One of the most iconic and historic pieces of military equipment in the SARPiverse is the traditional “flak vest.” Although the age of power armor has resulted in less use of personal body armor, the traditional flak vest is an important part of Nepleslian and Yamataian history and its influences can still be seen in military fashion and in the political “color” factions of Nepleslia. The nomenclature for this vest when made by WickedArms Industries was the TA-6 Flak Vest.

Price: 50 KS

It's unclear when the traditional flak vest was originally developed, but it's known they've been in use for hundreds, possibly thousands, of years, during times of peace, times of war, and even through Nepleslia's semi-medieval phases of the past.

The traditional flak vest was used by the Star Army until YE 25. There was a period where it was unused due to widespread use of power armor starting in the Second Draconian War. However, in YE 36, the vest design returned to service and is now used by the Star Army in combination with the Star Army Coverall, Type 36.

The shape of the traditional flak vest, particularly the pointed cut of the hem on the front, has been inherited by military uniforms of the Nepleslian Space Marine Corps and Star Army of Yamatai. Examples include the YE 30 NSMC Standard Uniform, Star Army Duty Uniform, Type 22, Star Army Duty Uniform, Type 35, and Star Army Field Jacket, Type 37A.

In the old days of Nepleslia, the color of the flak vest/tabard was the identifying uniform for various factions of Nepleslian society.

For a long period of time, flak vest colors were used to show political affiliation.

• Royal Blue: Imperial Officials of Black Claw Star Empire/Uesureyan Star Empire/United Empire Forces
• Green: Army Of Uesureya (Greens)
• Dark Blue with a Chrome Gold Badge: Police, Funky City Police Department
• Red: Rebels (Nepleslian Reds)
• Gold: Drake Trade House
• Black: Some starship pilots, also associated with criminals (Black Syndicate)
• Brown: Merchants, civilians
• Light Gray: civilians.
• White: Desoto Trade House

Later, the Army of Uesureya and its successor, the Grand Star Army (later known as the Star Army of Yamatai), used traditional flak vests as part of their uniforms, using the following colors:

• Green: Standard/Spring-Summer
• Tan with black printed camo pattern: Fall/Grassland
• White: Snow
• Blue: Vehicle operators and technicians, starship crews
• Black: Star Army of Yamatai security sentries
• Sage green with black camo pattern: Marines. These vests were smaller than normal to help prevent drowning, and never worn with full-body armor. Most frequently used on planet Kennewes.

The Army of Uesureya and the Star Army of Yamatai wore a sage green full-body coverall such as the WickedArms Industries TA-05 Combat Jumpsuit, Star Army Coverall, Type 01, or TA-16 Flak Suit, which was a full-body version of the Flak Vest. There was a sniper version of the full body flak suit that was brown with camouflage-colored strings and leaves sewn onto it.

Made from Bulletproof Wool, it is a tabard design that has a hole in the center for the head, a front with a pointed end, a back section with a square-cut end, and two shoulder-pad extensions. The flak vest typically went down low enough to cover protect the user's crotch, but some were even large enough to reach the wearer's boots.

A strip for placing a name plate is typically positioned on the left breast. On certain later military vests, this was replaced with the triangle insignia of the Uesureyan Star Empire or unit emblem.

The vest stops most pistol rounds and strongly reduces rifle damage. It strongly reduces heat and does fairly against energy damage.

Damage Capacity: Damage Rating (Version 3):

• Tier 1 (Light Anti-Personnel).

The traditional flak vest was worn over any type of clothing. More often than not it was the entire “uniform” and soldiers simply wore personal clothing under it. It became part of the customs and culture and was worn on a daily basis by much of the population, even when the risk of fighting was minimal.

To put on the armor, users should orient the long, pointed front end in front of themselves, raise the flak vest over their head, and put their head through the hole. Once the vest is in the correct position, the vest should be secured with an elastic tactical belt. Some vest also had clasps, hook-and-pile, or other fasteners on the sides.

In some cases, the armor was worn with a metal plate strapped to the front to provide additional protection. This was mainly used during the ancient “Knight Wars” but rare during modern times.

Wes has mentioned that when he was a kid, he'd cut vests out of felt and put them on action figures. These helped divide them into factions for play purposes.