In  1972, the U.S. Army began research and devolopment on a new helmet to replace the steel M-1.  They chose DuPont's Kevlar ballistic fiber as the material for the new helmet.  Tests were completed by 1978 and the helmet, along with a body armor vest, went into production as the Personnel Armor System Ground Troops, or PASGT.  Unlike the M-1, which consisted of a steel shell and a separate plastic liner, the PASGT was a single-peice helmet, with the suspension attached directly to the helmet shell.  The PASGT used a nylon webbing suspension system similar to those in the M-1 liners and came in four sizes: extra small, small, medium, and large.  A fifth size, extra large, was added in 1989.  Fully assembled, the PASGT weighed between 3 and 4.5 lbs.  The Army also issued three types of camouflage covers for the helmet: woodland, desert, and winter.  A parachutist version of the PASGT featured a pad placed at the back of the helmet and a special retention cord.  In total, around 3 million PASGT helmets were produces between 1978 and 1996, many of which are still in use in the U.S. military today.¹

Garment Type: Infantry Helmet

Year Made: 1978 — 1996