OP PRESENCE Mali - Private Gregory Kuzyk
Transcript - Private Gregory Kuzyk
Hi everybody, I'm Private Gregory Kuzyk, I'm part of the Canadian Forces Royal 22e Régiment 3rd Battalion based out of Valcartier. We're here in Gao, Mali. It's about 40 degrees Celsius. What I do here is, I'm part of a team that takes care of force protection for the Chinooks. I go out on medical evacs. What we have here is my usual kit that I wear on a daily basis whenever I go out on runs. To start off, 9 millimetre Browning HP pistol on my hip as well as additional mags. Next up, I have my fragmentation vest that I wear, contains my bulletproof plates. Next up I have my tactical vest which I have a whole bunch of goodies on. Next up I have my Camelbak on the back here holds 3 litres of water. Get really thirsty over here. Clip that on. As well on my kit, I have a medical pouch that every soldier has when he goes out of the base.
I have my gloves that not only prevent me from getting sunburn but keep my hands protectedas well as an accessory pouch that I can carry anything from a notepad to pens to string, anything. Other thing that I have here is my Kevlar helmet. Keeps my head protected for any falls or dangerous things that could happen out there.
Next up, I have my ballistic goggles that allow me to protect my eyes from the rotor wash when the helicopter comes down and we get out, because without these I won't be able to see a thing. Last but not least is my C8 service rifle. So as you can see here it's a typical Canadian Forces rifle. I have my Peck 2 laser, it's an infrared laser that I could only see with my N.V.G. As well as the M203 grenade launcher that I previously showed you. So this goes in here, makes a big boom.
So this is the kit that I wear on my calls. Usually every time I go out I'm wearing about maybe 50 pounds of gear including my rifle and my vest. Not including my daypack. It's 50 degrees outside 50 lbs calls for a hot day.