Where does ICE and CBP's Gear Come From?
Crye Precision, DHS, The Brooklyn Navy Yard, and Tactical Gear Industry
Earlier this week, the Brooklyn Navy Yard decided not to renew Easy Aerial’s lease. This was quite the coup for the community activist group “Demilitarize Brooklyn Navy Yard,” which had been campaigning for Easy Aerial’s removal since 2024. Easy Aerial produces autonomous drones used by the IDF. They were also the subject of a Wall Street Journal article about the surge in drone orders from the IDF after October 7. With Aerial now on the way out, there is only one other company that “Demilitarize Brooklyn Navy Yard” has its sights on. As one supporter tweeted after the news broke, “Crye Precision is next!!!!!”
Readers of Combat Threads and listeners to Articles of Interest surely know who Crye Precision is. I spent a lot of time on the MultiCam story a few years back, and Avery actually had a chance to interview them. In fact, she interviewed them in their Brooklyn Navy Yard offices, where they have been located since 2002. Best known for its MultiCam pattern, Crye Precision is a behemoth of the tactical gear industry, making all manner of clothing and gear considered among the best money can buy.
The “Demilitarize Brooklyn Navy Yard” campaign first noted that MultiCam supplied an Israeli tactical manufacturer who, in turn, outfitted IDF troops. Crye has maintained that they have no contracts with the Israeli military. Critics pointed out that in an unrelated lawsuit, Crye did state that its MultiCam pattern had “been adopted for use by all or portions of the armed forces of many countries,” including Israel. Crye later stated that the inclusion of Israel was a mistake.
Additionally, the activists have pointed out that Crye has been supplying DHS with uniforms and gear through government contracts for years. Infographics on Demilitarize Brooklyn Navy Yard’s Instagram show side-by-sides of Crye plate carriers and those worn by federal agents during various crackdowns across the country. In January, a variety of outlets reported (this write-up from Source Material is particularly good) that Crye had been tapped to provide cold-weather gear for DHS agents in Maine. “Only the extreme cold weather apparel provided by Crye can meet the negative temperatures (-18 degrees) experienced by US Border Patrol agents, Houlton, Maine Sector,” said a note in the contract for $39,681.32. This order and subsequent reporting were simultaneous to reporting on plans for an ICE surge in Maine.
Besides this “rapid” purchase of cold-weather gear, Crye has had contracts with DHS since at least 2013 for its signature MultiCam uniforms, plate carriers, and other gear (this includes for less politicized agencies in DHS such as the Secret Service and US Coast Guard). There are also orders for Crye products from other distributors, such as a 2024 order for plate carriers from Goldbelt Security in VA. DHS also solicited bids for 200 Crye AVS and JRC plate carriers in September for Border Patrol’s Special Response Team. It was one of these SRT agents, Raymundo Gutierrez, who was one of the two shooters who killed Alex Pretti.
The specific ICE and CBP units at the center of much of the violence in Minneapolis and elsewhere in the country are also those that receive more specialized tactical gear. These are ICE’s two SRT teams, CBP’s one SRT team, and the Border Patrol Tactical Unit (BORTAC). There are multiple pieces of Crye gear in the BORTAC-issued kit, such as the JPC plate carrier. Wired has a great rundown of these special units, documenting their aggressive tactics and their results.
If you read Combat Threads the other week, the idea that tactical gear from Crye was showing up on ICE agents would be of little surprise. Crye is maybe the most important originator of many of the hallmarks of the “operator” aesthetic. It was their MultiCam pattern that would come to define what cool SOF guys were using and would take over the world. If one wants to cosplay as an operator, one simply must have some Crye.
It also helps that Crye gear is expensive, making it an easily visible status symbol for many in the tactical, 2A, law enforcement, and military communities. A sign of expertise, seriousness, and simply a flex. It has become much more common for military and police to buy their own gear, upgrading their issued items. Look at photos of ICE operations, and you will see a variety of plate carriers along with Crye’s (Crye’s JPC plate carrier is part of the Border Patrol Tactical Unit’s issued kit).
Then of course, there is MultiCam, Crye’s most famous design. This camouflage pattern and its countless knockoffs are seen in virtually every conflict around the world and on the backs of US federal and local law enforcement officers. Scenes from Minneapolis of immigration agents, there is always some MultiCam in view. DHS placed its first order for MultiCam uniforms in 2013.
The Global War on Terror created a massive tactical gear industry that is still with us today. Crye’s story is demonstrative of how this industry evolved. Starting out as a small firm working on helmets and camouflage patterns for the military, it forged a relationship with some of the military’s most elite units. These SOF units had leeway to outfit themselves as they saw fit, buying directly from Crye. This was reflected in their marketing materials, which, in turn, helped sell the brand as the choice of true “operators.” But beyond marketing, word of mouth and photos of SOF in Crye raised the brand’s prestige, prompting others (both individuals and nations) to run to get in on the action.
Even with its rising status, Crye didn’t start its own Instagram account until 2018. While only speculation, this timing would make sense as the GWOT (and military contracts) began to slow down and the brand had to shift to a more retail-oriented. Nowadays, they are known for their extravagant annual party in Las Vegas during SHOT Show, a shooting and tactical industry trade show, with influencers and “Guntubers” in attendance. Crye remains a tactical gear leader, but you are much more likely to see their gear on law enforcement or 2A tactical guy. Every weekend shooter has a pair of G3 pants and every ICE agent has a JPC plate carrier.
The truth is, Crye gear and uniforms — and the countless rip-offs of it — are everywhere. It can be hard to determine which pieces federal agents are wearing were bought with their own money and which were the result of government contracts. It is also a hard fact that US clothing manufacturing is essentially reliant on these types of military and law enforcement contracts, thanks to the Berry Amendment and Kissell Amendments. GWOT created the tactical gear industry as we know it today and has helped outfit more militarized police, including Crye and other more granola outdoor companies. Crye has a massive 100,000-square-foot office in the Navy Yard with some 250 workers. I don’t see them leaving anytime soon.
Till next time,
C.W.M.
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Thanks for the shout out! Keep up the good work.