so i just got these new nomex acu's and they have this pocket on the inside of the left thigh that none of us, for all of our knowledge can figure out WTF theyre for. can anyone give me a concrete answer on what that is there for. it obviously has a specific purpose due the size, shape, design, and included dummy cord. someone help me out with this before i go insane.

I heard it was for a survival knife but I personnaly don't think it's big enough for the bolt knife and it's an odd place for one. The mystery continues...

for a small knife and the dummy cord is there so it don't get lost.... i think.

Knife or flashlight, the IABDU and flight suits had them too.

so yeah, i aprreciate the response on the topic. pretty much what we have all been thinking. also maybe its for a chemlight? but im really looking for a link to some sort of army documentation that someone might know of regarding this. that way i can settle a bet. my money is on it being for a flashlight. but who knows. anybody out there now of anything about this?

I read somewhere that it's for the MC-1 paratrooper automatic knife/shroud cutter. No idea if it's true or not.

http://www.parachuteshop.com/MC1_paratrooper_survival_knife.htm

i could see that knife working. still lookin for somethin concrete tho. on a related note... i was talkin to someone the other day who had one of his joe's convinced it was for airborne guys to tie off to thier harness, in case it falls off. kinda of a parachute dummy cord. classic. also, newly discovered is a little pocket in the top on the right side that is just a hole that velcro's shut. no pocket to it, you open the velcro, and bam, there's your stomach. odd. they shoulda known giving 11b's aviators equipment was gonna cause confusion. i had just figured out my aviators kit bag. lol

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also, newly discovered is a little pocket in the top on the right side that is just a hole that velcro's shut. no pocket to it, you open the velcro, and bam, there's your stomach. odd.

That is for the airwarrior a/c system. It connects a tube from the undershirt system to the a/c system in the aircraft. It is still not in mass production or anything.

It's a knife pocket similar to what you find on the CWU/27P Nomex Flight Suits.

These uniforms where originally designed for flight crews. The left thigh pocket is for the piddle pack.

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piddle pack

What is a piddle pack?

Its a little bag used by flight crews on long missions to relieve themselves in. It turns urine into a gel-like substance so it can be easily disposed of. Although, I have seen the pocket in questions, and I have seen a piddle pack...and I seriously dont think one would even come close to fitting in that pocket,unless it was unused.

I agree that it is for a knife of some sort, hence the hole at the top to allow dummy cord to keep whatever is in the pocket from flying around the cockpit or being lost. Even when I worked in Navy aviation, aircrews had those with knives in them.

That pocket in the A2CUs is a holdover from the old flight suits. Originally the pocket was to hold the MC1 knife shown earlier in the thread, because fighter pilots would eject and if their parachute malfunctioned they would need something to cute the risers off. Notice the hook on the knife, it is there as a "riser hook". Another unique thing about that knife is that the regular blade is a switchblade and thus hard to obtain. Obviously as a helicopter pilot I have no need for that knife, so I personally use it for a Mini-mag flashlight.