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Started By
Message
re: What Happened to Army Surplus Stores?
Posted on 8/9/26 at 10:30 am to lsuconnman
Posted on 8/9/26 at 10:30 am to lsuconnman
quote:
Gen X already bought everything leftover from Korea and Vietnam
It was a rite of passage as a teen to hit up the surplus store for a military jacket and combat boots.
1
Posted on 8/9/26 at 11:51 am to sledgehammer
We had one here in Louisville in the 80's and I can still smell that distinct smell of all of the old gear.
Most of the canteen holders and web gear were in no order and you just had to search through boxes upon boxes hoping to find some cool stuff.
Most of the canteen holders and web gear were in no order and you just had to search through boxes upon boxes hoping to find some cool stuff.
This post was edited on 8/9/26 at 12:52 pm
Posted on 8/9/26 at 11:55 am to Spankum
Mainly now just in cities or nearby bases
And it’s pricey now, in the 70’s and 80’s for pu could get lots of really cool and still new stuff for cheap
No wars = not as much army surplus
And it’s pricey now, in the 70’s and 80’s for pu could get lots of really cool and still new stuff for cheap
No wars = not as much army surplus
Posted on 8/9/26 at 11:57 am to Obtuse1
quote:Does that mean TA 50? I guess I'm old now,
Where else is a soldier going to sell off OCIE for beer money?
Posted on 8/9/26 at 12:02 pm to Tchefuncte Tiger
quote:
They're called Army Surplus, but it's just a bunch of cheap Chinese crap masquerading as military surplus.
For reasons many have listed here, there isn’t really any surplus anymore . We don't stock caches of clothing and gear the way we did before the Cold War ended. We use far fewer people, and have adopted much of the civilian sector’s efficiency ethos. What surplus we do have we send to third world allies.
Its a shame, really. Some of my fondest memories of childhood are at surplus stores going through cool old gear and jackets. I wore my old OD paratrooper trousers like a second skin when I was 13.
Posted on 8/9/26 at 12:13 pm to Sofaking2
quote:I liked the woodland BDUs, and especially the DCUs. They looked a hell of a lot better than the shitty ACUs that came out mid-2000's and they held a crease well. Yeah, I know you weren’t supposed to starch them, but everybody did and woe unto you if you didn't in garrison.
I had 5 almost brand new uniforms from the 1990s. Summer and winter Army BDUs. Nobody wants that shite, lol. I had them packed away in my attic. I threw all that stuff away a few months ago. Those old camouflage uniforms look like shite compared to what’s available now.
Probably weird, but I miss the black boots too. I liked shining them after work. It was my decompression ritual. Even earned me a few days off after open-ranks on Mondays.
Never owned any of the winter BDUs besides the two sets I was issued in basic. Never cared for those.
Posted on 8/9/26 at 3:44 pm to lsuconnman
quote:
Now we let the Iraqis and the afghans keep everything, and Gen X already bought everything leftover from Korea and Vietnam
To be fair, it goes nicely with the WW2 stuff that GenX kids were given by our WW2 vet grandfathers.
Posted on 8/9/26 at 3:57 pm to Spankum
There was one on Old Metairie road back in the 70's.. Don't remember the name.. It was small store but it was packed with real army stuff.. I was able to drive there in the early 80's. Real army fatigues.. I remember I got an olive drab jump suit that I used to work on my car..
Posted on 8/9/26 at 4:09 pm to northshorebamaman
quote:
Does that mean TA 50? I guess I'm old now
Yes, Organizational Clothing and Individual Equipment (OCIE) is the current official nomenclature for what we would have called TA 50.
I started in the NBC era and wore BDUs, so I am definitely old.
Posted on 8/9/26 at 4:32 pm to Spankum
Biden gave all our surplus to Afghanistan.
Posted on 8/9/26 at 4:44 pm to holmesbr
quote:
The few things I have gotten online have a weird smell and are sticky. The videos say it's the waterproofing or whatever they clean them with. Mostly the smooth surfaces like interior of a ruck.
Semen?
Posted on 8/9/26 at 6:39 pm to Spankum
I found a really cool one next to the Love's truck stop in Pocatello ID. Ive loaded up on fun stuff there several times through the years - mre's, tactical gear, etc.
Posted on 8/9/26 at 7:58 pm to shutterspeed
quote:
was a rite of passage as a teen to hit up the surplus store for a military jacket and combat boots
Sure was…. Every one of us wore our army jackets to jr high school!
Posted on 8/9/26 at 10:23 pm to Spankum
quote:
They used to have a lot of very cool shite in them.
They started closing in the late 1970s. We made a lot of things never used for WWII. OD green coats were popular around 1970,
Posted on 8/9/26 at 10:48 pm to Spankum
quote:
They used to have a lot of very cool shite in them. I used to buy most of my hunting stuff there during my childhood. Every town of any size used to have a store. Does the army not have surplus items anymore
Columbine
Posted on 8/9/26 at 11:05 pm to jizzle6609
Just for discussion here...
The US has 1.35 million people in the US Armed forces currently...
In WWII they 16 Million... 15 Million more people to cloth, house, supply etc... and then consider that the USA was producing tons of goods for other countries as well.. Like USSR, England etc...
So surplus stores in the 70's had way more obsolete surplus than we could ever imagine today...
And then again I say... Commercial Real estate leasing rates are becoming un accessible for Mom and Pops to operate.
The US has 1.35 million people in the US Armed forces currently...
In WWII they 16 Million... 15 Million more people to cloth, house, supply etc... and then consider that the USA was producing tons of goods for other countries as well.. Like USSR, England etc...
So surplus stores in the 70's had way more obsolete surplus than we could ever imagine today...
And then again I say... Commercial Real estate leasing rates are becoming un accessible for Mom and Pops to operate.
This post was edited on 8/10/26 at 1:03 am
Posted on 8/9/26 at 11:19 pm to WWII Collector
quote:
here... The US has 1.35 people in the US Armed forces currently... In WWII they 16 Million... 15 Million more people to cloth, house, supply etc... and then consider that the USA was producing tins of goods for other countries as well.. Like USSR, England etc... So surplus stores in the 70's had way more obsolete surplus than we could ever imagine today... And then again I say... Commercial Real estate leasing rates are becoming un accessible for Mom and Pops to operate.
Just bravo.
Posted on 8/10/26 at 12:16 am to CatfishJohn
quote:
Semen?
I don't think these items were navy issue. I didn't find any crayon crumbs either so probably not marine.
Posted on 8/10/26 at 4:35 am to Spankum
quote:
Does the army not have surplus items anymore?
They burn it now. I used to occasionally pick up a load of old uniforms and gear at Fort Riley, Kansas and take it to a big incinerator in downtown Indianapolis.
I don't know why they do that.
Posted on 8/10/26 at 6:24 am to Athis
Franks was the name of the surplus store on Metairie Road. And yes I remember the smell
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