Thanks for enlisting. Now buy your own uniform.

One of my colleagues at work has a son in the Army. Here is his story about how the military takes care of GIs in Iraq.

About 6 months ago, my colleague was upset. I asked him what was wrong and he said that he had just received a call from his son in Iraq and learned that his boots were worn out and he would be needing new boots. He needed his father (my friend) to buy him new boots and have them sent to Iraq because the Army would not provide replacement boots. My friend was pissed. What is it with the Army that they won't provide basic needs for troups in a war zone? Furthermore, he told me that in the 18 months that his son was in Iraq, he had been required to buy at least $5000 in basic equipment for his son. Basic stuff - boots, goggles, jackets, etc. because the Army wouldn't provide it or provided only equipment of poor quality.

Finally, his son's enlistment was up and he came home. That was 6 weeks ago. I asked my friend, are you sure it's over? Oh yes, he said. Finally, my son is out.

Not so fast. He just got a letter from the Army saying he was being recalled. He had two choices - wait for them to come get him and he would be off to Iraq in the infantry or he could re-enlist and get some choice of duty. After considering those options, he decided to re-enlist.

The Army and the other branches of the military have recently changed their uniforms. Gone are the familiar camo greens and browns. All three branches are going to a pixelated fabric and new uniform style - new hats, new boots, new everything. After signing the enlistment papers, he was told that his camo uniforms were obsolete and he would need a set of the new uniforms and boots.

He was told that before appearing for his first day in his new enlistment, he should buy a full set of the new regs. Yes, he could wait for the Army to provide them, but get this - they probably wouldn't be in his size unless he bought his own.

Welcome (back) to the Army. Now buy your own uniform. That is if you want something that fits.

•  New pixelated tips only, please.

  by pucklady on Wed Mar 28, 2007 at 03:07:31 AM PDT

•  I call BS

  All Soldiers receive a clothing alowance each year to replace damaged or worn out orriginal issue items.  You can also file a claim at the JAG office to get reimbursed for any protective equipment you buy out of pocket.  The woodland camo is still authorized for wear. This kid is whining.

  by RockRichard on Wed Mar 28, 2007 at 03:13:15 AM PDT

  •  I don't know. That is what my friend told me.

    Since it is a new enlistment, perhaps new enlistees aren't supposed to wear the woodland camo?

    I was surprised to hear that he was encouraged to outfit himself on his own dime prior to his first day. But that's what papa said. That's all I know.

    by pucklady on Wed Mar 28, 2007 at 03:21:43 AM PDT

    •  Define "poor quality", though.

      The new enlistees get the basic BDUs and boots.

      Do they always get the ubercomfortable sneakerlike desert boots that the Rangers get? Nope.

      If they're issued an M9 pistol, they often get the basic canvas holster, not the tacticool drop-leg MOLLE holster the special forces get.

      Really, that's always been the way. There were certain boots and uniforms and holsters that only the officers or someone on the inside with the quartermaster got in WWII, too. Officers always get better stuff than the enlisteds, and that's just how it's been for thousands of years, before Roman times.

      The guy's just got to learn how to scrounge and trade, be resourceful. If he wants his supply officer to req him the special stuff, he needs to see what they might want in terms of trade goods or favors, a bunch of MP3s, good  coffee, whatever that might be.

      Hate to say it, but he just sounds naive. Should the government provide every solider with the best stuff? Yes. Has it EVER been that way?

      Nope.

      by Loboguara on Wed Mar 28, 2007 at 03:33:39 AM PDT

      •  Yep

        They should teach scrounging aspart of basic training.  When I was in the Guard, they came out with womens fatigues that had to be dry cleaned.  I kid you not.  Scrounging found us all comfortable washable Korean war vintage cotton fattigues.

        by barbwires on Wed Mar 28, 2007 at 04:46:22 AM PDT

      •  just because it's never been that way...

        ...doesn't mean we should put up with it.  Understood, the pragmatics about supply routines.  However:  

        Whoever the Democratic candidate is, should make it Job One to let America's warriors know that all of this is going to change.  That they'll get the uniforms, armor, ammo, protective gear, and every other darn thing they need, and that if they get wounded they will receive nothing less than the best of care and no questions asked and no crappy accommodations either.

        Just because it's gone before, doesn't mean it has to keep going.  We can do better.  And after the present debacle is over, we are going to have to do better to regain the confidence of all of those who do serve and who would serve.  

        by G2geek on Wed Mar 28, 2007 at 04:53:24 AM PDT

        •  Of course, it HAS gotten worse, now.

          In previous wars, the food might have been tasteless, burnt, or bland, (chipped beef on toast!) but at least everyone was fed, and if soldiers got sick, someone would be in serious trouble.

          In this war, ask any returning soldier what they think of the KBR-run mess halls, where many have repeatedly gotten horrifically bad food poisoning.

          When soldiers are asking if they can have MREs to eat rather than play gastronomic Russian roulette with the KBR chow hall, something's seriously wrong.

          by Loboguara on Wed Mar 28, 2007 at 05:31:26 AM PDT

          •  Also in previous wars, did you have

            a private war profiteer connnected (and perhaps even getting its contracts steered by) the de facto president of the United States who virtually every other day goes public to snarl that his political opponents support "the terrorists" in order to keep the value of his Halliburton stock options rising?

            by anastasia p on Wed Mar 28, 2007 at 06:11:05 AM PDT

            •  Ask

              Ulysses S. Grant or Edwin M. Stanton. There was a lot of harsh rhetoric and Patriot Act style orders from Stanton during the Civil War and Grant was not exactly a paragon of virtue after he became President.

              by Skjellifetti on Wed Mar 28, 2007 at 08:37:27 AM PDT

          •  Twas Ever Thus

            Half of my basic training company caught a case of food poisoning and wound up on IVs in the Ft Dix hospital. This was in late 1970s, long before the mess halls were run by KBR. At that time, the mess halls were run by Army personnel with Army cooks.

            Youngsters! Why in my day we had to do KP! We didn't have any of these new fangled contractors. We cleaned the pots and pans with our own toothbrushes! And we liked it!

            by Skjellifetti on Wed Mar 28, 2007 at 06:46:19 AM PDT

          •  reminds me of a David Hackworth story

            The late great Hack lied about his age and joined the Army at age 15, just after World War II.  Incidentally, Hackworth's cousin, Sen. Jim Webb is one politician I trust to follow up on issues like this.

            "When I was a buck private in Italy, five-star Gen. Dwight David Eisenhower visited my outfit. Of course, there was no television in those days, so there was no globally televised Bob Hope-type spectacle like last week's Rumsfeld-Myers show-of-all-vaudeville-shows at Abu Ghraib prison. Instead, Ike walked through the ranks and talked to every soldier in my reconnaissance company.

            He stopped in front of me – 15 years old and quaking – and asked: "How do you like the chow?"

            "It stinks, Sir."

            "Why?" he asked.

            "All we get is Spam."

            "Spam? Why?" he roared to his entourage.

            A shaky voice replied that the depots were filled with Spam from World War II, and the supply people were getting rid of it.

            "Stop it," he snapped. "Feed these soldiers proper rations."

            "That take care of it, son? " he asked me.

            "Yes Sir," I gulped.

            I still remember the concern in his voice. And I learned then that if a soldier got to the boss and bitched, the odds were the boss would fix it. I also learned a valuable leadership lesson: A commander must get down on the ground with his troops in order to find out what's really going on.

            Had Army leadership been following Ike's example, our nation would not be shamed, and our critical military mission in Iraq wouldn't be jeopardized."

            http://www.worldnetdaily.com/...

            by Beowulf on Wed Mar 28, 2007 at 08:35:29 AM PDT

            •  an honorable Republican....

              Eisenhower was also an honorable Republican.  

              There used to be plenty of honorable Republicans.  People with whom you could agree on many issues of the day, and have an honest debate about the rest, with open minds on both sides.  

              My God!, how far this nation has fallen.  

              by G2geek on Wed Mar 28, 2007 at 03:39:31 PM PDT

      •  Not 100%

        certain that this applies to all branches but Naval Officers buy their own uniforms.

        by newfie on Wed Mar 28, 2007 at 05:06:08 AM PDT

        •  Dress uniforms

          I know Marines have to buy their own dress blues, but they aren't absolutely required. My brother and sis-in-law went their whole time without dress blues.

          by Buckeye BattleCry on Wed Mar 28, 2007 at 05:16:06 AM PDT

          •  That makes sense

            if it isn't required then it wouldn't be provided.

            by newfie on Wed Mar 28, 2007 at 05:18:15 AM PDT

            •  I don't think they're absolutely required

              They're considered formal wear so they obviously would only be worn in certain circumstances.  They're gawd-awful expensive so many don't buy them.

              You know how many Marines are photographed right out of boot camp in dress blues?  Yeah, the photographers have those slit up the back to fit everyone, then they go on to the next person.

              by Buckeye BattleCry on Wed Mar 28, 2007 at 05:28:06 AM PDT

              •  no kidding

                That's funny, I never suspected that.  Every Marine I know has that same post-boot camp dress blues picture.  Who knew that they're probably all wearing the same set of dress blues. :o)

                by Beowulf on Wed Mar 28, 2007 at 08:38:18 AM PDT

                •  Apparently the CMC wants to change the directive

                  Young Marines will be issued Dress Blues, and it may cost the MC money to do this, but they should have them.  Currently they are not issued Dress Blues upon boot camp graduation.  Young Marines are being buried in borrowed Dress Blues. They should have them as their own.

                  http://www.hqmc.net/...

                  by Buckeye BattleCry on Wed Mar 28, 2007 at 10:08:29 AM PDT

•  If you want great equipment, join Blackwater.

  If you want to get screwed, every which way, join the Army.

  He should hope that his son doesn't get shot up. There are quite a few soldiers who have been given bills for missing equipment, once they wake up from their comas at Walter Reed. And I am not making this up.

  You're in the war zone, you get blown up. Your buddies strip you of your protective armor, and may even forget to keep tabs of your weapons and other equipment.
  Hey, guess what? They'll charge you for that missing equipment. Even if you're missing, literally, arms and legs.

  by SteinL on Wed Mar 28, 2007 at 03:30:37 AM PDT

  •  why do i always have to sharp shoot this stuff?

    The Soldier only gets cahrged if he signs a statement of charges.  He can decline to sign the statement of charges, and then a Financial Liability Investigation will be conducted to determine who must pay for the equipment. In the situation you just described, the officer was supposed to inventory the Soldiers effects, or whoever that last person in the chain of custody to have positive control of the effects would be liable. This is all found in Army Regulation 735-5 which can be found at www.usapa.army.mil.

    by RockRichard on Wed Mar 28, 2007 at 03:43:30 AM PDT

    •  Absolutely! Any soldier waking up from....

      ....a coma should either be immediately aware of Army Regulation 735-5, or they should be prepared to look it up on the internet.

      the officer was supposed to inventory the Soldiers effects, or whoever that last person in the chain of custody to have positive control of the effects would be liable.

      It happens like clockwork. To believe otherwise, you would have to believe that were was some kind of systemic dysfunction or incompetence by those in charge of running this Army.  That kind of thing is about as likely as Walter Reed not being properly maintained.

      by xynz on Wed Mar 28, 2007 at 04:17:07 AM PDT

      •  The Army is built on regulations.

        Everyone knows them. You have to know them to get promoted.

        by RockRichard on Wed Mar 28, 2007 at 04:24:52 AM PDT

        •  Soldiers should never be asked to sign...

          ...away their rights to anything when they are in a hospital. Ever.

          Whether they are drugged or traumatised by a missing limb, they are vulnerable and quite possibly, legally incompetent.

          To force them to administratively defend themselves when they are recovering from their wounds is simply disgraceful and I cannot believe that you would defend such a practice.

          by xynz on Wed Mar 28, 2007 at 04:35:53 AM PDT

        •  how old are you? most anyone above 18 knows

          how to get around the rules,

          especially if they are in charge of other people,

          especially how to fuck over their underlings AND get around the rules.

          if a guy said he had to drop 5 grand cuz the army didn't buy bascis,

          (cuz the army is too busy spending money on bureaucrats and arm chair warriors and blackwater)

          what is so hard to believe?

          regulations? that and 50 cents will get you a newspaper.

          rmm.

          by seabos84 on Wed Mar 28, 2007 at 06:34:56 AM PDT

    •  You're a lousy shot - check this out.

      And it's not a unique instance:

      http://www.military.com/...

      by SteinL on Wed Mar 28, 2007 at 06:55:57 AM PDT

  •  and more AMMO too!

    On base, US Army soldiers get to carry thirty rounds of ammunition for use defending themselves in the event of a sudden attack on the base.

    On base, Blackwater guys get to carry THREE HUNDRED rounds of ammunition for the same contingency.

    In military culture, ammo is more than just another tool of the warrior trade, it's the most basic thing you need to defend yourself aside from your rifle, and it's a matter of life and death for yourself and your buddies.

    The clear message is: the Blackwater guys' lives are worth ten times the lives of the US Army soldiers.  

    And I might add, officers as well as enlisted.  

    This I know from someone who is there, whose word is impeccable.  

    by G2geek on Wed Mar 28, 2007 at 04:48:29 AM PDT

    •  Hell, Swiss Army reservists are issued more

      Every Swiss reservists (every male serves for 10 years, until recently it had been for 30 years) is issued (and keeps in his home) an assault rifle and a sealed box with 50 rounds of ammunition.  

      by Beowulf on Wed Mar 28, 2007 at 09:00:01 AM PDT

      •  And that's just the minimum.

        Most Swiss citizens keep more ammo than that. Marksmanship is highly valued in the culture, major sport there.

        The Swiss can raise a 400,000 man army in four hours in case of invasion due to that longstanding policy.

        by Loboguara on Wed Mar 28, 2007 at 01:59:14 PM PDT

    •  I'd heard worse, even...

      That at at least some bases, most soldiers need to take their weapons cards to the armory and stand in line to get a rifle and ammo...they don't "just have them" in case of attack.

      by Loboguara on Wed Mar 28, 2007 at 01:57:36 PM PDT

    •  Further clarification on that for people

      Thirty rounds of ammo is ONE magazine for the M-16. That's it. One. And nobody fires just once at someone trying to kill them. For anyone who shoots at a range, even, it's amazing how quickly one can empty a thirty-round magazine just in single shots.

      A standard beltpouch of the old ALICE kind used since Vietnam holds three mags. But they can't have that.

      So if they have to empty that mag, they're now left with nothing but a rather ineffectual whiffle bat to defend themselves and their friends with.

      by Loboguara on Wed Mar 28, 2007 at 02:08:00 PM PDT

•  You've got to go with the uniform you have...

  /snark

  by Big Nit Attack on Wed Mar 28, 2007 at 04:12:29 AM PDT

•  Huh?

  He had two choices - wait for them to come get him and he would be off to Iraq in the infantry or he could re-enlist and get some choice of duty. After considering those options, he decided to re-enlist.

  I don't understand this at all.

  by Buckeye BattleCry on Wed Mar 28, 2007 at 04:21:38 AM PDT

  •  Old military trick.

    "Either you wait until we tell you where to go, or you can volunteer to go somewhere else."

    by xynz on Wed Mar 28, 2007 at 04:36:58 AM PDT

    •  I'm betting he ends up in the artillary in Iraq

      anyway. I thought that's where everyone ended up.

      by pucklady on Wed Mar 28, 2007 at 04:54:00 AM PDT

      •  artillery?

        I thought most existing artillery units were out running patrols?  Hell, they have Air Force units riding shotgun on truck convoys (didn't see that coming, I've been telling kids for years to join the Air Force to avoid getting shot at).

        by Beowulf on Wed Mar 28, 2007 at 07:58:18 AM PDT

    •  But why would he have to reenlist?

      I'm assuming he was IRR.  He would already be enlisted.  Inactive, but enlisted.  

      by Buckeye BattleCry on Wed Mar 28, 2007 at 05:14:04 AM PDT

•  Bush

  Bush has plenty of our money..He just doesnt care..I wonder where our money is going beside vacations for him and the whole family all the time..

  by bayside on Wed Mar 28, 2007 at 04:24:42 AM PDT

•  I asked my dad (WWII Navy vet)

  about this a few years ago.  When he went into basic, things like toiletries, clothing, etc., were provided, but it came out of your pay and one would have to buy it himself in the future.  However, the first uniform was provided at no cost and there were clothing allowances.  The reasoning behind making servicemembers pay for their own stuff: so that manufacturers didn't have a captive audience for their goods (stuff like soap, shampoo, razors) which would be an unfair advantage compared to other potential suppliers.

  He was stationed on an aircraft carrier the Independence, which were self-contained and had their own store and barbershop, etc.  He passed away in 2005.

  One of his favorite stories to tell when we kids wouldn't eat to illustrate how good we had it:  Sitting down at a meal one day on the ship, one of his companions remarked,"Wow, they're getting fancy, there's seeds on the bread", to which my dad replied, "Look closer, those seeds are moving."

  by matx on Wed Mar 28, 2007 at 06:26:51 AM PDT

•  AnySoldier.com

  Don't forget to check out:
  AnySoldier.com

  to see what the troops over in Iraq and Afghanistan are asking for.

  It's the basics...toothpaste, shampoo, etc.

  I'm appalled that these things aren't provided for them.

  And I guess if soldiers get shot and their uniforms get busted up they have to pay for new ones.  Unreal!!

  by annrose on Wed Mar 28, 2007 at 06:35:10 AM PDT