- Last Christmas, Mike Corcoran sent his mother an unusual
Christmas list: He wanted night-vision goggles, a global positioning system
and a short-wave radio.
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- Corcoran, then a Marine sergeant in Afghanistan, wanted
the goggles so he could see on patrols. They cost about $2,000 each.
-
- According to an Army internal report released earlier
this summer, many ground troops like Corcoran decided to dip into their
own pockets to get the equipment they needed to fight in Afghanistan and
in Iraq.
-
- "There were a lot of reports of that prior to the
war, people would go out and buy their own gear," said Patrick Garrett,
a defense analyst with GlobalSecurity.org. "The Army ran out of desert
camo boots, and a lot of soldiers were being issued regular black combat
boots. Soldiers decided that wasn't for them, so they paid for new boots
with their own money."
-
- According to the Pentagon's "Operation Iraqi Freedom
Lessons Learned" draft report, soldiers spent their own money to get
better field radios, extra ammunition carriers to help them fight better
and commercial backpacks because their own rucksacks were too small.
-
- Senior Airman Joe Harvey, based at McGuire AFB in New
Jersey, said his clothing allowance is $200 a year from the Air Force,
and that most aspects of the uniform, including four sets of combat and
dress uniforms are provided.
-
- "But of course with all the wear and tear they don't
always last that long," said Harvey, who deployed to Iraq for the
war. "Now with some of the units if you rip a pair of bdu's (battle
dress uniform) they will give you a new pair. But for the most part you
are responsible for buying any new uniform you need except for boots. Your
unit will always supply with a free pair of boots."
-
- Harvey said the costs stack up during promotions, when
each airman has to purchase new stripes and get them tailored on.
-
- Corcoran, who has since left the Marines, purchased a
bunch of items before he deployed. One necessity: baby wipes, because as
he said, "a lot of the places you'll go, you won't be taking a shower."
-
- Corcoran also bought his own rucksack, and modified a
sling for his M-16 so he was better prepared for patrols. He bought an
electric shaver to remove stubble that would keep his gas mask from sealing
correctly.
-
- Corcoran got all the items on his Christmas list, including
the $2,000 goggles. The short wave radio was meant for entertainment, but
he ended up hearing messages urging jihad, and he picked up intelligence
from enemy fighters.
-
- And there is one item many soldiers purchased and carried
into the desert that wasn't part of the regular equipment.
-
- "Another cool thing to bring with you is an American
flag," Corcoran said. "Just in case you plan on conquering anything."
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- Tara Copp can be reached at coppt(at)shns.com. Jessica
Wehrman can be reached at wehrmanj(at)shns.com
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- http://www.knoxstudio.com/shns/story.cfm?pk=TROOPS-GEAR-09-11-03&cat=AN
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