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DCU MOPP Jacket worn during invasion of Iraq


turko
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Here is the actual MOPP jacket I wore during the invasion of Iraq in March 2003. I still have the matching pants, but they are in storage. We wore no markings or insignia on the jacket, other than a thin strip of dark green duct tape wrapped around the pocket flap on the left arm. On this we wrote our rank, name, and blood type. (The tape has since been removed.)

 

As you can see on the clothing tag, I wrote my name as well as the date and time that I removed the MOPP clothing from it's initial wrapping. We did this so we would know how long it was good for and how long we had worn it. We wore the MOPP suits instead of DCU's for the first several weeks of the invasion, then switched back to DCU's after we realized the Iraqis mostly likely weren't going to use chemical weapons on us.

 

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Great item. I saved mine as well as one from the CNN news crew that accompanied us during the initial phase.

 

I wonder how many of these "Invasion Uniforms" made it home?

 

Scott

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I wonder how many of these "Invasion Uniforms" made it home?

 

 

I remember before we redeployed back to the states in early 2004 they made us turn in all of our old crusty DCU's, and issued us a new set to wear home, I guess so we would look nice for our families. I don't know if that was Army wide SOP or just my unit/brigade. For some reason they let us keep the MOPP suits, though. Who knows what happened to those initial DCU's... The higher ups probably just gave them to the Iraqis to wear.... :(

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The one problem I could see with collecting CPOGs (Chemical Protective Overgarments) is the layer of charcoal they deposit on just about everything. I'm sure as time goes by the charcoal gets less and less but I'll bet it's always there. Don't hang it in the closet next to a pristine set of WWII dress uniforms or anywhere near a white shirt!

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I remember before we redeployed back to the states in early 2004 they made us turn in all of our old crusty DCU's, and issued us a new set to wear home, I guess so we would look nice for our families. I don't know if that was Army wide SOP or just my unit/brigade. For some reason they let us keep the MOPP suits, though. Who knows what happened to those initial DCU's... The higher ups probably just gave them to the Iraqis to wear.... :(

 

 

We were issued an additional set for the return, but I don't remember turning anything in until the return.

 

I also recall many of the chem suits just going to the burn pit.

 

Were you in 3rd BDE at that time? If so, what BN?

 

Scott

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We were issued an additional set for the return, but I don't remember turning anything in until the return.

 

I also recall many of the chem suits just going to the burn pit.

 

Were you in 3rd BDE at that time? If so, what BN?

 

Scott

 

3/187.

 

Now that you mention it, I'm not 100% sure on when we turned everything in. I was sure it was before redeployment, but it could have been right after we got back.

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3/187.

 

Now that you mention it, I'm not 100% sure on when we turned everything in. I was sure it was before redeployment, but it could have been right after we got back.

 

 

I was in 3-187 on my first and seconds tours with the Rakkasans, but for OEF/ OIF I was in BDE HQ and then 2-187.

 

Scott

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  • 2 months later...

I was medivac to Germany in AUG 2003 so a lot of my good stuff was thrown out of our conex.... I had a Cessna 182 engine I pulled outta plane that didn't make the trip back!

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Mercenary25

Thanks for sharing. I have seen some pictures the 101st soldiers have mismatched MOPP suits. Woodland bottom and DCU top. How did that happen?

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Thanks for sharing. I have seen some pictures the 101st soldiers have mismatched MOPP suits. Woodland bottom and DCU top. How did that happen?

 

There was a shortage of all kinds of DCU stuff. If I remember correctly my unit was issued a full DCU MOPP suit and full Woodland MOPP suit. We never wore the Woodland. Some units, especially in the Marines, I think, wore full Woodland during the invasion. The unit I was in had Woodland flak vests and rucksacks, but everything else was DCU. The early days of the war was a clusterfudge when it came to matching camo patterns. Oh, yeah, our vehicles were still all Woodland at that time, and had zero armor except for some sandbags on the floor.

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