A poncho liner is a piece of field gear originating in the United States military intended to provide warmth in mild temperatures used as a field expedient sleeping bag when attached to the standard issue poncho by means of integral lengths of material which are looped through the poncho's eyelets.
Contents
Construction
The poncho liner consists of two layers of quilted nylon encasing a polyester loft filling. There were tie-cords on the corners and side that could be tied through matching grommets on rain ponchos. They measured 62 x 82 inches. Most examples are a variation of olive drab on one side and camouflage on the other, either ERDL pattern in earlier examples or the later Woodland pattern, as well as the MARPAT and Universal Camouflage Pattern and MultiCam most recently. Commercial copies include features like thinsulate batting, a zippered edge and come in a greater range of colors. The CIA-funded Counterinsurgency Support Office (CISO) on Okinawa developed a lower cost smaller 49 x 75-inch gray-green poncho liner for used by the Special Forces-advised Civilian Irregular Defense Group (CIDG) in Vietnam.
Opinions
Opinions among the troops generally hold the poncho liner in high regard, as a very useful piece of equipment, light and packable yet reasonably warm. Even when soaking wet, the poncho liner wrapped around a soldier would trap body heat. Many servicemen and women go through great lengths to find ways to keep their poncho liners as long as possible, even when they leave the service. The poncho liner found wide acceptance amongst US troops in Vietnam, providing just enough warmth for cool tropical nights but light and small. It is especially popular today in the age of 100-pound rucks and bulky Modular Sleep Systems. The term "woobie" is post-Vietnam and is conjectured to have derived from the name for a child's security blanket in the movie Mr. Mom.
Kevin Powers in his novel about the Iraq War, "The Yellow Birds", calls a poncho liner "woobie" when he says " I took my woobie out of my pack and covered him." Then, "the wind blew the woobie and uncovered what was left of Murph's face."