Lucky me, when I enlisted, as part of my initial issue of kit, I was given a safety razor and two blades, a cake of soap and a nail brush, a sewing kit, two boot brushes, a toothbrush, a soap container, a small metal mirror (to be also used, we were told, for signalling) a comb and hairbrush, but no coat hangers, but then again, I joined the Australian Army, where we also got two new razor blades and a cake of soap every payday as we were paid.
I had to buy my own blanco powder and brasso and huge tin of Kiwi polish at the canteen, plus a bottle of raven oil, as the boots they issued us were left over boots from WW2 and they were brown leather, and the Rising Sun hat badge was black (also left over from WW2) that had to be coated with brasso and burned to get the black paint off, then polished, and used a large part of the tin of polish to get the boots to a high spit polish shine, just so I could go and get them all muddy the very next day on the parade ground for the start of the first two weeks Bull Ring.
Loved it, and would do it all over again if I was young enough and had the chance to do so.
how much was it when you signed up?
i got £12 and was expected to buy 5 coat hangers, wash/shaving kit, boot polish and brushes, dusters and a steam iron with it. not bleeding likely, even in 1989.
note, you need to have actually been in the forces to answer this thread.