My oldest son signed up for the Army Reserve and went to basic and AIT after HS graduation. Finished AIT at the end of October, and had his first drill with the unit - an Engineer construction unit out of Houston - in November.

Six months later, he still doesn't have a helmet or MOLLE vest, and he's not the only soldier in the unit in that situation. Because supply apparently doesn't have them to issue.

I was active duty, not reserve component, so my experience was always having the big post CIF to draw from. Is it normal for Reserve and/or Guard units to not have basic gear to issue their troops? Even if that gear might be older, and/or not in the latest camo pattern?

Yep, common issue. I had to wait 5-6mo for mine, but it all arrived before AT.

Those without it did AT at home station instead of Hood so not really a problem.

The only time I ever saw construction engineers they were wearing hard hats. I'm sure they had helmets for range days and driving vehicles but I honestly never saw them wearing them. Even in country on a major fob they were working on a road in a hard hat and PT belt.

Contrast that with a friend who's son just shipped to basic training and is returning to a local National Guard unit and he already has his basic issue from his unit.

I suspect when he needs the equipment he will get it, but right now it's not a priority for his first line leader so it's not a priority for the supply sgt.

I spent 10 years active duty infantry then transition over to a reserve medical unit in at Fort Sam.

It's a very slow process to get the gear you need. People have to share helmets at the range and stuff. Don't get me wrong, it's one of the highest unit morale I have ever seen, but just doesn't have all the gear

Short answer yes, it happened when I was the Inspector-Instructor for a Marine Reserve unit in El Paso about 20 years ago. The reserve and guard units are perennially short on individual equipment and are using the stuff that the active component got rid of four or five years ago. They will usually have the right number of major weapons, vehicles, radios, and T/E gear but the individual equipment always lagged. If you have an incompetent supply chief (as I did) that doesn't know how to properly remove lost and damaged equipment from the property account when disposition has been approved, the situation can get pretty bad very fast.

Are you at the CSH? I heard that unit was getting disbanded. I was in that unit when I originally enlisted as a medic back in 2014.

I am! They didn't get disbanded just restructured!

All the CSH converted to "Field Hospitals". I'm in an ICW MED DET

What makes me shake my head is that I remember sitting in briefing as a young captain back in 2001 (pre-9/11) where some DA civilians from somewhere had a bunch of slides that pointed out that, partly due to the post-Cold War draw down and partly due to the way Big Army managed things, the Army writ large had something like 2.5 complete sets of TA-50 for every soldier in the force, including the Guard and Reserve.

Granted, this was 2001, so that meant LBEs, K-pots, and ALICE packs, but still.

The proposed solution was that every soldier should be issued a basic set of TA-50 at basic training, which they would maintain until they left the Army. Unservicable kit could still be DXed at CIF, and anything unit or mission specific could be issued from CIF as needed.

I remember, 10 years later, when I left Fort Bragg, keeping my MOLLE vest, assault pack, and some other stuff (like my still woodland pattern rain gear and Gore-tex jacket) that I had always turned in previously when PCSing. Still had to turn in the rucksack and helmet (MICH? ACH? I lose track.) when I left.

Helmet and woobie were two things I kept when I left.

I had acquired a spare ACH to turn in, but after so many hours wearing mine in bad places, I didn't want to just get rid of it.

Only time I was ever issued a woobie was SERE.


I had to give it back.

Naveronski said:

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acquired

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Is this one of those, there's only one thief in the Army kinda things?

Minus body armor I got everything to take the field. Ruck, helmet, FLC etc…. Thanks to a an RFI screw up in Kuwait in 2007 I was double issued everything. One set ACU and one set a combo, BDU, DCU, ACU gear. Only the Frankenstein set was on my clothing record. Got back home turned that in at CIF and never had the new stuff added. I now have 3 huge footlockers of gear and uniforms in my garage.

JABQ04 said:

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Naveronski said:

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acquired

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Is this one of those, there's only one thief in the Army kinda things?

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We rotated in to theater and found several tough boxes worth of crap from previous units. Nothing too exciting; mostly TA-50.