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Timeline of Kit issue to the DF

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  • #16
    Originally posted by trellheim View Post
    I forgot about those fkers !

    OK here's one : when did the kit bags go on issue ? Bonus points if you can remember what years they shifted to progressively worse versions. I still have the first issue kitbag and its by a LONG WAY the best item of kit I was ever issued, still going strong
    Think I got mine around 1990/91. Still have it - bulletproof for what is a relatively flimsy bag
    "Well, stone me! We've had cocaine, bribery and Arsenal scoring two goals at home. But just when you thought there were truly no surprises left in football, Vinnie Jones turns out to be an international player!" (Jimmy Greaves)!"

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    • #17
      Originally posted by trellheim View Post
      I forgot about those fkers !

      OK here's one : when did the kit bags go on issue ? Bonus points if you can remember what years they shifted to progressively worse versions. I still have the first issue kitbag and its by a LONG WAY the best item of kit I was ever issued, still going strong
      1990/91 I think is when I got my one. Bulletproof piece of kit
      "Well, stone me! We've had cocaine, bribery and Arsenal scoring two goals at home. But just when you thought there were truly no surprises left in football, Vinnie Jones turns out to be an international player!" (Jimmy Greaves)!"

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      • #18
        I got mine in 1999 or 2000. Still have it, has travelled widely. Zip still fine, straps all fine.
        For now, everything hangs on implementation of the CoDF report.

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        • #19
          Originally posted by trellheim View Post
          was it red epaulettes at the time ; think it was green.

          Interested in remembering when we lost the black beret and went green, also when Bulls Wool went out.

          38 webbing wasn't officially replaced till PDF donated the 58 web , that was some fire in the Brugha. IPLCS was 2008

          14bs for Magnums - what year
          I remember lads in my first outfit wearing Magnums in the early to mid 90s, long before they became an item in DF stores (obviously not the present Scorpion version)
          I even had a set myself - grand for plebbing around in on training days/weekends, but not worth a damn for being on the ground/ranges (not waterproof)
          "Well, stone me! We've had cocaine, bribery and Arsenal scoring two goals at home. But just when you thought there were truly no surprises left in football, Vinnie Jones turns out to be an international player!" (Jimmy Greaves)!"

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          • #20
            Originally posted by trellheim View Post
            was it red epaulettes at the time ; think it was green.

            Interested in remembering when we lost the black beret and went green, also when Bulls Wool went out.

            38 webbing wasn't officially replaced till PDF donated the 58 web , that was some fire in the Brugha. IPLCS was 2008

            14bs for Magnums - what year
            Magnum (light operational boot) was after issue of DPMs. Can’t remember how long after

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            • #21
              Originally posted by DeV View Post
              Magnum (light operational boot) was after issue of DPMs. Can’t remember how long after
              I got them in 2008. After the 25Bs. There was something in between though. Only went to those going overseas. Weighed a tonne. (Not Haix).
              I spotted a photo of one of the Spike Island displays recently and it reminded me of my first kit issue in 1988.
              SD1 (Maroon Epaulettes). Boots 24B (1 pair). Ear Plugs (in carrying container- don't ask for spares). 1 (ancient) first field dressing, which was about 4 times the size of the current FFD. Beret & Cap Badge. Command Flash. (You had to buy your own Unit flash back then, but my unit had a few financial "irregularities" in later years so not sure how legal any of that was exactly. I got issued a 2nd pair of 24B in 1990, and I still have them.
              When I rejoined with a different unit and a different number in 1999 everything had changed. Working dress only until you finished recruit training, at which point No1 SD was issued (there was a shortage of SD then. On my Pots course in 2001 only half the class had SD1. When I should have got SD1 I got Combats instead.(OG). We got DPM the same time as we got the Steyr (unless you were an officer, for some reason it took them much longer to get DPM).
              Fair to say most of us already had private purchase Norgie shirts(worn under jumper) by the time we were issued them. Unfortunately nobody was willing to enforce how they should have been worn and when I left as a Sgt in 2011 I hated the sight of them. Great for throwing on when you are on the ground sitting about, but try to explain that to the young guy (or girl) who insists on wearing it as an outer layer 365 days of the year. Impossible to enforce when some officers would wear them all day long, whether in uniform or not. Trying to explain the difference between the Q wearing his Fleece as an outer layer in his office was not the same as them wearing their Norge as an outer layer in a class.
              The USMC have the right idea. Here is a video on youtube showing you how to dress yourself, because we already assume you don't know how to.
              For now, everything hangs on implementation of the CoDF report.

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              • #22
                The 25B's were the old "Operational Boots" introduced in 1993/4.(See November 1994 An Cosantoir) These lasted up to 2001 when the Matterhorn Operational boots went on general issue.Replaced in 2004 by the Haix.
                The 24B's were the old Barrack Boots. Replaced for overseas use (UNMIL at First) in 2003 by the Magnum Amazons.The Amazons went on general issue as the "Barrack Boot Light operational" in 2006/7 and were replaced by the current Magnum Vipers around 2010/11.
                "Let us be clear about three facts. First, all battles and all wars are won in the end by the infantryman. Secondly, the infantryman always bears the brunt. His casualties are heavier, he suffers greater extremes of discomfort and fatigue than the other arms. Thirdly, the art of the infantryman is less stereotyped and far harder to acquire in modern war than that of any other arm." ------- Field Marshall Wavell, April 1945.

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                • #23
                  Matterhorns, yes, thank you.
                  For now, everything hangs on implementation of the CoDF report.

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                  • #24
                    Originally posted by apod View Post
                    The 25B's were the old "Operational Boots" introduced in 1993/4.(See November 1994 An Cosantoir) These lasted up to 2001 when the Matterhorn Operational boots went on general issue.Replaced in 2004 by the Haix.
                    The 24B's were the old Barrack Boots. Replaced for overseas use (UNMIL at First) in 2003 by the Magnum Amazons.The Amazons went on general issue as the "Barrack Boot Light operational" in 2006/7 and were replaced by the current Magnum Vipers around 2010/11.
                    The Amazons were issued to Timor bound troops before UNMIL was on the cards if I remember correctly.

                    They may have been a different version as I think they had a reinforced sole for jungles

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                    • #25
                      Originally posted by Fantasia View Post
                      The Amazons were issued to Timor bound troops before UNMIL was on the cards if I remember correctly.

                      They may have been a different version as I think they had a reinforced sole for jungles
                      Nope.Not Magnums. Actual US made Jungle boots.Altama I believe and yes they had the standard steel shank in the sole along with drainage eyelets.
                      "Let us be clear about three facts. First, all battles and all wars are won in the end by the infantryman. Secondly, the infantryman always bears the brunt. His casualties are heavier, he suffers greater extremes of discomfort and fatigue than the other arms. Thirdly, the art of the infantryman is less stereotyped and far harder to acquire in modern war than that of any other arm." ------- Field Marshall Wavell, April 1945.

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                      • #26
                        I was in the FCA from '81 to '84 and saw a full Dublin company turn up at a major shoot in Kilworth, all clothed in new OGs,in 1983. We were collectively astonished as the standard story was that only Officers and NCOs got issued OGs and everyone else begged or bought worn ones from Regulars. When we asked the Dubs about how they all had new combats,they looked at us like we were oiks and took great pleasure at seeing us in well worn hand me downs and quite a few of us in army surplus American M65 jackets and para trousers. When they saw some of the real culchies turn up at the shoot in the old Battle Dress, they thought it was Dad's Army. We asked our CO to enquire and his answer was that the Dubs had clearly more power than the Cork units.

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                        • #27
                          There was a time in the 80s when if you did manage to get your hands on irish OG combats you couldn't wear them without drawing the attention of some enthusiastic MP gate policemen every time you entered a barracks. Even though many of the jackets were actually the british jacket from the 1950s.
                          Personally I wore a dutch combat jacket. More brown than green, with diagonal chest pockets, but it did the job.
                          German army shirts were almost standard too.
                          For now, everything hangs on implementation of the CoDF report.

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                          • #28
                            This is kind of related...
                            The Thumbnail photo and the people in them seem familiar to me somehow...
                            Last edited by na grohmiti; 21 June 2020, 19:22.
                            For now, everything hangs on implementation of the CoDF report.

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                            • #29
                              The German parka,as well as being a street fashion item, was often worn in the FCA, along with German para boots, American para boots, sundry Doc Martins and the odd Dutch or Italian boots. Some lads wore British made berets, which happened to be close to our green shade but were a better fit for their size.

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                              • #30
                                Originally posted by GoneToTheCanner View Post
                                Some lads wore British made berets, which happened to be close to our green shade but were a better fit for their size.
                                Might have been guilty of that offence myself at one stage...much better fit though.
                                What are you cackling at, fatty? Too much pie, that's your problem.

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