Infantry Combat Equipment (non-firearm): Vests, Body Armor, NVGs, etc.
- Thread starter by78
- Start date
Hello, I just found these pictures of some People's Armed Police units stationed in Xinjiang. Am I wrong to have the impression that they look as well (or even more) armed as the average infantry soldier? That's the impression I got when comparing the pictures in the tweet with pictures in this thread.
PeoplesPoster
Junior Member
typically the individual PAP is better equipped than the equivalent PLA soldier.
You have to remember that the PAP is in many ways not the average SWAT unit; a militarised law enforcement unit.
Instead the PAP are more a kin to a military unit with limited law enforcement duties.
A good comparison or equivalent would be the British Royal Marine Commandos. They are both highly trained and versatile elite infantry units.
The Royal Marines combine many conventional land warfare, amphibious and air capabilities as well as specialist capabilities in certain commando units such as ship boarding (42 commando, often in recapturing hijacked civilian ships), and protecting the UK’s nuclear weapons (43 Commando).
And whilst the Royal Marines have no formal law enforcement duties, like the PAP, similarly Royal Marines (especially in certain battalions or when performing specialist missions) do get slightly fancier eqipment and more gadgets than the regular British Army Infantry soldier.
Was thinking more along the lines of the FBI's HRT or Counterterrorism Division, but then I don't know the British security/defense establishment all that well
The PAP is a very large and highly militarised organisation so more akin to a military unit rather than a civilian militarised law enforcement unit (hence my opinion that the RM commandos are a good equivalent given their relative size [again relative for the country], role and capabilities). I would consider the PAP to be straddling the line between elite infantry such as paratroopers and marines and Tier 2 Special forces such as the RM commandos (when in Special Forces Support Group role), US army rangers, US marine raiders and recon marines.
MwRYum
Major
Actually, PAP is more akin to Gendarmerie in its scope and duties, also China Coast Guard falls under the command structure of PAP, whereas in other places Coast Guard typically a separate service branch of the military - then again, PAP itself is under Central Military Commission...
I think a closer comparison for the PAP might be the Italian Carabineri.