Original Item: Only One Available. This is an ultra rare Vietnam War Era United States Navy  Experimental Floating Jacket as issued to SEAL teams. It comes complete with internal inflatable bladder with C02 actuator with ripcord still intact, and manual inflation tube. This near unissued example still retains its original tag which reads:
 
EXPERIMENTAL GARMENT
PROPERTY OF U.S. NAVY
CLOTHING & TEXTILE RESEARCH UNIT
NATICK, MASS.
SIZE LRG-SHORT NO. GRENADIER
CONTRACT NO. N00298-70-C-0406
 
Lime Green rip-stop ERDL variant for a Grenadier with multiple pockets for double magazines and grenades and as well as other instruments. All velcro is in excellent condition. There are no tears, holes, rips or poor stitching that we can find. All buttons are present and are in excellent condition. All pockets and pouches are clean and don't appear to have ever had anything in them. All pull straps in pouches are perfect and in great condition.
 
These jackets are exceptionally hard to find as they were experimental and issued in only limited numbers. This is the most complete best condition example of the Grenadier variant we have ever seen. This example is museum worthy and won't be easily found again.
 
The first SEAL teams were deployed to Vietnam in 1966 to bolster the American effort to rid the Mekong Delta of the Viet Cong. Assigned as strictly reconnaissance troops for the “riverine navy”, they were deployed to the Rung Sat Special Zone. Crisscrossed by rivers and canals and characterized by heavy vegetation and swamps, the Delta region provided an ideal staging area for the Communist insurgents and their northern allies. Because of the difficult terrain the Delta had been left virtually untouched by effective South Vietnamese forces. However, the arrival of the Americans would soon make life more difficult for the enemy.
 
The SEALs were formed in 1962 to conduct covert amphibious counter-insurgency operations. By 1966 SEAL doctrine was still in the development stage and the SEALs were still relatively inexperienced, having seen little action in the Dominican Republic and as advisers to the South Vietnamese. As the fighting in the Delta increased, the strictly reconnaissance role of the SEALs expanded to include raids, ambushes, prisoner snatches, infiltration etc. As the role of the SEALs expanded, so their need for specialised equipment clarified. Among the specialised items developed exclusively for SEALs was the range of ammunition-carrying inflatable jackets known in official jargon as “Coats, Ammunition Carrying, Buoyant, and Bladder”.
 
In general the SEAls were left to their own devices when it came to uniforms and equipment: the rule was “whatever works best for the individual, goes”. This led to some bizarre combinations, which sometimes included jeans or captured vc gear; but in general consisted of a camouflage shirt and trousers, web gear and a black rubber inflatable survival vest. While this was generally adequate, there were continual efforts to improve equipment to match operational requirements in Vietnam.