This vest was not a "flash in the pan" thing. I am sure I have pictures somewhere of me wearing it (in Germanyicon, circa 1996) along with others. I am trying to nail down when I was first issued it, and I believe it was 1992, in 4-8 Infantry, Coleman Barracks, Germany. And I know I had it until I retired at Ft Hood, in Jan 2001. Shortly thereafter, the MOLLE came out, right about the time of "the second Gulf War".