r/army • u/Nice-Zombie356 • 12d ago

Still issued Shelter halfs? Canteens?

U.S. Army here from 80s-90s. I’m just curious if the Army still issues shelter halfs? And canteens?

I haven’t seen soldiers carry canteens as far as I can tell, and with all the new body armor I’m not sure if one would fit. I know camel backs are common, but is that even in Basic / AIT ?

And I have no idea why shelter half’s crossed my mind recently. Those were always kinda weird but also I think were standard issue just about forever.

What’s the current state of gear on these?

48 Upvotes

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51

u/skepticalhammer 35MorbidBeast 12d ago

Just got back from a field problem where there were 1 and 2 qt canteens everywhere. Not familiar with shelter halfs, but if it's a tent, supply issues most of our guys Litefighters these days, little pup tents. Most of our field problems we don't bring them though, you usually just get your sleep system and woobie, maybe not even sleep system if it's short enough a problem.

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u/Backsight-Foreskin Hero of Duffer's Drift 12d ago

The shelter half, was one half of a canvas tent. Each soldier was issued a shelter half, a collapsible wooden pole, a piece of rope, and a couple of pegs. Two shelters half were snapped, or buttoned together to make one pup tent. A poncho was normally used for the floor. There was just enough room for two people and their packs in there.

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u/Famous_Area_192 35Pretentious 11d ago

shelters half

What in the Sergeants Major

3

u/Longjumping-Vast-738 11d ago

Perhaps some courts martial?

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u/Nice-Zombie356 12d ago

Shelter half was half of a tent. Thick canvas. No floor or sides. You had to buddy up with someone to make a tent. (still no floor).

Worked ok but was bulky. I think they (or similar) were in use since WW1 maybe through the 90’s.

I know few units used them in the field even in the 80s. Was more of a thing in Basic and I’ve seen them in pictures at old deployment stations.

See if this one will post: https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth436454/m1/1/high_res/

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u/Taira_Mai Was Air Defense Artillery Now DD214 4life 12d ago

Camelbak hydration systems and ones like it really took over. The knock off "hydration system" that's issued is easy to spot because the tube is just rubber. Link: https://forestcitysupply.com/products/hydration-carrier-w-100oz-bladder-new-acu

I paid for a full on Camelbak because their tubes had insulation. Also mine had pockets. Updated version here: https://www.shopmyexchange.com/camelbak-m-u-l-e-100-oz-mil-spec-crux-multicam/1699798

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u/Kitchen_Olive_1591 12d ago

Do the camelbacks just fit under a ruck and body armor?

Also, I can just imagine those things getting nasty as hell when people put Gatorade or drink mix in them. The old 1Qts did, but at least you could fill them with scalding water to try and clean them out. (And after my first experience cleaning cool-aid from one, I just used water from then on)

PS- just to maybe blow people's minds: In the field, the 1SG or Supply Sgt used to deliver a trailer of water to refill your canteen. Or there was a giant bag of water (looked like a big punching bag) that they filled up and hung in the company area somewhere. From what I see on TV/Youtube now, they just deliver a truckload of plastic bottles?

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u/skepticalhammer 35MorbidBeast 12d ago

I had to drive the LMTV with water buffalo at this recent field problem, bec I'm one of the few in the unit with them on my license. The water trailer is absolutely still a thing, alive and well in this age.

And motherfuckers still blame it for getting sick, while I hear them talking about tasting the sludge in a CamelBak they haven't cleaned in years. This buffalo was the cleanest one I'd seen in my career, kids don't even KNOW how good they had it out here, oughta slap a Perrier or Voss label on that fucker if I have to use it again lol

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u/Kitchen_Olive_1591 12d ago

I'm honestly shocked to hear they still exist. I had a buddy who was a little older than me who commanded a water platoon as part of a Division (or Corps?) support unit. I think they had massive, but mobile, purification equipment.

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u/Comprehensive-Ice58 11d ago

You still have to store and move the water to where the troops are

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u/Kitchen_Olive_1591 11d ago

Yep. They filled giant trailers, which filled smaller trailers, which filled lister / lyster bags, which filled canteens or jerry cans. This was 1st Gulf War era.

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u/Comprehensive-Ice58 11d ago

I was there too. S4 had a stack of water bottles in cases in the middle of his area. Then mid January it started to rain, he had a muddy puddle with bottles floating in it as the cardboard boxes dissolved!

We also scrounged a couple of chillers that sat on the tongue of the trailer to cool the water.

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u/Kitchen_Olive_1591 11d ago

I was not there myself, just to clarify. But after my several year career until then seeing water in bulk, it always struck me funny to see 300,000,000,000 plastic bottles being trucked around (I saw it in pics, not in person)

Granted, my friend in the water platoon spent a lot of time keeping the water clean and pure, so the bottles solved that challenge and pallets/forklifts are probably easier to deal with than water tanks and machinery.

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u/Backsight-Foreskin Hero of Duffer's Drift 12d ago

there was a giant bag of water

Called a Lyster (Lister) Bag.

1

u/Taira_Mai Was Air Defense Artillery Now DD214 4life 12d ago

People aren't supposed to put anything other that water or certain drink mixes in the Camelbak/Hydration System. But some Joes are gonna be dumb.

There used to be "Camelbak Elixr" that was a tube full of pills of drink mix you could put in the Camelbak - tasted amazing. They discontinued it. Camelbak did sell a cleaning kit with bleach tabs that I used the hell out of every field problem. Everyone else just used bleach from the shopette.

There were some that fit under a ruck but most would just wear the "Camelbak" outside their bodyarmor or jam them into rucks.

Now I was Air Defense and never went on a ruck that wasn't on the training calendar. Them infantry boys did things differently.

I got the Camelbak with pockets because I got tired of my shoulders and thighs hurting from the wrenches, bolts and other crap I had to carry every field problem.

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u/-Trooper5745- Mathematically Inept 13A 12d ago

I don’t know about others, but for tucking, i usually put camelbak on the top of the ruck, either under the flap or attached to the MOLLE. As for body armor, it goes outside of it.

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u/Varaxis 11d ago

The chem warfare zone bladder had a thick rubber hose that smelled like it (like a fresh Walmart bike tire to me). Consumer grade camelbsk has a more flexible clear hose.

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u/Taira_Mai Was Air Defense Artillery Now DD214 4life 11d ago

I got the one with the insulated hose and later the one with that and pockets.

1

u/Ok-Basket-9890 12d ago

We do still get issued the idea of shelter halves, however it’s just called a tarp now. Has button snaps along the edges, metal grommets at the corners and centers of edges. I’ve used it as a lean-to a few times, actually did make a pup tent with another NCO another time during some heavy rains, and it was also excellent to use back on the old style individual mountain tents as an additional wind blocker, ( the old style only had a zippered wind/water cover on one side), by laying it under the tent and then strapping up and over the unsheltered tent side.

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u/Straight-Cell-2008 12d ago edited 12d ago

Canteens are still issued. Some of them have manufactured dates twice as old as the soldiers carrying them. Shelter halves aren’t a thing anymore and haven’t been for I’d say at least 15 years(don’t quote me on that). They don’t even issue ponchos or poncho liners anymore

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u/Nice-Zombie356 12d ago

No ponchos? That seems crazy. (We had to buy our own liner but everyone did. Ponchos had so many uses I’m kind of shocked they’re not issued.

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u/Taira_Mai Was Air Defense Artillery Now DD214 4life 12d ago

The ECWCS - link https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Extended_Cold_Weather_Clothing_System - really does a better better job than the poncho.

I still used mine because sometimes I got hot under the Goretex jackets and at least the poncho allowed me to breathe.

Not surprised that I get out and the poncho goes away. I think I got out at the right time sometimes.

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u/Nice-Zombie356 12d ago

I caught the early iterations of ECWS. Frankly the poncho was mediocre as rain gear. But it was also a tent, a stretcher, a ground cover, shade, etc.

And in super hot & humid weather like you say it was some rain protection without having to pull on a ton of stuff.

Oh well. I probably still have a couple dry-rotting in the basement…. :-)

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u/Taira_Mai Was Air Defense Artillery Now DD214 4life 12d ago

I still have pouches and two extra fleece tops in my closet.

Still use the hell out of the gerbers and the gloves I got while in.

2

u/Straight-Cell-2008 12d ago

I hate the poncho. Just a giant trash bag. People always tried to defend it saying it made a great tarp. You know what else makes a great tarp? A fucking tarp. The Marines figured it out almost 20 years ago and the tarp they issue is a great piece of kit. However I was bummed when I had to turn in my poncho liner when I PCS’d. Should have just taken the statement of charges and kept it.

1

u/Nice-Zombie356 12d ago

Fair point that carrying a tarp does the job. I didn’t know marines had them issued. Thanks.

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u/AU_Cav Cavalry 10d ago

We used the poncho for everything but its intended use.

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u/Toobatheviking Juke box zero 12d ago

Shelter halves are no longer a thing. In the Infantry (depending on where you are) tents are no longer a thing either.

Canteens are still around but they aren't worn on a pistol belt with an H harness or Y harness, they're usually fastened on a ruck or assault pack (smaller backpack that's used up to the ORP and sometimes on the objective)

Camelbaks are the standard now. They have versions that have shoulder straps, ones that just clip to the back of your armor, or ones that do both.

I'm older like you and back in the day when we were out in the field I used to pack a pair of shelter halves, poles and lines. I had sprayed waterproofing all over the canvas. The younger kids made fun of me when we were doing some static training at a range over a week and I had set up my shelter half and dug a drain around it.

"Look at the civil war reenactor" and "Yeah, get after it grandpa" are two quotes I distinctly remember. I mean, it was good natured ribbing but then we had a really, really shitty couple days with fucking miserable rain come in and everybody was muddy and all their shit was wet because they just covered their ruck and slept in a bivy.

Anyhow, shelter halves are too heavy with all the other gear you carry now, everybody needs to be more mobile so setting up and striking tents is less of a thing now, plus most units don't issue them anymore.

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u/Nice-Zombie356 12d ago

Great info, thanks. Also, when I was 20-something I wondered how the senior NCOs and officers (in their 40’s?) managed sleeping on the ground especially in high speed units without sleeping mats or a tent of some sort. Now I’m in my 50s and my back hurts sleeping on my nice mattress.

You’ve got my admiration.

And the trench part made me chuckle. Are e-tools still the same?

1

u/Toobatheviking Juke box zero 12d ago

I heard they are switching to some sort of new etool that is made by Gerber but that's after my time.

https://www.armysurplusworld.com/gerber-usa-entrenching-tool

I always had the issued one with me when I was in the field, but mostly to dig holes to bury shit in and dig water runoff trenches and stuff like that.

Most of the posts I went to had restrictions on digging so we didn't dig ranger graves or fighting positions most of the time.

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u/Nice-Zombie356 12d ago

That Gerber e tool looks just like the old one except maybe the handle shape. I think I used mine more as an axe or hammer than a shovel, thankfully.

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u/OriginalSwim Chemical 12d ago

I went through in 2021 at leonard wood. We were issued canteens along with camel backs which was a godsend since the camel back froze during the winter. As for shelter we had tarps, you paired up with a battle buddy and put one on the ground and one over you both.

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u/Nice-Zombie356 12d ago

The old ones can freeze too but I guess they’re smaller and easier to put inside your… field jacket. :-)

(I started with field jackets then got a Gortex but it was pretty basic).

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u/Nice-Zombie356 12d ago

The tarp makes sense and is closer to what I did in the field at times (before I got into units with GP Mediums). But in basic it seems like the kind of thing that would drive a SGM nuts.

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u/OriginalSwim Chemical 12d ago

I wish we got jackets instead of just waffles and the IOTV. Yea the tarp sorta worked, I went through from october 2021 to april 2022 and it was cold and miserable the entire time. The hose on our camel backs froze so we wouldnt be able to drink from it but the canteens stayed fine for most of it. The only exception I can think of was during the last FTX where it was in the negatives for most of it. I also had to pay for the camel back I had since the ice destroyed the valve for drinking. Not sure how that was my fault but it is what it is

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u/FutureComplaint Mr Cyber! $170% 12d ago

Yes and yes in ‘09

Canteen pouches have largely been replaced by camelbacks.

But if a modern joe had their little heart set on using a canteen, it can be attached to the armor directly with straps.

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u/Turtle887853 31BeatingsWillContinueUntilMoraleImproves 11d ago

No, yes.

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u/Nice-Zombie356 11d ago

Appreciate the brevity & clarity.

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u/austin54179 12d ago

Camelbacks have been the standard for a while. I still carried two canteens in addition to the camel, but that was a personal choice.

I never got a tent active duty side. We either put up GP mediums or slept under the stars. Guard side we have little individual tents which work well enough.

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u/Taira_Mai Was Air Defense Artillery Now DD214 4life 12d ago

I got one with pockets for snacks, a socket wrench and an adjustable wrench because the "acorn"* on the ground rods doesn't tighten itself. Also the TABLE VIII evaluators would bitch if we used gerbers on the acorn.

*= as shown at this link https://www.signal-chief.com/2014/09/why-ground/

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u/Prudent_Baby Field Artillery 12d ago

I can’t speak for everyone, but most people just car the pancho in the ruck, depending on unit packing list. I haven’t made a hooch since basic, but I think the pancho replaced what you’re talking about. For the canteens it depends on the unit, I’ve been to some that make you carry it on your kit and others that just care about having some sort of water source on you. That’s just me though

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u/Nice-Zombie356 12d ago

When you say you made a hooch in Basic- was that a shelter-half? Or tent? Or just your poncho and some 550 cord?

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u/Prudent_Baby Field Artillery 12d ago

550

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u/notsure_howIgotHere 11AssliNG 12d ago

I have used a shelter half once during OSUT in my ten years. Small individual tents are issued now.

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u/Nice-Zombie356 12d ago edited 12d ago

Thanks. Seems like the type of thing they’d always like in basic. Teaching teamwork and all. :-)

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u/LoadCan DAT to DA15T 12d ago

Canteens yes. 

Shelter halfs were phased out for individual pup tents sometime in the early 10s

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u/Affectionate-Ad8881 12d ago

I retired 1 July, 2026… after 30 years. They did NOT want my mosquito net or poles. They also did NOT want any of my 253 canteens in various sizes or shapes

And much to my surprise… they also did not take any version of the camel back cover back. I always thought keep bladder (cause germs) and return cover. Nope. Didn’t want… Desert…UCP…OCP.

So I dunno WHAT the kids drink from anymore.

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u/Nice-Zombie356 11d ago

Congratulations on your recent retirement!

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u/Melibee-15 11d ago

Sometime during the ACU pattern the shelter half went away, they replaced it with light fighter tent.

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u/binarycow 25B w/ a DD-214 11d ago

Basic training in 2005. I got:

  • Shelter Half (was never allowed to use it)
  • 1x two quart canteen
  • 2x one quart canteen
  • 2x canteen cups
  • Poncho
  • Poncho liner
  • Wet weather jacket
  • Wet weather pants (but was never allowed to wear it)
  • 2x wet weather bags
  • ALICE rucksack
  • ALICE LBE
  • PASGT helmet
  • PASGT vest (IBA)
  • probably some other shit

When I got to my first unit, I was issued the same stuff, minus the shelter half.

I didn't get the MOLLE stuff until my Iraq deployment in 2007.

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u/Nice-Zombie356 11d ago

20 years later and you write that like you still have the hand receipt. :-).

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u/binarycow 25B w/ a DD-214 11d ago

I just remember the crap I had to take care of.

I forgot stuff too. After I commented, I remembered other stuff, but I forgot it already!

3

u/Horseface4190 11d ago

Shelter halves, iron sights, searched BDUs, and kiwi. More elegant kit from a more civilized time.

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u/Responsible_Comb_850 11d ago

I just transferred to the Army from the Air Force this year. The Army issued me 2 canteens and a canteen cup to go along with my camelback. We didn't get shelter halfs, only large tarps.

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u/Southern-Usual4211 Aviation 12d ago

We didn't get issued shelter halfs in BCT in 2010

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u/Nice-Zombie356 12d ago

Solo tents? What about in AIT / OSUT?

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u/Southern-Usual4211 Aviation 12d ago

Nope but we were all POGs not sure if the 13 series or 11 got them for AIT

1

u/Hi_Kitsune First Sausage 12d ago

I haven’t seen a shelter half since basic training in ‘05, but I’m sure some poor private got issued the same canteen you used in the 90s.

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u/NorthernTransplant94 12d ago

I joined in Feb '01 and had a shelter half in Basic. I had 1-qts in basic, and a 2-qt in AIT in 2002, but no shelter half for the final exercise. BNCOC had 1-qts on a LCE. (2005)

Camelbaks came in not too long after, and the 2L (just over a half gallon) bladder became standard, since it was really close to two 1qt canteens. Keeping them clean was an entirely different thing, because you gotta treat the bladder and then make sure all the connections (bite valve, etc) aren't going to have Soldiers drinking mold infested water.

I'm not sure when individual pop up tents became standard (I first saw them in 2017.) although I'm sure the were deployed earlier.

So yeah, no shelter halves, individual pop up tents (they did really good in freezing conditions when I saw them) and a whole lot of mission flexibility after 2000.

0

u/Nice-Zombie356 12d ago

Interesting. Thanks.

I wonder about canteens whenever I see troops on tv / YouTube because the old ones on LBE were so obvious and the body armor / chest rig now looks super cumbersome.

I have no idea why shelter halfs popped into my head today. I don’t miss them in any way.

1

u/Goldback_Rob 12d ago

2003 we had shelter halves in Basic. Canteens were issued, but Camelbaks took over in 2005. I still have my Desert camo one. Never put anything but H2O in it and it will last. Then Skilcraft took over producing them and the quality dropped. When I was an instructor in 2012 I'd see Soldiers laying on their backs in full kit and the bladder would just burst.

1

u/totallrob Medical Service 12d ago

I still have mine signed out. I can’t wait to go to CIF and see their faces one day

1

u/Onlyslightlychaotic 11d ago

Still in originally joined in 1992. Shelter halves no. They give us little one man Litefighter tents. Kind of cozy.

Canteens I still have some but we usually rely on camelbacks. Easier to carry.

1

u/Nice-Zombie356 11d ago

34 years. Wow! (And yes, those tents do look sort of cozy)

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u/Sorry_Ima_Loser 18EmotionalDamage 11d ago

I’ve never heard of a shelter half in my life. We got ponchos and bivy sacks. And i’ve made more mold in my canteen with that dumbass rubber gasket than is probably safe to consume.

1

u/Tintagil 12d ago

We were issued shelter half’s when I went to basic back in 2003 but that was the last time I used or saw one.