the individual a direct line of sight is provided by a front opening 20 in the helmet 12 so that there is no blocking of the view when looking in a forward direction in addition due to the open lattice construction of the helmet excellent peripheral viewing is obtained the rigid vest 14 is made of a semi rigid plastic reinforced material the vest is worn snugly around the upper torso of the body so as to ensure the positioning and stability of the helmet 12 at a central front position a series of snap over buttons 22 or a zipper are used to fit the sides of the vest together and secure the vest to the wearer each of the rigid strap assemblies 16 are formed in an h configuration each of the strap portions 24 a in the front and strap portions 24 b in the back are interconnected by a curved central portion 24 c which overlies the shoulders of an individual and are secured to the vest the front strap portions 24 a are anchored in buckles 26 by passage of pins 28 into selected openings 30 of the strap portions 24 a an upward extension of the strap portions 24 a from the buckles 26 pass through a guide buckle 32 which is releasably secured by rivets 34 to allow sliding adjustment of the front strap portions 24 a on the rear of the vest 14 as shown in fig2 a similar arrangement is disclosed for the rear strap portions 24 b in a preferred embodiment the portions of the strap assemblies located below the central portions 24 c fit snugly on top of the vest and are of a steel or rigid plastic configuration the.