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Kit. Issued or bought. Up to you really.

General discussions on joining & training in the Royal Marines.
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Artist
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Kit. Issued or bought. Up to you really.

Post by Artist »

Having read a few Posts ref own Boots, Bergans and suchlike I've decided to wack this up as a sticky people.

All well and good having boots that repel water and cost well over £30 per square inch. Only problem is that they tend to retain water as well as keep it out, so after a few miles your feet are still going to be wet, but with your own sweat, because your feet can't breathe.

If you are allowed to wear boots that you have bought yourself then go for it but take it as read that the "Powers that Be" at places like Poole, CTCRM and your units homebase mostly like Bootnecks to wear Pusser's Issue kit only. And to be honest using pusser's gear whilst out in the "Big Bad World" as in anywhere your sent, be it the artic, Blackpool or some shithole like Afgan or Iraq then it's really in your own interest to go PUSSER because if a bit of kit breaks, leaks, blows up, defects to the other side or gives you a dose of the shits then at least you can change it "One for One" nay hassle.

The only time I spent big money on gear was a one time only purchase of a SUIT (Sight. Unit. Infantry. Trilux) Sight for my SLR.
Image

The Sight on top of the Rifle.

It cost me nearly £50 at the time but after my first visit to Northern Ireland it was a must as far as I was concerned. Me Pop got me a good deal on mine due to the fact he knew the guy flogging it as they were both in the Malayan Scouts during the 50's.

Back on subject: Nobody ever told me to remove my SUIT sight. Later on it was issued!! :evil: But at that time when I was on the Streets of Northern Ireland it wasn't issued. Basically a Good Soldier will spend good money on a good bit of kit and at the time the SUIT sight was a cracking good bit of kit and our Bosses knew it so didn't object to us using it.

Basically it was a sight that magnified and took over from the Iron sights. The SLR whilst being a good bit of kit had one problem. Whenever you "Broke" it to clean it you lost your ranging. You would range in your SLR with the foreward and aft sights but, when you "Broke" to clean it then your ranging went out of kilter. Hence a fair few blokes would buy the SUIT sight.

All you did was fit it onto your SLR's top cover. I got an Armourer Oppo to fit my SUIT sight onto a spare top cover for a quid and a few wets. So when I returned my weapon to the armoury it was kosher as my SUIT Sight was safe in me sweaty little hands. You could also get it it already fixed to a topcover but that was another £5.

When I was in the Corps we got what was called KUA (Kit Upkeep Allowance) which was about £4 a month in your pay. You (so they hoped! :D ) would use this KUA to purchase stuff like a new set of lovats, blues, socks, shirts, towels, CGB, capbadge etc, etc, when it was required. I myself used to go to the QM's and "Obtain" gear that had been returned by blokes leaving the Corps at little or no cost. These days it's one for one on all kit as far as I'm aware.

Whilst the G1098 stuff you were issued with when you joined a unit and handed back on leaving a unit was issued on a "If it's bolloxed you can change it for new" routine. Stuff like Combats, Fighting Order, Denims, Bergans and suchlike.

A case in point: Back in the mists of time when most of the Bde were deployed to Norge (Norway) from January till March every year one of my Oppos decided to "Splash Out" on a Slug (Sleeping bag) £200 odd quid it cost him. Come a crash move during an exercise he got Frost Nip trying to shove the bloody thing into his bergan (at the time the Temp was well below 20C). So he decided to get himself a Pussers Artic Slug from the QM's when we got back to our basecamp. The QM's told him to go away in SHORT, SHARP, JERKY, EROTIC MOVEMENTS. Where was his "Issued" Pussers Artic Slug then? Back in the UK! So he had to live with being nice and snug at night but risking Frost nip and frost bite every morning trying to stuff his "State of the Art" Slug into his bergan. Good Owd Fred!!!! :D

Whenever I knew I was going to be away from home for a few weeks all I took with me when it came to kit was the issued stuff. Even down to the dreaded Draws Celluar, Vest Celluar. My German Para Boots being the only exception as they were so durable. Even my Razor and Toothbrush was Pusser's Issue! :D

Word to you all, be it any service, NAVY, MARINES, ARMY, AIR FORCE, always be nice to the Quarter Masters. I.E. give them the odd jar of Coffee, the odd pack of rich tea biccies, because if they want to they can make your life nastier than you need it to be.

The same goes for Chefs whilst out in the field. I myself would dig out blind to help them to wash up, prepare food, bin the gash, dig gash pits etc, etc, because at the end of it they would look "Kindly" upon me which resulted in me having "extras" such as wets of Tea at any time of the day, the odd egg banjo if I was around, extra Scran, but mostly it was because of the loads of hot water they would give me in which I could do me Dirty Dhoby, wash and shave myself without having to fanny around trying to find the time to warm up a pint of water in a messtin..

Any Eeijut can rough it but why bother iffen you can have as much hot water on tap as you need. Just what harm is an hour in the morning or evening helping the Chefs to wash pots and pans going to do to you? :wink:

Artist
davidemmerson
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Re: Kit. Issued or bought. Up to you really.

Post by davidemmerson »

Artist wrote:Word to you all, be it any service, NAVY, MARINES, ARMY, AIR FORCE, always be nice to the Quarter Masters. I.E. give them the odd jar of Coffee, the odd pack of rich tea biccies, because if they want to they can make your life nastier than you need it to be.Artist
Was speaking to my dad about uniforms etc the other day, apparently it was preferable if the coffee was of the Gold Blend variety? And in a big jar, or course!

Also, I asked him about combats and denims, because I had noticed on Commando that hardly anyone seemed to be wearing denims. Just wanted to ask, do you know if they are still worn regulary, with the wolly pully and shirt? Or are combats more commonly worn now?

Great post, helpful stuff on there!

David
Alfa
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Re: Kit. Issued or bought. Up to you really.

Post by Alfa »

davidemmerson wrote:
Also, I asked him about combats and denims, because I had noticed on Commando that hardly anyone seemed to be wearing denims. Just wanted to ask, do you know if they are still worn regulary, with the wolly pully and shirt? Or are combats more commonly worn now?

Great post, helpful stuff on there!

David
I don't know about the Marines but in the Army that's what you wear for drill, that may be why you never saw them wearing them in the Commando series. Working dress is C95's so you do spend most of your time in combats.
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Re: Kit. Issued or bought. Up to you really.

Post by Artist »

Alfa wrote:
I don't know about the Marines but in the Army that's what you wear for drill, that may be why you never saw them wearing them in the Commando series. Working dress is C95's so you do spend most of your time in combats.
Think it's the same for Royal these days. Druadan or any other serving Bootneck will confirm it I reckon.

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Post by Wholley »

Regarding SUIT scopes,
I managed to break two of them.
The light adjuster(The sticky out bit on top)was very prone to snapping off.As the early ones were Tritium powered this caused a problem.
The later ones were Israeli designed with as Artist said Trilux battery powered.
I loved the rifle(though there are some ex deer in NC who wouldn't agree)
Little heavy but accurate.
The SUIT being mounted on the dust cover was prone to get out of zero in a hurry.
If I had the choice between an M-16 and an SLR,
I'd go for the FN anyday.
marcus2007
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Post by marcus2007 »

In regards to the question about Combats and Drill. Currently during Drill we wear CS-95 Combat Trousers (Denims), Wooly Jumper and Shirt. Although soon we will be issued Trousers. During the working day we wear Denims.

Hope that helps
Week 6 of RM Training (7/1/2008)

956 Troop

Think of the worst, hope for the best...
Tartan_Terrier
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Post by Tartan_Terrier »

marcus2007 wrote:In regards to the question about Combats and Drill. Currently during Drill we wear CS-95 Combat Trousers (Denims), Wooly Jumper and Shirt. Although soon we will be issued Trousers. During the working day we wear Denims.

Hope that helps
Are the woolly jumpers the same style as the old ones? What about the shirts, are they OG, No.2, or CS-95 shirts?
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Post by bigdog »

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Last edited by bigdog on Fri 02 May, 2008 5:49 pm, edited 1 time in total.
druadan
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Post by druadan »

Marcus, denims aren't CS95, they're the old green 'lightweight' trousers you'll see if you look at some old phots of lads on their Tests that are dotted around CTC.

Denims are now obsolete. The mention of drill, those are Lovat trousers, which can be worn with a short sleaved stone shirt the Lovat jacket and tie. CS95 trousers are worn by recruits for the first few weeks of drill til they get Lovats fitted.

The old Jersey Wool Heavy is still general issue, though rarely worn, it is acceptable over a CS95 shirt as general camp wear, and some lads still like them in the field. I only ever use mine in Norway, hate the things.
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Post by Jcooke »

Hey there, sorry I have tried searching the site for this but couldn’t find anything definite on it. I was wondering if you could recommend anything to stop blisters with boots? I know there’s loads of products out there like blister tape and insoles? I understand blisters are just something that is going to happen, and I accept that, but wondered if you guys had a any tips for avoiding the worst. Any help here would be greatly appreciated. Thank you
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Post by jabcrosshook »

Am I the only person who has ever wore a wooly jersey and like it? :-?
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Post by druadan »

I stand corrected Sandy, different terminology perhaps.

Blisters, good socks, good boots properly broken in and properly fitted, heavy duty zinc oxide tape over any hotspots you get before they form blisters (make sure you find some proper sticky stuff, a lot comes off in the heat and sweat of your boot and makes the problem worse), Compeed blister plasters if you do get one.
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Post by Jcooke »

druadan wrote:I stand corrected Sandy, different terminology perhaps.

Blisters, good socks, good boots properly broken in and properly fitted, heavy duty zinc oxide tape over any hotspots you get before they form blisters (make sure you find some proper sticky stuff, a lot comes off in the heat and sweat of your boot and makes the problem worse), Compeed blister plasters if you do get one.
thank you! I will try and get some decent tape. Do they sell it at CTC?
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Post by druadan »

You can get it from the sickbay free; having said that, the old stuff used to be great, stuff they've had the last coupla years seems to do the coming off trick, but maybe that's just my scabby feet :wink:
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