited number were made in olive drab but only Woodland versions were issued to US forces); to increase stealth capabilities on the part of the wearer camouflage covers were worn atop it in various camouflage patterns. Early camouflage covers were in DBDU but later came in the DCU pattern.