Jack Carr and his Iraq Navy SEAL Loadout

Jack Carr, former Navy SEAL and now author, recently shared a photo of what he called “The tools of the trade,” circa 2005/2006. The photo was taken during an Iraq deployment and showed an interesting mix of weapons. I’ve taken a look at the weapons, the accessories, and gear to give you a breakdown of this Navy SEAL’s gear and gats. I’m not an expert on all accessories and parts but have deep-dived as far as I could to find out what’s what.

Jack Carr’s recently released his fourth novel, The Devil’s Hand. Check it out, but before you do, check out the gear and guns he carried in Iraq. Also, check out our Podcast with Mr. Carr.

Mk12 Rifle

SEALs love the Mk12, as do United States Marines. It’s an awesome “Special Purpose Rifle” used as a rifle that lives between a standard assault rifle and a sniper rifle. Mk12s use a specially built upper receiver outfitted with a free-floating match-grade 18-inch barrel. These barrels were designed to utilize the Mk 262 cartridge. The barrel is topped with an OPS Inc. muzzle break designed to attach a suppressor.

The rifle issued to Jack Carr has a Knight’s Armory Free floating handguard. This rail system has a PEQ 15 laser aiming device for IR laser use at night. We also see what’s likely a Harris bipod, a KAC foregrip, and what appears to be a Surefire light opposite the PEQ 15. The optic is a Nightforce 2.5-10×24 NXS.

The lower receiver could be an M16A1 or M4A1 lower. The full-auto lowers were preferred because the semi-auto trigger was much more consistent than a burst trigger. The stock is either an M16A1 or M16A2 stock.

Jack Carr likely would have used this rifle for longer range engagements, overwatch, and anti-sniper operations. When you gotta kill a guy from real far away, this is the gun to go with.

Mk18 MOD 0

The Mk18 serves American Spec Ops as one of the premier close-quarters fighting weapons. In 2005 it was as high speed as you could get. The Navy trimmed the already compact M4 barrel to a mere 10.3 inches. The total overall length of the weapon is only 26.75 inches. As you’d expect, SEALs use this rifle to clear rooms, board ships, and fight at bad-breath distances.

The gun’s short design makes it easy to engage at close distances, and when it comes to clearing buildings, the shorter you go, the better.

The rifle issued to Jack Carr is optimized for close-quarters use. On top, we see an Eotech optic, likely a 553 model. The rail is a Knight Armament RIS, and it wears a PEQ 15 and KAC foregrip. The upper would also likely be fitted with a suppressor from KAC or Surefire.

Full auto fun is delivered by the M4A1 lower. Jack’s rifle has a SOPMOD stock that provided a much better cheek weld than the CAR 15 or M4 stocks. Also, the pistol grip appears to be a FAB defense AR grip.

Mk18 Upper 2

In the picture Jack Carr posted, we see two other uppers and a whole lotta AR 15 kits. The upper on the right is another Mk18 upper. Notable differences include the optic and IR laser. Instead of an Eotech, this upper utilizes an ACOG. Likely a TA01NSN. This 4x fixed power optic makes it easy to shoot out to moderate ranges.

Although it’s a seemingly odd choice for an Mk18 upper, who am I to judge? On top of the ACOG appears to be a mini red dot. It’s likely a Docter optic. Mounts were specifically created for the Docter red dots to be attached to ACOGs. Trijicon’s own mini red dot wouldn’t be released until 2007.

We also see what appears to be a PEQ laser aiming unit. It’s an older model that’s a bit larger than the PEQ 15, another odd sight in a Navy SEAL’s loadout circa 2005. We also got a KAC grip to finish it off.

M4 Upper

The third upper is a standard M4 upper outfitted with an M203 40mm grenade launcher. Sometimes grenades are invaluable. When you have a machine gun nest spewing lead at you, nothing shuts ‘it faster than a 40mm. I can see why Jack Carr would keep this as an option.

On top of this upper, we get an ACOG, again likely a TA01NSN model with a mini red dot, probably Docter, mounted. The ACOG makes a little more sense on the longer barreled M4 upper. This setup provides excellent firepower out to 300 yards, and a good shot can make bad guys dead guys out to 500 yards.

On top of the rail is a mighty big laser, properly named the Attila 200. I do not know much about this IR device other than its massive but powerful. It offered a beam powerful enough to coordinate close air support at night, to mark targets for snipers, and the like.

This would be a hefty setup, but boy, oh boy, it could deal some damage.

The SIG P226

The Navy SEAL handgun of choice in 2005/2006 was the SIG P226. This DA/SA design tied with the Beretta in the U.S. Army trials but was apparently too costly for Big Army.

The P226 utilizes the NATO 9mm standard and feeds from a 15 to 17 round magazine. If you look in the far left corner, you’ll see an old-school Surefire setup for the P226. Because the gun lacked a rail, a special adapter was created to outfit the gun with a light.

Everything Else in the Jack Carr Box of Madness

We see a few night vision devices, as well as some tools and a suppressor. An old-school Aimpoint M3 chills above the Mk18 rifle and 2nd Mk18 upper. We got a single-point sling, some batteries, and a pistol lanyard. Jack Carr seems to be a man who likes to have options. He certainly had plenty of options in 2005/2006. I’d imagine every day as a Navy SEAL on deployment is a bit different, so having a multitude of tools in the toolbox is welcome.