Vietnam army helmet K08 for special force Commando
(Well, that's literally what it was labelled when it was bought from a dealer in Vietnam via eBay. What it actually is may be something else entirely. This is an extremely light helmet, made of just simple plastic, but well made and well-finished, with a liner that appears to be glued into the shell. The chinstrap seems robust enough considering the lightness of the shell, and has a sound connector. The chincup is flimsy and very light.)
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The lettering on the little holographic sticker reads
"QCVN"
and "Certified by Quatest3" and "Chung Nhan"
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"TONG CUC HAU CAN" - General Department of Logistics - a real Vietnamese government/military department.
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The woven legend below the colour-printed label reads "ASECO32" which is indeed a Vietnamese concern with links to the military.
In response to a query about what the helmet actually is, the dealer (a friendly sort of fellow) said -
"that item you buy from me exactly is helmet use for Vietnam army but you need to know: In Vietnam army we use some types helmet (metal, composite, carton,...) and Vietnamese helmets are simple... In wars, some of Vietnam arny soldiers, officers can wear helmet made by metal *(combat helmet)*, most of them wear Vietnamese helmets with very normal,.... never protect them in wars.
The helmet you buy from me is not a combat helmet, Vietnam army use normally and parade or ceremonial *(the peace time now) *for soldiers, officers but in war they can wear helmet made by metal and imported from Russia or US,..."
which is a bit garbled but nonetheless somewhat helpful. A parade helmet then?
Photographs supplied by
GREG PICKERSGILL