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View Full Version : What do U.S. soldiers get to keep after being discharged?


Naga1337
2008-12-04, 05:45
I'm curious to know what items of equipment U.S. soldiers (applies mainly to Army/Marines) get to keep after being discharged. I would assume you get to keep the dress uniform and fatigues, but what else? Helmet? Vest? The 9mm you managed to smuggle out? Please, enlighten me.

Freelance Tax Collector
2008-12-04, 07:16
Your uniforms, basically. All of your field gear comes from CIF or consolidated issue facility. It's considered public property. This includes your armor.

Naturally, armory issue stuff is not something you can get away with pocketing. Much too much accountability. Magazines you could probably get away with though, which might come in handy when there's another assault weapons ban. Lil puppies goin for $40.

If you get a not honorable discharge, you get booted and your uniforms get recycled. They dropped one drug pop outside the Pulgas gate, on I-5 in exactly the middle of nowhere. I think he ended up hitching to the airport.

XiPPiLLi
2008-12-04, 15:59
Just whatever you pay for.

You pay for your uniforms, and whatever else you buy out of pocket. Equipment, such as kevlar helmets, second-chance/interceptor vests, tac gear, all of that you turn in unless you bought it yourself. Had a guy getting out, tried to keep his kevlar, equipment found out about it. They weren't too happy, and after his leadership was done with him, neither was he.

Superdave
2008-12-05, 03:06
Just whatever you pay for.

You pay for your uniforms, and whatever else you buy out of pocket. Equipment, such as kevlar helmets, second-chance/interceptor vests, tac gear, all of that you turn in unless you bought it yourself. Had a guy getting out, tried to keep his kevlar, equipment found out about it. They weren't too happy, and after his leadership was done with him, neither was he.

You have to pay for your own uniforms?

That really blows.

XiPPiLLi
2008-12-05, 03:45
You have to pay for your own uniforms?

That really blows.

It comes out of your first paycheck when you're in basic training, where you really wont be spending any of it at all anyway.

Byss
2008-12-06, 20:53
You have to pay for your own uniforms?

That really blows.

I know in the Marine Corps you also get a yearly allowance for buying new uniforms, tailoring, etc.

XiPPiLLi
2008-12-07, 04:36
I think thats the same for all branches. AF gets uniform allowance, too.

It's really not that big a deal.

Freelance Tax Collector
2008-12-09, 03:14
I know in the Marine Corps you also get a yearly allowance for buying new uniforms, tailoring, etc.

It's just another couple hundred tacked on to your paycheck on the subsequent years after your pay entry base date.

It buys just a little extra beer/ammo.

DORITO
2008-12-09, 20:08
Are you able to buy off Armory issue items?

Freelance Tax Collector
2008-12-10, 05:36
What as replacement?

Yeah, I guess if it comes to that, the .gov will end up getting theirs from your salary. If you lose something though, you can bet 99.9% of the time it will be found. Whether it's a bent-in-a-u-shape-M16-that-fell-out-of-the-window-of-a-humvee-and-was-ranover, or a PEQ2 that popped off during an attack, it'll be found. Even if the company has to search through a vast wasteland of Mojave desert for 48 hours straight looking for a $50 surefire. If it has a serial # on it, it'll be tracked and accounted for with frightening precision. Much more than I thought these yardbirds that make up the military are capable of.

If you mean as crap that you want but don't need, then no. Besides you can buy better stuff for cheaper than what the .mil pays for it. Except for maybe, you know, M240s and stuff.

Green Tea is Good
2008-12-20, 02:25
you can cut off mohammeds balls and keep those

invictus
2008-12-22, 02:49
If you get a not honorable discharge, you get booted and your uniforms get recycled. They dropped one drug pop outside the Pulgas gate, on I-5 in exactly the middle of nowhere. I think he ended up hitching to the airport.

Not really true. There's an AFI that states that used clothing MUST NOT be reissued after touching human skin. In essence, it all goes to DRMO and winds up in the army/navy stores.

Naga1337
2008-12-22, 04:15
So, do you have to pay for medals and stuff you earn too?

Freelance Tax Collector
2008-12-22, 09:44
Not really true. There's an AFI that states that used clothing MUST NOT be reissued after touching human skin. In essence, it all goes to DRMO and winds up in the army/navy stores.

Well, is that an Army order? I'm pretty sure that all the TAP issued cammies are once used. Also down on the depot the uniform sales office sells recycled cammies for a hefty discount.

DesertRebel
2008-12-22, 10:18
So, do you have to pay for medals and stuff you earn too?

Replacements, yes. Not the initial ones.

And all services get the yearly uniform allowance. Its all based on how much you think your uniform needs to be replaced. Or if the military decides to change the whole damn uniform, they give you so much money to buy the minimal standard. Anything more than that, they wont pay for.

General rule of thumb is if its required and it costs money, odds are the military will float the bill. Unless its on account of your stupidity. (ie: My first 4 sets of camies were free because it was a nonstandard uniform for the Navy, and its required where I work at.)

3PushesBullet
2008-12-28, 04:11
You have to pay for your own uniforms?

That really blows.

The way it's supposed to work is you're issued your first set of everything in boot camp for free, and after that, you buy it. The stuff that comes out of your check is stuff like skivies, socks, jackets, etc. etc. However, the gummit, being the gummit, will fuck something up, i.e., if they don't have your size when you get issued dress uniforms, and they don't get it by the time you grad. you are SOL my friend, but it's usually small stuff, like the collar devices I had to buy, as opposed to a whole uniform.

The uniform bonus is supposed to be about half of what it would cost you to replace one of everything you're required to have, but no one spends it on unis., it usually goes towards beer.

StealthyRacoons
2008-12-31, 08:51
Ya its beer money your camies are pretty good surviving shit. But im reserve side the unit pockets the moeny and issues you replacements. And right before deployments you get a complete re-issue