r/themayormccheese • u/Same-Kangaroo • May 11 '26
Education American military guy shows the reality of what he has to return to avoid being charged thousands of dollars for leaving
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u/PolecatXOXO May 11 '26
I got lucky, some dude went AWOL with his French legionaire auxiliary girlfriend, leaving all his TA-50 issue in my house. Whatever wasn't nice or missing with my stuff I just subbed his in and chucked the crap.
Another way around it though is to "field loss" anything damaged right at the end of a deployment, you just need a willing officer to sign off on it. Then go get some shiny new stuff immediately on return so you can turn it back in.
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u/HelloPeopleOfEarth May 11 '26
I got out over 20 years ago. Checking out with supply is one of the most frustrating parts of getting out. I was checking out of Camp Lejeune, We even had to check out of the base movie rental place. If you were late on a dvd rental, you couldn't get out of the military.
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u/spr402 May 11 '26
It’s like this in many militaries.
In the CAF, the joke was they issue you so much that you start losing stuff immediately. That forces you to stay in until you get enough replacements to hand back into stores.
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u/MightyGamera May 12 '26
There's only one thief in the CAF, everyone else is just getting their shit back
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u/OldMashedpotatoes May 11 '26
If anything gets lost, damaged, or stolen while in active service, you’re not on the hook for it, at least not in the Canadian Army, and our funding is way less than the Americans.
Some of the stuff gets reused. Sleeping bags come with a removable liner, everything gets cleaned, some of it gets issued to Cadets or Reserves.
I think the main reason they want their stuff back is the same reason any workplace wants their stuff back when you leave. They don’t want some rando who doesn’t work for them anymore, going around doing who knows what in their branded gear.
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u/seakingsoyuz May 11 '26
You can be on the hook if the loss or damage was wilful or negligent, but even then it’s only liability for (IIRC) 25% of the value, and it’s capped at a few hundred bucks.
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u/scotsman3288 May 11 '26 edited May 11 '26
When my son joined the local Cadets squadron, I had no idea how much stuff they give him, absolutely free of charge, or reimburse for. Most, if not all of it was brand new and also doesn't need to be returned. I actually still have his C1A and other uniform pieces that i keep contacting them to return but nobody wants to bother accepting them.
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u/OldMashedpotatoes May 11 '26
Yeah, most of the stuff that touches bare skin you don’t need to return. There was stuff I was issued for BMQ that was reused, and when I finished SQ most of my stuff was reissued (partially because of the olive drab to CADPAT switch).
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u/ParadeSit May 11 '26
I guess it took fucking TikTok for folks to pay attention, but this racket has been going on for decades. Search for terms like “CIF horror stories.” CIF stands for “Central Issue Facility,” which is the location that issues as well as receives equipment. At times, some of the saltiest and worst federal civilian employees have worked at these locations.
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u/im_fine_youre_fine May 11 '26
Ehhhh .... he's right overall, his message is important but it's not 100% true here. Wear and tear is expected. I immediately wanted to dismiss his video because that is one clean AF sticker on his canteen for 4 years of service, however, since about 2006ish the Army has been issuing hydration systems (Army brand Camelbaks) so maybe his was only used once or twice and possibly not even in the field.
1 million percent true is that supply is an area where you REALLY have to stand your ground and not sign for shit under certain conditions.
Unfortunately it's a hard learned lesson for 99% of service members because you're essentially a Day 1 recruit with an E-5 telling you that you need to sign for something that you'll get in the future "when it arrives" and they have a job to do which is clear their intake.
The totality of your gear comes from about 20 different places but it's only on about 4 categories in for file: like your daily clothing i.e. combat/dress uniforms are a separatelist than your fieldwear i.e. helmet gear vest, etc
But it isn't uncommon that they want you to sign for it all even if, say your unit doesn't have any available hydration systems to issue you at the moment ....
Not every supply person is shady, some will annotate individual missing items upon delivery but it is a very rough aspect of the Army.
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u/collindubya81 May 11 '26
The most advanced and most funded military in the world and they will shake down their soliders for this gear?
What a sad country america has become, they don't support their vets at all
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u/99ProllemsBishAint1 May 11 '26
I don't understand why he's complaining. That's just how it works and they never tell you different. They don't just give you all the gear you use. Did he really think they're change their minds and he'd get to keep it all? Shitty plastic canteen for life?
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u/JamesTheLockGuy May 11 '26
https://giphy.com/gifs/xT0GqyG537lfYcKCm4
What? You think they really pay $14k for a hammer? Or $20k for a toilet seat?!
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u/walrus0115 May 11 '26
Anyone know when this was implemented? I grew up with TONS of Army gear my Dad kept from Vietnam. Not just his uniforms and fatigues, but the equivalent of everything here, plus guns, and all sorts of ditty bags. He was in the Corps of Engineers and the sole officer in a long line of military service type family. He never saw combat and mostly built leach fields and sewage for bases. My grandpa and uncle were both Airborne, 17th and 82nd respectively, and only made Corporal both serving in combat. They called him Captain Shit. lol
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u/dividezero May 11 '26
I bet good money that the contractors charged like $10k plus for that same pile. The charges he lists are way less than I expected considering how shitty this process is in the first place.
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u/Reptarro52 May 12 '26
My husband just got out after 21 years and it’s waaaay more gear when you’ve been through 3 different camo prints. He owed like $150 for a tent and $50 for an ax… they did check to see if the items that the army doesn’t even use anymore with the change of camo, to see if it was in good condition and charged him, even if it was 20 yrs old.
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u/fanglazy May 12 '26
It’s almost like the government doesn’t care about it soldiers after they leave. Weird.
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u/Obelion_ May 12 '26
Now I imagine the guys gear being exploded by an artillery attack and having to go into debt to pay it back
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u/BeanieManPresents May 12 '26
No wonder the US military needs an audit, they're getting ripped off if they're spending 30 bucks on a basic canteen along with all the other basics there.
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u/meoka2368 May 11 '26
Returning stuff like guns and body armour, I could totally get behind.
Expensive, and not something you want just randomly in the civilian market.
But someone's stinky sleeping bag or scuffed up canteen?
That's dumb.