[Jack Moroney (RIP)]

[QUOTE=nighthawk45] the Vietnam era "B-52 TIPS" say to carry your magazines top
down with the bullets aimming away from you. So if your mag pouches get
shot you won't get hit by your own ammo. Now my question is, is this still ,SOP,
)[/QUOTE}

I would be very careful about adopting anyone's SOP for anything. SOPs are developed for a lot of reasons-some good some stupid, however when it comes to the best way of carrying magazines or other items on your person you need to look at several things such as where you are going to be, the mission, what you are going to be required to do, weapons systems you are carrying, other items of equipment you are carrying, obstacles to movement, etc, etc, etc. We made our own ammo vests in Vietnam out of canvas that carried magazines 360 and we did so for several reasons. First of all everything in the rain forest has a thorn, second regardless of what position we found ourselves we could still reach a magazine without having to roll into the line of fire or go through weird contortions to grab another magazine, we needed protection of the ammo from the elements, and as we often flew in birddogs we could easily get into and out of the back seat without having to drag along web gear and still have access to ammo if we needed to provide suppression fire out the window after the pilot made a rocket run. In another one of my organizations we made multiple variations of magazine and demo carrying pouches and gear to allow ease of access, ease of movement, and ability to carry additional specialized equipment. In both cases mentioned above, these we designed for specific roles and functions and were the best for the mission requirements. Unfortunately issued equipment is designed for whomever and never fits right for all folks. You need to use your own intelligent initiative based on common sense and good guidance from folks with experience for the missions where you are going to be operating to find the right mix. One size will never fit all nor will one carry option meet all variables. Hopefully you have a chain of command that will allow you to modify what you need to within the realm of common sense and situational awareness.