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INFANTRY: The Growth of Mail Order Equipment
StrategyPage.com ^ | August 2, 2004

Posted on 08/02/2004 3:57:17 PM PDT by Cannoneer No. 4

With the growth of professional infantry over the last three decades, there has been, not unexpectedly, a growth in companies that supply equipment for the troops. That is, gear that is demonstrably superior to what the troops were being issued by the government. This is not an entirely new phenomenon. American professional soldiers had long purchased superior gear from commercial firms. But after World War II, with a large peace time army and marine corps, better pay for the career soldiers, and a growing industry supplying new products for hunters, campers and police, it was only natural that many of the mail order catalogs for these firms should show up in the mailboxes of infantry NCOs and officers.

When the army became all-volunteer in the early 1970s, the new recruits, over the next decade, began to assume the same professional attitudes as the career NCOs and officers that led them. It became common for the troops to buy the same commercial gear (better sleeping bags, rifle cleaning gear, cold weather gear, Etc.) as the career NCOs had long done. But the commercial companies began producing more and more stuff that was suitable for professional infantrymen. Part of this was due to the growing popularity of paramilitary SWAT teams in police departments. But part of it had to do with the growth of paint ball combat as a sport. There was also an explosive growth in camping and hiking, as well as continued popularity of hunting. All these leisure time activities required equipment that was also useful for infantry. The commercial firms noted this, and began designing and manufacturing gear especially for the military market. Some foreign firms got into the act. Companies in Israel and South Africa produced superior military gear, and sold it to an international market.

A lot of the equipment troops were willing to buy with their own money was pretty mundane. Load bearing equipment (for carrying extra ammo, grenades, flashlights and whatnot) was popular, as were better backpacks, underwear and socks. Better boots were also popular. The army and marine unit commanders did not go along with all this “non-standard” stuff, and having their favorite gear “banned” was another of those uncertainties an infantryman had to worry about when he got a new commanding officer. The army organizations that designed and authorized the “official” gear also noted the competition, and the reaction of the troops. Eventually, the military bureaucrats decided to, for the most part, cooperate with the commercial firms rather than constantly be at war with the troops they were supposed to be serving. One reason for the change in attitude was the arrival of the Internet in the mid 1990s. This began putting all the troops in constant touch with each other, and forming a block of public opinion that bureaucrats did not want to tangle with.

As a result of all this, combat troops today have better gear than ever before. But it’s no accident, and a lot of people unwittingly played a part in making it happen.


TOPICS: Business/Economy; Extended News; Foreign Affairs; Government
KEYWORDS: equipment; gear
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To: Cannoneer No. 4

Yeah, they made a killin' off of me for 25 years, especially the first 10. Had to buy my own jungle fatigues and patrol cap for the Ranger Course in 75. Thank God for Ranger Joe's.


21 posted on 08/02/2004 4:59:56 PM PDT by TADSLOS (Right Wing Infidel since 1954)
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To: TADSLOS

Just what are you allowed to have from private suppliers?

It seems mostly "keep warm under the uniform" stuff.


22 posted on 08/02/2004 5:05:12 PM PDT by longtermmemmory (VOTE!)
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To: TADSLOS

IIRC, Ranger Joe's wasn't much years ago, and most Rangers got a lot of stuff at an outdoors store next to the Service Merchandise across Macon Road from Columbus Square Mall. Can't remember the name of that store.


23 posted on 08/02/2004 5:06:39 PM PDT by Cannoneer No. 4 (I've lost turret power; I have my nods and my .50. Hooah. I will stay until relieved. White 2 out.)
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To: Darksheare

Before the BDU's came out, that POS was the only authorized fatigue uniform headgear in Korea from October to April. You had to fold it up to look like a half fast state troopers hat and pin your rank on the front. Looked dumb. A lot of people bought BDU's who weren't yet required to have them just to get out of wearing that stupid hat.


24 posted on 08/02/2004 5:12:16 PM PDT by Cannoneer No. 4 (I've lost turret power; I have my nods and my .50. Hooah. I will stay until relieved. White 2 out.)
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To: Cannoneer No. 4

They still use that thing as a helmet liner.
My artillery unit had them and insisted we use them.
*ptui!*
We used what we could to avoid that thing like the plague.


25 posted on 08/02/2004 5:17:21 PM PDT by Darksheare (<=== Has been thrown into a grain sack and hauled away by Amazons. All posts are now by an imposter.)
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To: Darksheare

26 posted on 08/02/2004 5:19:35 PM PDT by Cannoneer No. 4 (I've lost turret power; I have my nods and my .50. Hooah. I will stay until relieved. White 2 out.)
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To: Cannoneer No. 4

That thing has some horrific memories associated with it.
It was designed to button to teh M65 field jacket's top front button, but we were never allowed to do that.
No matter how cold it got.
Oh, and our ECWS was 'restricted' to 'certain weather' conditions..


27 posted on 08/02/2004 5:24:27 PM PDT by Darksheare (<=== Has been thrown into a grain sack and hauled away by Amazons. All posts are now by an imposter.)
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To: Cannoneer No. 4

Yeah, I know which one you're referring to. Can't remeber the name either. I used to live in a subdivision just off Macon Road. Country's Barbeque is nearby- Tuesday night all you can eat barbeque chicken. I was a regular. I went there last summer after my son graduated from Airborne School. The place hasn't changed much.


28 posted on 08/02/2004 5:28:49 PM PDT by TADSLOS (Right Wing Infidel since 1954)
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To: TADSLOS

remeber=remember


29 posted on 08/02/2004 5:29:33 PM PDT by TADSLOS (Right Wing Infidel since 1954)
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To: TADSLOS

I was in Country's about 18 months ago. A real blast from the past. Doesn't seem to have changed a bit since 1981.


30 posted on 08/02/2004 5:32:50 PM PDT by Cannoneer No. 4 (I've lost turret power; I have my nods and my .50. Hooah. I will stay until relieved. White 2 out.)
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To: Darksheare; TADSLOS; Everybody
What item of non-issue gear got you in the most trouble?

My Bn Cdr thought my fishnet long johns were obscene.

31 posted on 08/02/2004 5:36:12 PM PDT by Cannoneer No. 4 (I've lost turret power; I have my nods and my .50. Hooah. I will stay until relieved. White 2 out.)
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To: Cannoneer No. 4

LOL!
Sometimes it seemed the hierarchy was merely being sadistic.


32 posted on 08/02/2004 5:40:42 PM PDT by Darksheare (<=== Has been thrown into a grain sack and hauled away by Amazons. All posts are now by an imposter.)
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To: longtermmemmory
Just what are you allowed to have from private suppliers?

Depends on what line of work you're in and who you work for, but yeah, most of it falls in the accessory category. The Army was flat on its a$$ in 75. They just didn't have the money (or the equipment- our M16 handguards were wired together with baling wire to keep them from falling apart) to issue us OD jungles and boots for a course that pretty much required them. The old cotton two piece (and later, permanent press)fatigue was a lousy field uniform. I shelled out most of my pocket money to get what I needed in downtown Columbus at Ranger Joe's. I think I still had $1.50 in my pocket after cab fare when I reported into 3rd Rgr Co (not that it mattered at that point).

Sua Sponte

33 posted on 08/02/2004 5:41:09 PM PDT by TADSLOS (Right Wing Infidel since 1954)
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To: Cannoneer No. 4

LOL! Back before Goretex and polypro, I used to stay warm and (relatively)dry with my legs covered in vaseline and a pair of nylons under my jungles while walking patrol with students in the swamps of the Yellow River. I was a hellavu lot more comfortable than they were.


34 posted on 08/02/2004 5:45:38 PM PDT by TADSLOS (Right Wing Infidel since 1954)
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To: R. Scott

I never could develop a taste for martinis.
I did like Nuc Mam, Ba Me Ba, Suntory …

What! No Silver Fox or Berkleys?

"Sir, it is the sad duty of this lab to inform you
your horse has bad kidneys.

Suntory, put away a lot of that.
Still use Nuc today. Hard to find the "Good" stuff.


35 posted on 08/02/2004 5:48:23 PM PDT by tet68 ( " We would not die in that man's company, that fears his fellowship to die with us...." Henry V.)
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To: killjoy

Not to mention that all of Blackhawk's SWAT and soldier gear is made by virtual slave labor in communist China.


36 posted on 08/02/2004 5:52:57 PM PDT by Travis McGee (----- www.EnemiesForeignAndDomestic.com -----)
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To: TADSLOS
I wore panty hose under wash and wear fatigue pants one time. Worked just fine and kept me warm, but I felt like a cross dresser and was afraid somebody would find out so I never did it again. Not much privacy on a tank, and the latrine was behind a tree. I wasn't very in touch with my feminine side back then.

Never tried the vaseline, not in that application anyway.

37 posted on 08/02/2004 6:03:28 PM PDT by Cannoneer No. 4 (I've lost turret power; I have my nods and my .50. Hooah. I will stay until relieved. White 2 out.)
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To: Cannoneer No. 4

I've ordered outdoor stuff from some of these companies. Besides what I ordered, it got me mail offers for all sorts of stuff worthy of a member of a death squad in a Latin American banana republic. Like a book dealing with how to dispose of dead bodies, for example. Or plans for making my own home workshop full auto submachine gun complete with silencer. If Total Information Awareness ever gets off the ground, I'll probably be getting a midnight knock on the door, and all because I wanted some mosquito netting.


38 posted on 08/02/2004 6:11:40 PM PDT by John Jorsett
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To: John Jorsett
I never did order anything out of the Loompanics catalog. Paladin Press seemed less over the top
39 posted on 08/02/2004 6:18:23 PM PDT by Cannoneer No. 4 (I've lost turret power; I have my nods and my .50. Hooah. I will stay until relieved. White 2 out.)
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To: Cannoneer No. 4

Thanks for the supplier list.


40 posted on 08/02/2004 6:24:15 PM PDT by Professional Engineer (Platoon leader, TreadHead aerial demonstration team. Ever do an Immelman in a tank?)
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