Men of Steel: Plate Carriers of the Light Reaction Regiment

By Diego

In all of the AFP, the Light Reaction Regiment is the Philippines’ premier special missions unit and has been at the forefront of every major Filipino battle since its inception.

Around the mid 2000s, some LRR assaulters were struck by gunfire from Abu Sayyaf terrorists. Because of their armored plates, they simply brushed it off and continued on mission. This led to them being colloquially called “taong bakal”, or “men of steel” in English.

Because of the direct action and urban mission sets of the LRR, they will utilize plate carriers at a more frequent rate than their peers. Here we will cover some of the different types of plate carriers used by the Regiment. Note that not all of Filipino vests will have known manufacturer names nor designations.

6094-style Plate Carrier:

Loosely resembling the US made London Bridge Trading 6094 plate carrier is this Philippine made vest. These vests are far more simple than its original 6094 cousin, lacking amenities such as side plate inserts or radio pouches in the cummerbund. There is a strip of female loop velcro on the very top of the platebag for patches. We suspect that these vests are made in or around Fort Magsaysay as they are a unique design not found in other military shops.

Buckle Closure Cummerbund Vest:

Another distinctly LRR plate carrier is a plate carrier vest that is secured via buckles. These vests distantly resemble American Eagle Industries MBSS plate carriers. Locally made, commercial variants of these vests show up throughout the Philippine gear markets.

CIRAS-style Plate Carrier:

Yet another commercial plate carrier in use by the Light Reaction Regiment, these PCs are clear copies of the Eagle Industries CIRAS plate carrier, distinguished by its bulky profile that squares off on the top. Philippine CIRAS vests almost always delete the soft armor inserts the Eagle Ind. vests have. Interestingly enough, real Eagle CIRAS carriers also see circulation, often equipped with Eagle and SORD pouches.

CPC Cut Plate Carrier:

While it seems as though these lower profile vests likely did not directly copy Crye’s CPC vest, there is evidence of convergent evolution in a sense that both carriers seem to have small, lower profile, square plate bags. We suspect these vests to also be a Fort Magsaysay produced custom product as these vests or designs adjacent to them aren’t found in the commercial market.

Venum Banshee-cut Plate Carrier:

One the most prolific and distinctive commerical plate carriers in LRR circulation be the Venum Banshee-cut plate carriers in their olive green color variety. Venum plate carriers are documented in official AFP advertisements, training sessions and in combat, making numerous appearances in the Marawi Siege. Because of its abundance, we can deduce that these plate carriers were also bulk ordered for the Regiment’s use, and the safest bet for doing an impression.

First Spear Strandhögg Plate Carrier:

About a dozen or so Light Reaction Regiment operators are known to sport Strandhöggs, making them exceptionally rare among LRR ranks but iconic to the operators that use them. One operator uses a Multicam colored variant and another in Ranger Green.