Were Servicepeople Allowed to Keep It?

[SgtRick]

A lot of surplus uniforms and gear was packed away in government warehouses and forgotten about. Eventually it is discovered and sold by lots at government auctions. Some of it ending up in Army / Navy surplus stores.

You can keep what is called your "initial issue", i.e. uniforms, shoes, that kind of stuff. If something was issued to you then it had to be turned in to supply upon discharge, items such as flight or field gear. Anything you signed for had to be turned in.

When I returned from Desert Storm we had to turn in our desert camys because they were issued for the war and had to be returned. The desert camys today are part of initial issue and you can keep them but they get pretty beat up out here. You can turn them into a Central Issue Facility (CIF) for replacement.

 

[Widebrim]

The desert camys today are part of initial issue and you can keep them but they get pretty beat up out here. You can turn them into a Central Issue Facility (CIF) for replacement.

I don't think that DCUs were ever issued at Basic Training; they were issued when you went through mobilization. (Maybe you are referring to another branch, though, and not the U.S. Army.) When I came back to the States, I was allowed to keep two sets of DCUs, and had to turn in the other two sets.

 

[SgtRick]

I don't think that DCUs were ever issued at Basic Training; they were issued when you went through mobilization. (Maybe you are referring to another branch, though, and not the U.S. Army.) When I came back to the States, I was allowed to keep two sets of DCUs, and had to turn in the other two sets.

The Marine Corps had to return them. It was the first time we had ever been issued desert camys.

 

[WH1]

Current uniform issue in the Marines Corps is (2) Desert/Tan marpat (2) Woodland/Green marpat uniforms.
Outside the wire we wear FROG (Flame Resistant Organizational Gear) suits which are Desert Marpat, they will be turned in upon return from deployment.

When we returned from Desert Storm we were allowed to keep (1) set of the chocolate chip pattern per man. Still have them, they are still oil coated and filthy looking despite having been washed multiple times.

 

[Harp]

Outside the wire

__________

JB AU lectures found Y/T.
Also, AU LOOP M.A. theses avail online.

 

[fl&wvmike]

i have a friend, who after WWII, saw mounds of A2s being burned. They just threw them in a pile and burned them. What a waste !
Fl&WVMike

 

[Monsoon]

i have a friend, who after WWII, saw mounds of A2s being burned. They just threw them in a pile and burned them. What a waste !

The US has this thing about burning gear in a warzone. I know during Desert Storm we had the chance to turn in uniforms to get new ones. All the old ones were taken out and burned. Uniforms along with other items that were damaged, like old rucks and webgear.

 

[Widebrim]

The US has this thing about burning gear in a warzone. I know during Desert Storm we had the chance to turn in uniforms to get new ones. All the old ones were taken out and burned. Uniforms along with other items that were damaged, like old rucks and webgear.

As far as the uniforms go, that kind of makes sense. We were told that in-country our DCUs had a life expectancy of 6 months (but realistically that would vary, depending whether you went outside the wire on a regular basis or not). If I remember correctly, though, I only had to turn in one pair of trousers that had worn out a bit...

 

[juup]

My paternal grandfather turned all of his stuff in at the end of WWII, but on the same token, when he was released from the POW camp in germany he also turned in his Passport and US citizenship to marry the Frauline he fell in love with. This didn't sit well with my grandmother who sat waiting to hear from him since his capture in N. Africa. My maternal grandfather survived the camps. Of the two only things we have are from my moms dad and those we donated to the US Holocaust Memorial and museum.

 

[DNO]

Being a First World War collector, I have a booklet issued to Canadian soldiers being discharged at the end of World War One. They were expected to wear their uniforms home after discharge and were even expected to retain their steel helmets…I suspect the government didn’t want the trouble of storing or disposing of the helmets.

My father was a navigator in the Royal Canadian Air Force in the Second World War and certainly retained all of his uniforms…but being an officer (no matter how junior!) he had to purchase his own uniforms in the first place. I don’t know about U.S. practice but requiring officers to buy their own uniforms was standard Canadian and British practice.

While I well remember my father’s air force gear in the basement when I was growing up, my mother, bless her soul, decided to throw it all out. All I have now is his kit bag.

My uncle had been a sergeant in the Argyl and Sutherland Highlanders of Canada in WWII and I believe he retained his uniform as well.