Kit Shortage..an old chestnut revisited

[maninblack]

There has been some discussion recently about kit shortages and I do remember at least one posting about the cadet force having plenty of kit whilst regulars are starved of boots as an example.

I was in a regional store yesterday, one that deals with some immediate reserve units on quick deployment readiness. This store also deals with the local cadets. I was supposed to be in for a complete refit having had nothing updated in 12 years on the reserve. The only kit in the store that fitted me and was available was a beret and a second hand shirt. Boots were only available below size six or above size 12. Most of these were "pre-cherished models"

The only sections that had a tolerable level of kit were the sizes aimed at the cadets but there is a back story to this.....cadets have to pay for their kit and so this is a no cost situation for the ministry.

I can't wait for Il Presidente to volunteer my limited skills overseas yet again, I'll turn nup in sandalls, a web belt and two mess tins.

[SASless]

Know the feeling ManinBlack....flew for a year in the Army National Guard...similar to your Territorials.....wore bluejeans, tees, and cowboy boots for a year while flying UH-1's. We had 52 aircraft assigned to the State....and at one time I was the third of three helicopter rated pilots in the unit.....pretty much had my choice of seats for a while! Commuted to university for almost six months ....flew to class...hopped over to the Armory...swapped aircraft....hopped back home and repeated the cycle the next day. Kept the aircraft flown that way! Alas, then the system caught up with us, uniforms, rules, regulations......ruined a very cozy deal!

[maninblack]

I missed the irony in my own sig. line here, I ought to change it to

"I had a black shirt, and now I also have a rather faded green one with a button missing."

[canberra]

first of all the cadets in britain do not pay for thier kit. secondly ive seen some of their adult staff wearing soldier 95 which i was told their not entitled to! but finally why do some aircrew have a dozen flying suits? you can only wear one at once!

[StopStart]

Still bizarre...
A couple for day to day use
One santitized
One AR5

A more pertinent question is why Movers and every non-aircrew man and his dog also have them .................?

[Blacksheep]

Aaaar back in't awld days at Waddo, I wore third hand Trog Boots, second hand sea-boot socks and a ragged, torn Parka held together with black bodge tape. We complained about the state of our cold weather gear and the AOC told us to wear our own. A decision he came to regret. The SWO once bawled out a civvy work party chap who dared to wear corporal's stripes on a battledress jacket that he was wearing. What would the poor old SWO have said if he discovered that the 'civilian' he yelled at was really an RAF Sergeant on his way to work? Such is life when the service squanders all the defence estimates on fuel and training exercises. Even worse today, when there's real bombing and stuff to be done as well.

So, I see nowt has changed. Does that now make it a "Tradition"?

__________________________________
Ex Bomber Command Flight Line Scarecrow

[RFCC]

Blacksheep,

Don't forget the jersey with the bootlace tie and frayed cuffs, also the 'coalman's' leather jerkin! Ahhh. the feel of those crusty, white sea-boot socks lives with me still. :) :) :)

[Blacksheep]

If you rent the old Bond movie "Thunderball", in the bit where the Vulcan taxis out you can see Ernie Leatherbarrow in the background, wearing his infamous "Snoopy" style leather balaclava and Liverpool FC scarf. Its interesting though, that kit shortages are still an issue today and rather sadly, it does seem to have become another Service Tradition - 32 years is a damned long time to wait for a new pair of flying gloves... :(

**************************
Through difficulties to the cinema

[maninblack]

Canberra et al,

I have been doing some further sniffing to try and get a clear picture.

Cadets get a set of pre 95 combats and two shirts plus a few scraps of kit but have to buy their boots and additional kit. When they go to a week long camp they come back either smelly or have to buy extra kit. (they are teenagers, they opt to be smelly :-) )

ACF instructors get issued the same "if it is available" but don't have to buy their boots. Usually they are either ex regulars or ex cadets and so have some of their own kit that they have aquired.

Soldier 95 kit is not issued to the Army Cadet Force (I can't speak for the Sea Cadets or Air Cadets as I don't have any contact with them) All Soldier 95 kit in posession of the ACF has been bought with their own money from surplus stores by the staff or cadets wearing it.

Gospel Truth.

[wub]

When I was an ATC Squadron commander, (I retired in 1998), the cadets were issued with trousers or a skirt, a wooly pully, two shirts (one light blue, one dark blue) a tie, a beret, an armlet on which squadron number and rank badges were sewn, and a crisp-bag type waterproof jacket. All that kit was free. They were expected to buy boots or shoes and dark socks. Those who couldn't afford boots or shoes (there were many) were usually equipped through staff generosity or inter-squadron swaps.

The squadron held a stock of coveralls for shooting, gliding etc. We also had white gloves and belts for cermonial but not every sqn had them and they were lent out between sqns as the occasion arose.

Enterprising squadron staff would often be able to scrounge combats, boots, etc. from stores when on camp and occasionally the local TAVRA would come up with surplus stocks of used combats. The majority of cadets bought combats, webbing and rucksacks from army navy stores.

One of the major problems in keeping the clothing inventory right was that when a cadet got fed up and left, they hardly ever returned the kit, which involved going round to their house and 'negotiaiting' it back from their parents.

I always advocated that parents were asked for a deposit, to ensure the kit was brought back, but it never happened and I wasn't allowed to do it off my own bat.

Yes, MIB, they did come back from camp smelly! Some even had cam cream behind their ears from the night exercise held several night before! :rolleyes:

[Postman Plod]

Being a current ATC Sqn commander, I can confirm that things haven't changed much for uniform issue in the ATC... However, please believe that the regulars take priority, and we really are bottom of the pile!

The ATC are not issued with combats in any shape or form. Most squadrons prowl the various clothing stores with ATC friendly staff looking for gash used kit from the scraps bins, which due to H&S have to be binned apparently. If you can get to Cranwell or Halton, you're laughing as they go through tons of kit, and it would be chucked out otherwise. Generally its in great condition too. We never get new kit!

ATC staff are only issued with blues, and as with cadets, we have to buy privately or scrounge through the scraps bins....

Hope that clarifies! :D