i'm interested in the attitudes different armies have to soldiers using their own equipment and clothing on operations/exercise.
within the british army it is permissable for a soldier to use his own equipment and clothing as long as a) it doesn't increase the risk of friendly fire caused by non-recognition, and b) it isn't orange.
as an example, i use a civilian mountaineering sleeping bag and bivi bag, rucksack, boots, gaiters, camelback water bag, thermal base and mid layers, a commercial DPM gore-tex jacket, stove and sleeping mat.
while the issued equipment has improved markedly in the last 15 years, it is still not to the standard provided by proffesional civilian companies - many of whom provide a 'green' version of their products for soldiers.
i remember being told that the US army in particular refuses to allow soldiers to use comercially bought equipment - is this still true, and what are the attitudes of other armies to this issue?
within the british army it is permissable for a soldier to use his own equipment and clothing as long as a) it doesn't increase the risk of friendly fire caused by non-recognition, and b) it isn't orange.
as an example, i use a civilian mountaineering sleeping bag and bivi bag, rucksack, boots, gaiters, camelback water bag, thermal base and mid layers, a commercial DPM gore-tex jacket, stove and sleeping mat.
while the issued equipment has improved markedly in the last 15 years, it is still not to the standard provided by proffesional civilian companies - many of whom provide a 'green' version of their products for soldiers.
i remember being told that the US army in particular refuses to allow soldiers to use comercially bought equipment - is this still true, and what are the attitudes of other armies to this issue?
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