Taking faux military fashion to new levels of irreverence

[freedom lover]

won't even wear military fatigues. I didn't earn the right to wear them.

For me it's official t-shirts. I can't wear a Marine Corps t-shirt because I neither joined the Corps nor completed basic.

[Perd Hapley]

As somebody who spent a lot of time working with and for CATM, I'd be glad to take that T-Shirt off your hands, Fistful. 

Does Extra-huge suit you?  PM me.

[RevDisk]

Heck, I gave a lot of my old Army kit to various folks that weren't in the Army.  Plenty of patches, including Mike's favorite bucket.  I'd personally be honked off if someone was rude to them for not being ex-mil and wearing military kit.   My boss' kid got enough surplus kit to outfit an entire fire team.  Only kid on the block to have an entire 90's era US Army outfit with all the TA-50, BDU's, beret, rank tabs, and accessories.  Kids love the light filters on the flashlights, for reasons I don't get.

Yeah, I'll wear the foreign stuff.

They're not really militaries, at least not in the sense of being an effective fighting force. More like Euroweenie social clubs with guns. 

I WILL, however, modify my statement a little bit. I have a pair of Army surplus winter gloves that are the schnizzle.

Thing is, I do have a pile of foreign patches.  All militaries I worked with or trained with.  Mostly Euro.  Excellent soldiers, the lot of them.  Except for the Spanish.  We nearly got into a firefight with them after they made some unkind things about our hispanic soldiers.  Kinda a shame, as we had a Mk19 ready to go when things unfortunately calmed down.  Even the French enlisted were decent soldiers.  Arrogant and rude, but soldiers.  Their officers were arrogant, rude and not so decent soldiers. 

I honestly don't really know what to do with the pile of patches.  I was tempted to attach them to my old field jacket, but I'm hesitent to do so.  I think it'd probably look ugly, but moreso due to the fact that I never attached a division patch to my field jacket.   Just the US flag.  For six years, and many units.  It mysteriously went missing from my personal equipment signout sheet at my last unit.  Maybe put the patches in some kind of presentation box? 

I have a pile of mixed gloves if you're interested, Mike.   

[Hawkmoon]

I was 4th Infantry Division. When I ETSed, we were told that ALL insignia had to be removed from our uniforms if we wore parts of them as civilian clothing. Until I "outgrew" it, I kept my Class A uniform all decked out in case I ever felt like wearing it to an event favorable to veterans. However, since I am a Vietnam vet and we weren't real popular back then, the day never came and I ultimately donated it to a theater group for the wardrobe department. The fatigues, though -- they got stripped, as they should have. It's called a "uniform" for a reason.

As far as I'm concerned, the unit patch is part of the uniform and is to be work only by personnal assigned to the unit -- or veterans of the unit who have earned the right to wear it.

I'm outraged.

[41magsnub]

Not having any huge reverence for military decorum after getting out...  I gave my Class A's to a guy in my unit since they fit him, was the same rank, and I had the fancy no polish buttons.  I mean seriously..  where the hell would I use that god awful green polyester suit in civilian life?  I'm not a veteran of a foreign war, have no desire to join the VFW (assuming I even could), nor dress up for parades.  I gave the BDU tops and headgear to goodwill and kept the BDU pants for carpentry, painting, and etc.  I threw the 'cruit boots and dress shoes away but kept my Matterhorns.  I still have the two field jackets insignia and all in my closet for cold weather dirty work.  I had no intention of ever wearing a full uniform again and I took a calculated risk that I either would never be called up for ready reserve or if I did would be reissued my uniforms and accessories.

[Scout26]

I think they should use the patches and crests of the units that were in FUSAG (First US Army Group).  The "fake" Army Patton commanded to keep the Germans expecting the "real" invasion to come at the Pas de Calais.   If they use all the phony division insignia, then we can recognize the Posers on sight.

http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/agency/army/14army.htm

[Perd Hapley]

I took a calculated risk that I either would never be called up for ready reserve or if I did would be reissued my uniforms and accessories.

Nope, they would expect you to have all your uniforms. 

[MicroBalrog]

I took a calculated risk that I either would never be called up for ready reserve or if I did would be reissued my uniforms and accessories.

Nope, they would expect you to have all your uniforms. 

Really? America yet once mroe surprises me. Here we basically assume the reservists would be missing half their stuff.

[dogmush]

Really? America yet once mroe surprises me. Here we basically assume the reservists would be missing half their stuff

Try this one on:

When we (reservists) get activated, you have to show up with your basic clothing issue.  Folks that were missing something had to go buy it on their dime.  As soon as it was checked off that you had all your uniforms, the Army issued us a whole new set.  (4 DCU's the first time and 10 ACU's so far this time). 

[MicroBalrog]

The IDF works on the premise the reservists will lose and misplace everything. If they have a set of B uniforms (that's the field/work ones) and a pair of boots, that's awesome. If not, we're going to shrug and throw them a pair of B's. That's my experience at least.

(the flip side is that most people will have way too much 'spare' stuff left over when their service is over).

[seeker_two]

I'd wear BDU's or jackets/peacoats as long as they don't have insignia or markings on them, and I could understand if someone wore a t-shirt with Army/Navy/Marines/USAF insignia to show support (loved one/friend serving, Army/Navy football game, etc.), but I'm definitely against the whole "fashion" thing.....esp. by liberal anti-millitary weenies.... 

WHAT?  The First Cav emblem is way cooler.  Should have gone with that one.  I hope they do that next. 

Yea right, who wants to wear the shoulder sleeve insignia of a unit that the insignia stands for the color of the stripe down their back, the line they didn't cross and the horse they didn't ride.

WHAT?  The First Cav emblem is way cooler.  Should have gone with that one.  I hope they do that next. 

Bite your tongue.. though my 3 years at Ft. Riley were about the most boring of my life.  Did the 1st Cav get a movie staring Mark Hamil and Lee Marvin?  Huh?

No, but the 1st Cav had a movie staring Mel Gibson and Sam Elliot that was a true story.

Luke Skywalker is greater than Mel Gibson and Sam Elliot, to deny that is unAmerican.

BLASPHMEY!....Sam Elliot could stare down Darth Vader with one eye tied behind his back...

[Perd Hapley]

The IDF works on the premise the reservists will lose and misplace everything. If they have a set of B uniforms (that's the field/work ones) and a pair of boots, that's awesome. If not, we're going to shrug and throw them a pair of B's. That's my experience at least.

(the flip side is that most people will have way too much 'spare' stuff left over when their service is over).

The IDF must have a deal going with the milsurp industry.   

[MicroBalrog]

The IDF works on the premise the reservists will lose and misplace everything. If they have a set of B uniforms (that's the field/work ones) and a pair of boots, that's awesome. If not, we're going to shrug and throw them a pair of B's. That's my experience at least.

(the flip side is that most people will have way too much 'spare' stuff left over when their service is over).

The IDF must have a deal going with the milsurp industry.   

Israel has no milsurp industry (except for export) - but it does have a monopoly chain that sells milspec uniforms and camping stuff at ourageous prices to soldiers. And it has people who peddle rifle slings on E-bay at triple the market price of a compable GI sling.

[Perd Hapley]

Israel has no milsurp industry (except for export)   

That's the one I mean. 

[MicroBalrog]

Yah.

An MP guy I spoke to once told that they were searching the home of a deserter, and the guy (the deserter, not the MP) had taken an RPG-7 grenade from the army as a keepsake. He opened its fins to better stand it on his bookshelf, THEREBY ARMING THE GRENADE. It was on his bookshelf, armed and ready to go at the slightest disturbance, when the MP's came.

They had to call a bomb squad.

[lee n. field]

Now gun-toting soccer moms like Sarah Palin [can] get all their fight gear with one stop!

How's that for a gratuitous dig.

I suspect Sarah Palin feels no need to play army.

[MicroBalrog]

Now gun-toting soccer moms like Sarah Palin [can] get all their fight gear with one stop!

How's that for a gratuitous dig.

I suspect Sarah Palin feels no need to play army.

I don't think there's anything wrong with 'playing army', just as long as you don't, you know, buy and wear the insignia of combat units you haven't served in outside re-enactments.

[Thor]

I want to assure y'all that Sears is only in this stuff for purely unadulterated self interest. I just terminated my employment with them. They will not give active duty, reserves or retired vets any discounts on stuff, unlike Home Depot or Lowe's. I sent in a help ticket informing the corporate staff of Home Depot's and Lowe's discounts offered over Memorial Day and the 4th of July for our military folks. The reply I received was "We'll consider it"......  Both of those events had come and gone, still no decision. Sears also taunts some veteran's thing where they help rehab a vet's house. Sears claims all of the good done, but what isn't told outright is that Sears begs for donations from it's customers in this effort and the customers who did donate don't really get the praise. (Sears will match dollars donated by it's customers towards the rehab of the homes.) I could go on and on about Sears, but for brevity's sake, I'll just say that they are very left-winged oriented, so anything they do is all geared towards making Sears look good. BTW, K-Mart owns Sears, if y'all didn't know....

[Manedwolf]

I want to assure y'all that Sears is only in this stuff for purely unadulterated self interest. I just terminated my employment with them. They will not give active duty, reserves or retired vets any discounts on stuff, unlike Home Depot or Lowe's. I sent in a help ticket informing the corporate staff of Home Depot's and Lowe's discounts offered over Memorial Day and the 4th of July for our military folks. The reply I received was "We'll consider it"......  Both of those events had come and gone, still no decision. Sears also taunts some veteran's thing where they help rehab a vet's house. Sears claims all of the good done, but what isn't told outright is that Sears begs for donations from it's customers in this effort and the customers who did donate don't really get the praise. (Sears will match dollars donated by it's customers towards the rehab of the homes.) I could go on and on about Sears, but for brevity's sake, I'll just say that they are very left-winged oriented, so anything they do is all geared towards making Sears look good. BTW, K-Mart owns Sears, if y'all didn't know....

Seems to have changed a bit from their history of military surplus guns and Ted Williams endorsed merchandise, if you've ever studied the history of that company...

The only thing I ever went there for was Craftsman tools because of the lifetime warranty on them, but they seem to be steadily replacing Craftsman stuff with Chinese-made things beside them on the shelves...

[taurusowner]

I'm in the Army now, but I don't think it's right to expect discounts or anything for military service.  Sure I use them if they are there, but I won't get angry for a company not offering.

What really cracks me up is how many people I see with greay Army PT shirts, except they are obviously fake as they do no use the reflective lettering and do not have the block A on the back.  I live in a campus town, and I see some punk who is obviously been living the civilian life his entire time on this planet with one of these fake PT shirts at least once a day.  Not the same punk mind you, a different one daily.

[Perd Hapley]

So, they're just grey T-shirts that say ARMY on the front?  They could be old PT shirts from before the turn of the century.  Could even be unissued stuff they sold off in 2000.  I believe that's when they made the switch. 

[taurusowner]

I dunno.  They just kind of appeared this semester like a fad.  And I've seen them sold at "surplus" stores.  The same surplus stores that sell purple camo BDU pants.  I've got the real deal PT shirt on right now, with the reflective lettering and block A on the back.  Regardless of whether the other ones I've seen are old issue or not, it's still a case of ghetto kids and punks seizing onto something that seems military and turning it into fashion.  That's nothing new though. 

Of course I've also seen ghetto kids with what looks like Red Army dress uniform jackets complete with medals hanging off the breast.  And emo kids who are in their 20s wearing Cub Scout uniform jackets that are about 5 sizes too small.

[41magsnub]

So, they're just grey T-shirts that say ARMY on the front?  They could be old PT shirts from before the turn of the century.  Could even be unissued stuff they sold off in 2000.  I believe that's when they made the switch. 

The fisted one is right. 

/ok, I just wanted to say "The Fisted One", but he is still right.

[Thor]

I'm in the Army now, but I don't think it's right to expect discounts or anything for military service.  Sure I use them if they are there, but I won't get angry for a company not offering.

I never got "angry" with Sears for not offering the military discounts, but moreso, their blasè attitudes towards those discounts. I think it's a nice gesture that Lowe's and Home Depot offers those discounts (albeit only on certain holidays). The bigger thing was that I had customers that had walked away just because of that. Losing business to the competition was more my complaint. IMO, it seemed to me that Sears uses their support for the military at their convenience instead of coming straight from the heart.

[seeker_two]

The fisted one is right. 

There's never a good reason to use "The Fisted One" in a sentence....esp. in that one....