Vehicle seat assembly with occupant pack support

A vehicle seat assembly, comprising:

• a seat bottom adapted for use in a substantially horizontal position;
• a seat back adjacent said seat bottom, and comprising a back support surface adapted for use in a substantially upright position, a generally U-shaped tubular back frame comprising opposing spaced-apart side bars and a distal end bar, and a rigid seat back pan extending between the side bars of said tubular back frame;
• an occupant pack support adjacent the back support surface of said seat back, and defining a generally flat inwardly-projecting shelf for vertically supporting an equipment pack carried on a back of an occupant seated in said assembly;
• a pack-support adjustment mechanism operatively secured to said seat back pan, and enabling select vertical displacement of said occupant pack support relative to said seat bottom, and wherein said pack-support adjustment mechanism comprises an elongated linear slide having opposing first and second ends, a slide stop located at the first end, and a pack-support mounting block located at the second end and fixed to said occupant pack support, and wherein said linear slide defines a range of vertical displacement of said occupant pack support;
• and
• a seat mounting block fixed to said seat back pan, and slidably receiving said linear slide therethrough to adjustably position said occupant pack support relative to said seat bottom.