BDU - Do you?

[RedLegGI]

I've been averse to collecting BDU because I just don't like it. I have come to realize lately, that I would indeed like a few pieces just to have in the collection. Beyond this, I really don't want or need more as it's just not my thing. I find other uniforms a lot more interesting (DCU, Chocolate Chip, Multicam) as they're meant for a purpose where BDU is a 'standard' uniform.

 

Do you guys collect BDU and if so, what do you tend to look for?

 

 

Dent

[p2tharizo]

Yes I do grab "good" BDU's. They have to be complete-meaning rank and name, and even still, I usually pass unless they have a CIB, Jump Wings, Air Assault Wings, or some type of "extra". That's Army, now I have a couple of nice USMC, and that's plenty, Navy and Air Force have to have some real special stuff for me to pick up. I'm not trying to be snobby, it's just that I only have so much room in my closet and have to be selective...

[Nkomo]

Yes I do grab "good" BDU's. They have to be complete-meaning rank and name, and even still, I usually pass unless they have a CIB, Jump Wings, Air Assault Wings, or some type of "extra". That's Army, now I have a couple of nice USMC, and that's plenty, Navy and Air Force have to have some real special stuff for me to pick up. I'm not trying to be snobby, it's just that I only have so much room in my closet and have to be selective...

I agree 110% with what you wrote. I only have so much room and have to be somewhat selective on what I buy. Now, if it is a modified BDU, then I will buy it without hesitation.

[32sbct]

If you can find one, I'd suggest one that was worn in Grenada or Panama first, or secondly one from Bosnia, Kosovo, or Haiti. These were the only ones that were worn in combat or on an actual operation. The only way you can do that is to get one from a veteran which can be tough. However you can always get one with the right date of manufacture (if you can read it) and the right patches for the units that were there. For example, an early 1981 or 1982 dated BDU that has 82nd Airborne insignia would be right for Grenada, or a mid to late eighties one with a 193rd infantry brigade or 5th ID for Panama. You get the idea. This is what I have done for BDU's. Except for the ones I wore. I still have all of them.

 

I got this one direct from the vet. It was worn during "Operation Just Cause" in Panama.

 

[patches]

Like a handful of other members on the forum, I was in the Army when the BDU first became available in 1981, though I was up in Alaska we didn't get them for months after they became available in October 1981, we got them in early May 1982. I unfortunately gave my two sets away years and years ago, in 1987 and then again the following year in 1988, after all these long years I woudn't mind having one set again, I still have two of my name tapes to put on with any old matching U.S. ARMY tape I could find, shoulder Patches? no problem, tons of 1970s though 2000s 172nd Inf Bde ones floating around still to buy. I do have my two caps still believe it or not, for some reason I didn't want get rid of them both white tag 1981 dated, so if I were to get a set they must be White Tag 1981 or earlier dated like 80 or 79, maybe one day I will look around for them, and that brings me to this, these BDUs with these late 70s like 78-79 and 80-81 dates I bet are scarce, hard to find right?

 

I have a question with the early BDUs that we wore back then, Elvis collar, when did these start to called the Elvis collar BDU coat? I certainly never heard it referred to as such in my day.

[uplandmod]

I just picked up a set recently, being on this site made me appreciate modern uniforms. Would like to get an USMC set and put a Grenada kit together for it. I found some EGA stamped Kevlar helmet BDU covers which are very cool.

 

Leonardo

 

 

[MattS]

I usually don't go looking for BDUs, but I have found a few interesting ones. My most interesting find was one I picked up at a local yard sale, a Vietnam vet aviation colonel who was my deputy brigade commander at Fort Bragg. How it ended up in a little town in Indiana, I'll never know. http://www.usmilitariaforum.com/forums/index.php?/topic/122174-col-timmerman-bdu-shirt/page__hl__timmerman

 

Patches, in the early 90s, you could pick out guys who still had the 'old' BDUs because the new ones had much smaller collars. I often heard things like, "Nice uniform, Private Presley", or "He's got the old Elvis-sized collars" so the nickname was around then.

[HGButtentee]

I do BDU...any nice combination of patches will do not only combat Veterans. I know that seems unusual but... of course I do all the other stuff too.

[atb]

If I recall correctly, many units, especially from VII Corps, fought the Gulf War in 1990-1991 in BDU's and did not get the DBDU's until afterwards to wear in the homecoming festivities.

[32sbct]

Like a handful of other members on the forum, I was in the Army when the BDU first became available in 1981, though I was up in Alaska we didn't get them for months after they became available in October 1981, we got them in early May 1982. I unfortunately gave my two sets away years and years ago, in 1987 and then again the following year in 1988, after all these long years I woudn't mind having one set again, I still have two of my name tapes to put on with any old matching U.S. ARMY tape I could find, shoulder Patches? no problem, tons of 1970s though 2000s 172nd Inf Bde ones floating around still to buy. I do have my two caps still believe it or not, for some reason I didn't want get rid of them both white tag 1981 dated, so if I were to get a set they must be White Tag 1981 or earlier dated like 80 or 79, maybe one day I will look around for them, and that brings me to this, these BDUs with these late 70s like 78-79 and 80-81 dates I bet are scarce, hard to find right?

 

I have a question with the early BDUs that we wore back then, Elvis collar, when did these start to called the Elvis collar BDU coat? I certainly never heard it referred to as such in my day.

 

First year production for the for the BDU was 1981, and yes they did have a white tag. They were not made earlier than that. Are they hard to find? They can be now. They were made in large numbers but many of these were used hard in the service and then used to paint around the house, work on a car etc.

 

As far as the Elvis collar, I came in in 1985 and that term was in common use. Although the smaller collar version was available in 1985, all four of mine issued at Ft. Benning were the large collar type. Only a few guys were issued the smaller collar type so they must just have come out.

 

One thing is for sure. The original heavy weight BDU wore like iron. These were great uniforms. I liked the lightweight cotton ones but they faded quickly and wore out pretty fast.

[patches]

Thanks 32sbct.

 

I-I-I'll HAVA HAVA- A BA-LUE CHRRRR-ISTMAS....

 

 

Our BDUs back in 81 though were not as gaudy :lol:

[MPage]

As to BDU's in-theater, I have a 3rd Ranger Battalion BDU with mustard stain that was worn during Operation Anaconda in Afghanistan; in fact the veteran told me he made the combat jump in that BDU. Evidently BDU's were in short supply at that point.

 

I reckon I have around 35, mostly Special Operations-related. A few times I've promised myself that I'll never buy another, but I still do. They're really not any different than OG's, really, in terms of desirability. Some of the more mundane ones I've eventually tossed out, because no one wanted them. I've had difficulty getting rid of ones that had tons of badges on them. I also won't get them if they're un-named.

[patches]

 

First year production for the for the BDU was 1981, and yes they did have a white tag. They were not made earlier than that. Are they hard to find? They can be now. They were made in large numbers but many of these were used hard in the service and then used to paint around the house, work on a car etc.

 

As far as the Elvis collar, I came in in 1985 and that term was in common use. Although the smaller collar version was available in 1985, all four of mine issued at Ft. Benning were the large collar type. Only a few guys were issued the smaller collar type so they must just have come out.

 

One thing is for sure. The original heavy weight BDU wore like iron. These were great uniforms. I liked the lightweight cotton ones but they faded quickly and wore out pretty fast.

 

 

As to the early BDUs, while it's true the first production year may have been 1981, you are aware that there were many made before that date, there had to be, the BDUs were trialed in the late 1970s,like starting sometime in 1977, they also were officially adopted at a earlier date, don't remember off hand I think it was sometime in 1978 possibly 1979. Plus they used for Photo ops, I don't know how many photos I seen in Army Periodicals from 1978-79-80 that showed not only GIs posing in BDUs but also wearing the other stuff that was "offically adopted" at the same time, like the Camouflage printed Fritz ( the one that had the camouflage as an intergal part of exteriour, without camouflage covers that would come later) the new LBE, and the Rough Out Brown Combat Boot.

 

So I would say that a significant amount must have not only been made for the purposes of trialing them, but also the start of manufacture of the BDUs shortly after the were officially adopted, but it would seen though that 1981, most likely from early 1981 was when prodution ratched up producing the bulk of the BDUs that started to issued to basic trainees and made available for purchase by permanent party people.

[Johnny Signor]

I have just picked up a "SEE BEES" bdu Field jacket, named inside on tag ,has black sewn into the material "SEE BEES" logo front pocket , minty , anyone interested drop me a pm

Johnny

[skautdog]

RedLegGI

Please help me understand your comment, ".... I find other uniforms a lot more interesting (DCU, Chocolate Chip, Multicam) as they're meant for a purpose where BDU is a 'standard' uniform."

Isn't any Army uniform "meant for a purpose?" When it's time to saddle up, we saddle up with what we have. Some deployed to Desert Storm with BDUs because that's what they had. I apologize, I just don't understand "...meant for a purpose."

When folks initially deployed to Vietnam, they went with the fatigue uniform of the day and used it until the various jungle fatigues were developed. During my 22+ years on active duty (including grunt platoon leader in VN) and USAR I must have worn 6 or 7 different fatigue/various BDU uniform styles.

Ken

[MPage]

I think some folks here may be confusing BDU with so-called RDF, which I guess technically isn't "BDU".

[RedLegGI]

RedLegGI

Please help me understand your comment, ".... I find other uniforms a lot more interesting (DCU, Chocolate Chip, Multicam) as they're meant for a purpose where BDU is a 'standard' uniform."

Isn't any Army uniform "meant for a purpose?" When it's time to saddle up, we saddle up with what we have. Some deployed to Desert Storm with BDUs because that's what they had. I apologize, I just don't understand "...meant for a purpose."

When folks initially deployed to Vietnam, they went with the fatigue uniform of the day and used it until the various jungle fatigues were developed. During my 22+ years on active duty (including grunt platoon leader in VN) and USAR I must have worn 6 or 7 different fatigue/various BDU uniform styles.

Ken

 

What I'm getting at is that BDU was meant as a standardized uniform across the Army. If you were in Bragg, Wainwright, Polk, Drum or any other post, this is the uniform you were going to wear. DCU, Chocolate Chip and Multicam are all meant for specific regions of the world, especially multicam since it is only being issued for Afghanistan. DCU and Chocolate chip were meant for desert environments which would put them in areas where that type of uniform was meant to be. The ACU was my uniform and I wore it the entire time from Wainwright to Iraq and back and it is the standard issue uniform currently. I do not doubt early on, until supply could catch up, you would wear what you had issued to you. My field jacket was issued to me in BDU so if it came to it, I'd have worn that as well. That's what I'm getting at.

[skautdog]

RedLegGI,

Thanks for the clarification. Got it.

Ken

[kammo-man]

All uniforms are meant for a purpose !

[PvtTamura]

I buy up NOS BDUs, 1981-1983ish, when I find them, same with good condition patched from those first years.

 

Don't know why I like them so much honestly, I dont even collect post VN...

[MPage]

Tonight I inventoried, as best I could, my 33 BDU coats and what I can recall paying for them. I'm rather embarrassed to admit what I believe I paid for these things over the years. I may be a little off on the estimate, but it's still a lot. This is sort of sobering - part of the reason I had collected them was because they were "affordable".

 

I'm curious as to what others' experience is - was your collection consistently assembled on the cheap, did you make mistakes, etc.

[Baron3-6]

these BDUs with these late 70s like 78-79 and 80-81 dates I bet are scarce, hard to find right?

 

They used to issue hundreds of sets for ROTC Cadets to wear each summer at Ft. Lewis. As a guy who wears Medium Extra Longs....mine were still white tags even in 2007. After that, Most of them were given to the Afghan National Army when the cadets switched to ACU's.....so, never to be seen again.

[Mercenary25]

I pick up modified BDUs because of the obvious reason.

 

SF in Northern Iraq.

[Tommymonkey192]

My criteria for BDUs are ones with combat patches, CIB, CAB, Pilot/Aircrew badge, or ones whose original wearer can be researched. I consider this one to be a companion to my Captain Massey DCU as the original wearer also served in Iraq with 3rd Battalion, 325th Airborne Infantry around the same time as Captain Massey, albeit in another company.