The Modern Militia: Equipment I, The Uniform

As I stated previously, the primary purpose of the Modern Militia is as a complement to the Army. With that in mind, we should try and keep as close to US Army standards as possible to maintain uniformity and for ease of logistics.

The first part I'm going to cover is the basic uniform. Prices and gear listed in this section are from Ranger Joe's so they may be higher or lower depending on preferences of companies and specific items. I chose them as a base because they offer a fairly complete line of militarily accepted uniforms and field gear.

The ACU Army Combat Uniform. Standard issue for all Army ground forces.
I've seen some places selling 'Army style ACU's' that have a similar camo pattern but clothing design based off the old BDU's, a darker ACU camo and other variations. For the purposes of this section, I'm going to focus on military issue and equivalent.

The ACU consists of:

ACU Top: $36.00
ACU Pants: $36.00
Rigger Belt: $ 8.50
Boots (tan) $65.00 - $150.00
Patrol Cap $10.95
T-shirt (sand) $12.00 (3-pack)
IFF Squares $ 2.00

For those not wanting to go the ACU route, there's also the option of traditional BDU's/DCU's (depending on environment), Multicam, or surplus MARPAT. New BDU's are usually about 10% or more cheaper than listed above with surplus available all over the place. Multicam, sometimes worn by Special Forces, follows the same uniform design as the ACU and is a superior camo pattern IMO so I admit I'm biased by adding it here. Prices are usually 10% or more higher. Authentic US Marine MARPAT isn't regularly available commercially that I'm aware of although various imitations are around as well as purchasing surplus. Probably not a good idea though to wear originals around other Marines if you weren't one yourself. They tend to get touchy.

Basic Ponchos run about $15 while Field Jackets are $65 for foul weather. Items such as Parka's and other heavier or more specialized weather gear can run anywhere $20 to over $250.

There are also a wide variety of specialty shirts, socks, boots, caps, nametags, padding, facemasks, glasses, goggles, and many other bits and pieces that are available for the ACU uniform.

So a basic MilSpec quality uniform will cost one about $200. Not really so much to ask.

Modern Militia Series

• Preface
• Part 1: The Uniform
• Part 2: Field Gear I
• Part 3: Firearms
• Part 4: Field Gear II
• Part 5: Vehicles
• Propaganda Corps

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