White dots on helmets

[King Tubby 0]

On a lot of soldiers, there are two white dots on the back of

their helmets. This seems to have nothing to do with a specific

addon, as it is present on many different soldiers.

This is what it looks like:

[EDIT: removed picture.]

From left to right:

BAS Delta

HYK Desert soldier

Laser Ranger

SFTY Marine

Closest to the camera is a para rifleman from the BLB Uk Troops pack.

I have the latest versions of all these addons (to the best

of my knowledge).

Question is: Why are they there and how do i get rid of them?

The dots only appear on helmets, i.e. not berets or hats.

They are not present on all soldiers with helmets, only a few,

some of which are on the picture.

[Cpt. FrostBite 0]

D'OH!!!!!!!!    

Oh boy..

This in intented to be there. Those white boxes are called cat-eyes in real-life and are used by soldiers as a method to ID friendly soldiers and to make their position more visible during night-time. So every soldier behind you can so those cat-eyes and spot your position and ID you as friendly.

SO IT'S NOT A BUG!!  

(and you can't get rid of them)

[the_shadow 0]

thats becouse they are there deliberatly...

a lot of soldiers IRL whear so called "cat eyes" on the back of their helmets, simply said it´s 2 white glowing dots that helps the fellow soldier behind you see where you are in the dark and therefor not loose you and the rest of the squad.

not all countries have this though, mainly NATO countries.

[shinRaiden 0]

What they said. And while you're at it, you'll want to bring that posted picture down to 100kb from 926.62kb before the mods take you off at the knees.

[King Tubby 0]

Thanks for the answer. That´s news to me actually, i´ve never heard

about cat-eyes before. You must admit that they look like two

spots of missing texture or something though.

Sorry about the big file size also. I´ll take it down now since

I got my question answered and everything.

[hellfish6 7]

Wrong forum, but you get brownie points for having the name "King Tubby" - one of my favorite musicians ever.

[mp_phonix 0]

Isn't it also to prevent friendly fire in the night ?   ya know, so you dont accedintly shoot the soldier in front of you during night combat or smt like that    . . .

edit

isnt that white thing also on your snikers/sports shoes, and when light hit ya it reflects and you see the dots ? [also in that yellowish car jackets that security/emergency forces wear . .

[phaeden 0]

No, the cat-eyes are used to see a man within a few meters of you. Glint tape is used by aircraft (helos, c-130s, etc) to beam an IR beam down on the battlefield. If you have glint-tape and are in the right position, the aircraft knows you are friendly (and where you are). Cat-eyes are usually attached to the back of the helmet about 1/3-2/3 the way down. Occasionally, they are placed on packs or camel-backs. Glint tape is attached to the top of the hemet.

[the_shadow 0]

sweden has used a similar thing, but that was a strap of "glow in the dark" cloth attached to the INSIDE of the collar (wich you simply flipped up on night patrols so that the cloth became visible...

however, i belive that the cloth had some tritium in it and thus someone figured out that it cant be healthy (tritium is radioactive)

so now we dont use it anymore (and i have never seen any replacement idea for it, guess we have better night vision then everyone else)

actually, i find it quite interesting to compare what different armies have dont to solve the problem with knowing where your mate in front of you are on night patrols.

[King Tubby 0]

So the cat eyes can only be spotted from within a very short distance? Are they self-illuminating

or do they only reflect small amounts of light?

Also, sorry about posting in the wrong forum there. I got the two addon forums mixed up i guess.

Good to see another King Tubby fan btw..

[wolfbite 8]

They are just reflectors. so when a certain amount of light is caught on them at a specific angle. then you can see them... they work like cat eyes on roads

[phaeden 0]

The cat-eyes we used (USMC) actually glowed a little after you high them with light for a while. Kind of like the Halloween vampire teeth that "glow in the dark." Generally, you never saw them. You mostly saw the really dark sharp in front of you (as well as heard them).

[Mamba Six 11]

They also help to find your spare helmet covers in the back of your drawers.

[Warden 0]

The British used this Kind of System During WW1 they pinned Metal triangles on the packs of troops so observers too keep track of the advance, a concept nearly 100 years old still finds a use in todays digital military enviroment!