Thread: Mum spends £3000 on kit for her two squaddy sons!

Article in todays Daily hate here:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/arti...pped-Army.html

I know I'm an old fart of the KF shirt and puttees generation, but I reckon she's a mug and her son's are a pair of clowns for letting her do it. everyone I've spoken to who's still serving tells me that the issued kit is absolutely superb nowadays, shortages of choppers, UAVs' and Mine-proof vehicles notwithstanding.

What do people here reckon?

Originally Posted by Jaeger

What do people here reckon?

that he's gonna get the piss ripped out of him?

I thought the combat gear and clothing I was issued with when I retired was pretty good, but then again when I joined up I was originally issued Boots DMS and puttees, and the only waterproof gear was a poncho.

I suppose there will always be better kit available in the market if you are prepared to pay for it.

You pays your money and takes your choice.

The best bits of kit I ever bought were a pair of Berghaus boots and a Sleeka jacket. By the time I retired though I'd stopped buying any commercial kit and was using the issue stuff as it did everything it was supposed to.

Having said that the Afghan environment looks like it will push any bit of kit to its limit so I guess if you can find a better one then it may well be worth it, particularly if your life might depend on keeping fit and healthy enough to do your job.

:D

Rodney2q

Originally Posted by Jaeger

Article in todays Daily hate here:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/arti...pped-Army.html

I know I'm an old fart of the KF shirt and puttees generation, but I reckon she's a mug and her son's are a pair of clowns for letting her do it. everyone I've spoken to who's still serving tells me that the issued kit is absolutely superb nowadays, shortages of choppers, UAVs' and Mine-proof vehicles notwithstanding.

What do people here reckon?

The article refers to buying boots for Iraq 2003 which was probably true, as the boots were crap, nowdays the store house in KAF is bulging with kit, I'd like to know who spends 300 notes on a doss bag so I can sell them kit, there are jungle and artic ones available through the system

Her sons sound like a pair of knobbers

Why are Daily Mail readers always so angry? :D

Hmmm probably the esiest way to get real money out of mum...I doubt they got they got the full £3,000 for the kit she got sent out... but a fair bit of it. When they flogged it to the new guys that is.

She lives in Looe, all money and no sense.
£300 on a doss bag, £280 on boots? I got my lad a pair of US deserts for £80 for Iraq, her local surplus store must be laughing all the way to the bank.

Are there actually two sons?

Or is there some sort of madness in the reporting going on? One minute Paul is a Cpl in 2RTR and then a Signal man in 209 Sig Sqn :s

The mum needs to get a grip, stop sending him stuff and have a holiday. He's a 29yo full screw FFS he should be able to buy his own kit now. If he indeed really needs it.

There have always been squaddies buying better kit than stuff on an AF1157.

My 70's & 80's experience...

Suit sights in NI, Doc Martins instead of BCH, Olive Bergan instead of '58 Largepack, civvie purchased beret, etc etc

Only difference for me was my Mum never coughed up for it.

I thought so, pretty much my own reaction to this story. In my day the "must haves" were Windproof smocks and trousers, a decent pair of hi-leg boots and a good Bergen, all of which had to be bought or otherwise "acquired". I too found that as I got older in service the appeal of loads of expensive "Gucci" kit rather diminished and the issued stuff did the job just as as well. The arrival of PLCE in the late 80's was a great leap forward for a start, then decent bashas instead of a ****ing poncho with the hood tied up, and at last, a decent Gonk-bag!!!
My first one was made for a midget, had a broken zip and one toggle missing, once unrolled it could NEVER be made to go back into the cover. Oh the fun I had with that in Forestry Block 'B' at 4am on a wet January morning! As for paying £280 for boots and £300 for a maggot, she needs her ****ing head testing!

These guys want to stop taking Mummy and Daddy for a ride.

1. If he is a full screw he is earning enough to buy gucci kit himself
2. As stated above its not needed. We are not in Early Telic's as far as personal kit is concerned.
3. He's fcuking 29 grow up stop relying on the folks

Originally Posted by Jaeger

As for paying £280 for boots and £300 for a maggot, she needs her ****ing head testing!

Hey, less of the insults, these type of civvies are paying my mortgage.

No one is ever going to stop buying random bits of kit that makes you look "ally". I have been guilty of this offense in the past but it was done to better the experience of exercise! Yes the new maggot bags are good, but acquiring one is proving problematic! I have a softee maggot which I can use in civvy street without looking a cnut with a bouncing bomb! Boots are a non starter as acquiring them was easier having one of those Cpl's who could conjure up anything in my Tp was a bit of a bonus!

There is no need to spend that amount on kit these days. You name it and you can get it through the system. If you can't there is the GEMS scheme and through experience they just go and buy it off the shelf. Case in point Black hawk holsters and lanyards. The new dessie Lowa Boots are great and we have 3 different styles if your feet fall apart in one type. My Mendls cut my feet to shreds so got the Lowas and no dramas. The once piece of kit that all people should get though is a gas burner for ex in UK/Ger! Sod cleaning mess tins of the diamond stype substance that it cakes itself in from hexe.

But yes I agree with the general consensus! This bint needs her head testing!

I will admit that when I joined I purchased some kit.

A Berghaus Roc in lieu of the large pack.

A flask.

I was given a Goretex jacket.

My mum made me the most dog's dangly bivi bags ever seen (still in use from a design by penine leisure :D ) complete with grab handles for use as a stretcher, mossy net at the open end, little tags to attach green string to so it would act like a tent. She even modded it for me and put a bottom zip in it, so I didn't have to muck around to get tomy Bergan. It can also be used like a hammock.

I bought a fleece from the market (it was green and black).

Gaitors, that I had worn all thorugh DOfE anyway.

I probably would have replaced the feather dos bag, but the new ones came in.

Apart from the odd trial of ski socks etc for when tabbing obscene distances (lanyard trophy) I've never really bought much else.

Anybody who takes 1500 quid off his mum is a cnut - unless she's some kind of multi millionaire.