paying for your uniforms

In the army and any other branch of service do you have to pay for your uniforms, besides the first couple you recieve after joining. I know their is the special dress up uniforms for dining out[or is it dining in.] do you have to pay for other uniforms besides the first one's they issue you.

[0311Marine]

I know in the Marine Corps. You have to pay for ALL of your uniforms, you might not relize it since the money comes out of your checks during boot camp, but you do have to pay for them, and if you want dress blues, its even more money, plus the new cammies we have to switch to. It does get expensive, but i understand its worse for officers, they have to buy dress uniforms.
Semper Fi

[Field_Sailor]

You do have to pay for them though. You get a yearly allowance for it.

[Scary]

Yeah officers have to pay for even their first set of Class A's... which kinda sucks... but whatever... uniforms in general are expensive and will continue to be until the new ACU is army wide and you will start saving on starching and shining....


E.S.

[Rusty24]

In the AF the enlisted get clothing allowances at their two year mark and each year following. For those of you who itemeize you know you can deduct any uniform expense that you buy. From BDU's to hats, hair cuts, blousing straps, dry cleaning etc.

The catch is when you do get a clothing allowance. If I had $1000 worth of clothing expenses (duty related) I would have to deduct my clothing allowance off of that before I can claim them on taxes.

Having a dual military household and going through 3 or 4 uni's a week ($16) this adds up. Add in hair cuts and the field uni's that I have and it starts to get expensive.

I think I get $250+ a year, which I do buy uniform items with it. I know others that use it for stuff and that is why I have no sympathy for people with crappy uniforms.

wow, I know civilian police have to pay for their uniforms, but I didn't know was like that in the military, so this yearly allowance seems enough for uniform expensinse. Are their really grown ass man in the military who wear their uniforms crappy? I can see if your in jrotc or even maybe rotc but that is not even that acceptable depending on how your unit commanders handle it.

[Field_Sailor]

Oh yeah, I counsel on uniforms a lot. People don't like to keep their hair within regs. Women like different color fingernail polish. People forget that irons were invented.

We get a Uniform allowance once a year, on the anniversary of the day you joined.

Also depending on your billet you can claim some civian clothing as uniforms. We can receive a Civiliam Clothing allowance.

If everyone in the military would act like “grown ass men” then we wouldn’t need the NCO corps. Even as an E-4 I spend an inordinate amount of time making sure that my privets aren’t wearing there “artic” or “sanitized” uniforms to work. In the guard we don’t have a clothing allowance, we can turn in items (DX) and our unit supply section may or may not get around to getting us a replacement.

[0311Marine]

WTF? NCO's are the back bone of the military for a reason, do you expect to jump from private to staff sgt? thats why Sgt Maj's run battalions, 1st Sgts. run companies, SSGT's run platoons, Sgt's run squads and Cpl's run fire teams, chain of command, if everyone was squared away we would still have those ranks.

Semper Fi

Let me restate and partially retract that last statement. I was overstating to make a point. If everyone were squared away then NCOs would have far less work to do, especially when outside of a field/mission environment.

[canadianSP]

My dad is in the canadian air force and he didn't have to pay a cent for his uniform , with all the gear combined it cost $2000.This includes a winter survival uniform , a winter parka and pants , and a couple of regular uniforms(maybe one), and a dress uniform.