US Army Supplies

[Cronos Impera]

This is a thred discussing the US Army merchandise for the public.

What is the coolest thing you could buy from the US Army store.
Is the food cheap? Does it tate good?
Where are the millitary stuff better than its civilian counterparts?

[Marshal Murat]

MREs are not tasty at all. What-so-ever.

[Cronos Impera]

But is a MRE enough for one day of trekking with a backpack?

[Marshal Murat]

If you're trekking with a backpack it's better to bring some Cliff Bars and water than to carry around MREs. Depending on the length of the hike, who's with you, weather, area of hike, etc.

[TinCow]

But is a MRE enough for one day of trekking with a backpack?

Only if you only want one meal. A MRE is a one-meal packet, it's not a one-day packet. MREs are also very heavy because they include all the necessary liquid. I personally prefer freeze-dried food for backpacking, it weighs far less and most of the stuff actually tastes relatively decent. Then again, that requires a stove and a water purification kit. That's fine for me since I'm always out for multiple days, but if you're not going overnight it's probably excessive.

[Hooahguy]

the camelbaks for the military are uber-cool. my friend who was in the 82AB gave me one as a present. i could store everything i need for a week in there plus water.

[Seamus Fermanagh]

I attended an MRE potluck once. The cuisine is not horrifying, but you can be certain that Bobby Flay isn't worried about losing customers to an MREsteraunt. Their advantage is that the suckers can be eaten right out of the packs but, as noted above, weigh more than freeze dried alternatives.

Around here you can get web gear, artillery shell shipping containers, surplus uniform stuff (particularly the blue "tiger" camo the local AFB tried out, hated, and discarded).

[TinCow]

In my experience, military gear actually tends to be inferior to commercial products when it comes to outdoor goods. It's one of the few areas where the military gets its tech from the commercial sector, and not the other way around. The recent improvements in US Military equipment have largely been because they have adopted commercial style backpacks, boots, and hydration systems. While I am sure that the military now has very high quality stuff, I doubt whether you'll find the same level of quality and variety for outdoor activities that you would get at any decent outdoor store. I'm personally a huge fan of REI. They have every possible thing you could ever want at very decent prices, especially if you buy the REI-brand stuff (which is actually extremelly good quality).

[HoreTore]

For those with weird knowledge...

Is the MRE of the US Army the same as the RSP(dead man in a can) we have(had) here?

As for good army supplies, I'm going to go a little wild here and include the norwegian army, and say that the woolen shirts(the green ones - "ullfrotté") are absolutely delightful, they were the first thing I stole from the army. Managed to snag 2 in mint condition(still in plastic, and the high nick edition), which I've used every winter since. They get worn out very quickly from washing though. I also liked the grey woolen socks, not brand new, just a little bit used(to get the proper foot-shape). The boots were good too, once you got to know them.

EDIT: Oh, and the net stockings! Absolutely great! They don't last long though, got to remember to order me a new pair this winter... And it's always fun to reveal naughty green underwear at parties...

[Samurai Waki]

I'm sorry but K rations are so much better than MREs.

But I do very much enjoy some of the little trinkets you can buy.

[Aemilius Paulus]

MREs are not tasty at all. What-so-ever.

I disagree; they are quite splendid, having eaten them following the Hurricane Ivan that hit Florida some time ago. Unless of course you are a man of refined tastes, in which case I do not know.

[Vladimir]

In my experience, military gear actually tends to be inferior to commercial products when it comes to outdoor goods. It's one of the few areas where the military gets its tech from the commercial sector, and not the other way around. The recent improvements in US Military equipment have largely been because they have adopted commercial style backpacks, boots, and hydration systems. While I am sure that the military now has very high quality stuff, I doubt whether you'll find the same level of quality and variety for outdoor activities that you would get at any decent outdoor store. I'm personally a huge fan of REI. They have every possible thing you could ever want at very decent prices, especially if you buy the REI-brand stuff (which is actually extremelly good quality).

Ditto. Remember the cliche about Army equipment: It's made by the lowest bidder. If you're looking for acceptable gear, military stuff cheap and acceptable. Commercial off the shelf purchasing has really increased the quality of equipment use by the military. However I'd rather shop at REI then go camping with my RFI.

I disagree; they are quite splendid, having eaten them following the Hurricane Ivan that hit Florida some time ago. Unless of course you are a man of refined tastes, in which case I do not know.

Tabasco.

[Aemilius Paulus]

Tabasco.

Yeah, that is one of the best things about those meals. A miniature Tabasco sauce bottle. Too bad I swore off that stuff a year ago, due to its harmful interactions with liver - as we all know, spicy foods cause liver damage none too different from alcohol. Thankfully, we consume less hot sauce than Tabasco... Unless you are one of my best friends, who downed a regular bottle of Tabasco on a bet. And he smothers anything that is not a dessert with Tabasco. Or Habanero. Poor bloke is not going to last that long...

[Hosakawa Tito]

"C Rats" pound cake, anyone? Our local Army Navy store has Corcoran boots that I wear as part of my uniform at work, and sell them for a reasonable price. They also supply the Leather Luster and blousing straps I use too. The old M65 Field Jackets used to be quite popular with teens when I was one, and I still see them once in a while. Hunters buy a lot of the cammo stuff they have.

[Hooahguy]

id kill for a good, army grade ghillie suit.

[Mooks]

id kill for a good, army grade ghillie suit.

Or a flashbang

but alas, the military doesnt trust the civilian population with that kind of stuff. So what if i want to play a prank on friend of mine in the middle of the night?

[Hooahguy]

Or a flashbang

but alas, the military doesnt trust the civilian population with that kind of stuff. So what if i want to play a prank on friend of mine in the middle of the night?

youd like this prank, as did i. if i got a military grade ghillie suit id wait ina field for some kids playing soccer or something and just rise up in the middle of the game and scare everyone. and even better id be holding a sniper paint gun or something like that.
oh, and by the way...

[Seamus Fermanagh]

As a CAP cadet, I used to love wearing my combat boots. Took me weeks to break the suckers in properly, but they were the most comfortable footwear I've ever worn (aside from slippers).

As to the MRE's, I'd read that one of the more common things troops did with the tabasco (Go USMC!)was do dab a little in the corner of their eyes on combat stretches where they simply HAD to stay awake despite having less than 4 hours of sleep in the last 96. I'd imagine it would keep you alert....ouch.

Lsatly, as to the lowest bidder stuff, THAT's one of the things that makes me respect the early astronauts so much. Strapping yourself to a controlled(?) bomb....with every part made by the lowest bidder. Sheesh.

[Aemilius Paulus]

id kill for a good, army grade ghillie suit.

Ghillie suits are never mass-produced - each sniper makes his own. That is their beauty - it is an art form. Anything mass-produced is not a ghillie suit with all its real vegetation.

Oh, and not to mention, ghillies suits are literally unbearable at anything above 70 degrees Fahrenheit even for a lean, seasoned, tough, and muscular soldier. For us soft civilians... In Atlanta, 70 degrees would be the winter, late autumn or early spring.

[Whacker]

I'd say just the clothes are worth it, but they aren't. Hell I was planning on stocking up on a few pants and maybe even boots to do repairs and crap work in, until I saw the damn price tags. $50-60 for what amounts to glorified cargo pants???

[Vladimir]

Oh yeah, no joke. The Army Combat Uniform is like $80 a pop, for both trousers and jacket. You get issued some now and then if you have a decent supply section, but they rip and break enough to where you have to plop that money down occasionally.

Agreed. Never buy "issue" equipment new. There is plenty of cheap, used stuff on the market.

[KukriKhan]

In the olden days the hallmark of army equipment was durability. Stuff had to be "GI-proof". So clothing was double-, triple-stitiched, equipment had to be drop-able, able to withstand extremes in temperature and dirt. All through the 70's I was using stuff manufactured as far back as 1949.

Somewhere in the mid-80's, we switched from durable to disposable.

So, whereas I never had to discard fatigues because they had ripped, my son's ACU's rip and tear regularly (he reports). OTOH, he says he can DX (direct exchange) any clothing item with ease, 'bad' item for good. Back in my day a DX transaction had to be accompanied by 14 sheets of paper, 3 witness statements and a sworn affadavit from a Chaplain. Even then, the Supply Sgt would give you the jaundiced eyeball.

I'm not saying the old way was better, just different, and more conserving of resources. But the new way allows more flexibility and adaptability - which seems a good thing.

MRE's were just coming in as I was going out. I think there were 3 meals available then, and I didn't care much for them. We had C-rations most of my time. My favorite was Eggs, scrambled, w/ham, 1ea. Yeah, it smelt like dogfood, but was edible hot or cold, with or without water, right out of the can. It usually came with a small tin of peaches. And a mini-pack of 4 cigarettes. After 4-5 days of C-rats, we very much appreciated any hot chow sent our way (usually "Chili-Mac").

*sigh* Good, good times.

[Whacker]

Agreed. Never buy "issue" equipment new. There is plenty of cheap, used stuff on the market.

WHERE, ffs?? Call me old fashioned but one thing I refuse to buy over the intarwebs is clothing. Every local surplus joint I've been to throughout my entire life has wanted something like $50 on up for the camo BDU pants, which are what I want for some good work and/or general utility pants or what have you. Good god, first time I saw that my eyes bugged out of my skull and I quickly walked out. Boots were the same, $100 on up, every single place. I was hoping for something like $10 or even $20 per pair, and I'd buy several.

[Hooahguy]

RangerJoe has some excellent high quality stuff. im considering buying a few things from there when i go into the IDF.

[Vladimir]

Now, the boots are expensive for a reason. I've never put on a pair of Combat boots I didn't like. A lot of soldiers wear these high-speed Oakly, or Converse boots that are made "Army-ized" or whatever. I'll admit I had some Danner Combat Boots in Iraq, but the regular desert combat boots you get issued are damned good too.

As for the internet, I've heard soldiers report good huntings on the intraweb™. Something about a RangerJoe.com and a USCav.com or something like that. Never buy stuff online personally, but it's not an entirely bad idea.

You can get a good pair of light jungle boots cheap if you need to do a lot of walking. Get them re-soled and you have one hell of a boot.

Agreed on Ranger Joe and US Cav. Excellent resources.

[Philippus Flavius Homovallumus]

Modern boots are very good, be they American, German, Norwegian or Dutch. The standard British boot however, is a piece of crap.

On the other hand, however, they're only £35 new.

[Philippus Flavius Homovallumus]

I'm a fan of the Hot/Temperate Weather Combat Boot the Army's been issuing out for a few years now. It's about $80-90 new, but they are comfortable as heck after a few day break-in period, and they last for freaking ever. Some fellas like the Ripple-Soles, which you can buy at any Military Clothing and Sales outlet, and are essentially the same boots with more grip, and leave a funny-looking boot-print.

Now, me being a tanker, I wear these whenever excessive walking is not needed. They're comfy, great for standing around, or working inside a tank or whatever. And they look cool. But it's an unwritten rule that you need to have qualified at a Tank Gunnery in order to wear em. Sort of like Jump Boots for Paratroopers. Just don't wear these things on a road march, or you'll be hurtin'.

Interesting, so it's a combat boot that you can't treck in? Those buckles look weird too, what's up with that, speed?

[Major Robert Dump]

About MREs:

While they are, technically, just one mean, they also provide enough calories (@2500-3000) for the entire day. They were only designed to be eaten 3x a day in extremely hot, extremely cold, or extremely active environments. Eating 3 full MREs a day -- even when in the field or in theatre busting your butt -- will cause you to put on pounds unless you have super high metabolism or you are rucking 8 hours a day. The flip side to this is that usually half the crap in the bag is inedible, but that can be overcome through the fascinating barter system that arises between soldiers at chow time.

Despite what you blokes say, some of the entrees are actually pretty good: beef stew, chicken and dumplings, chicken noodle....as far as the sides go, chocolate peanut butter, chocolate covered coffee beans and of course M&Ms and Skittles. I loooooove the dairy shakes but they have 800 calories!!!

I disagree with pre-planned MRE contents because it encourages what we call Rat *******, which is when people -- sometimes the leaders even -- tear into back stock MREs just to get the M&Ms and others tasty treats and then ditch the rest. It's disrespectful and It's a huge waste and it infuriates me. They need to randomize whats inside a little better. I could tell you which entrees have which goodies, but I'm not going to because that would make me an enabler

Also, they are apparently planning to stop issuing tobasco in an effort to save money. I think this is a huge mistake because its what makes some of the entrees edible, like the omelet and meatloaf. Luckily, cheese omelet is going away.

Oh, and 3 MREs a day will lock you up pretty bad if you aren't getting fiber and lots and lots of water.

[Husar]

GC, those tanker boots are very sexy, I want some!

[KukriKhan]

Thank God (that is, whichever Sergeant Major) you fellas don't have to polish those boots. The millions of manhours wasted to make the old black boot-tips gleam like glass...

and ironing in 'military creases' on perma-press fatigues.

The top 4 sellers at the PX used to be:

Marlboro cigarettes
Kiwi shoe polish
Brasso metal polish
Niagara Spray Starch