Six-Color Cover

Hmmm... that's a little pricey, I think. But it is unissued and these things do NOT show up very often from what I can tell. So it is not a bad price. I bet that most of these that come up for sale are poorly advertised (e.g. "Vietnam jungle uniform" or "Army shirt") and therefore it's unlikely you will see another one soon. Especially unissued.

If it's an area of collecting you're very interested in, then the price isn't so bad. But if you're buying it as an investment for trading and later sale... maybe take a risk of it not selling and then offer the guy something less.

Steve

My opinion is that it's commercial. It does have an RN number which is a civilian thing. Why does a US issue shirt need that? Also DAL... wouldn't spend 60 bucks on it.

Hrm... I'm reluctant to say yes. I can see your dilemma...

Unless it is a complete fake made from outside of the United States, that DAL number unequivocally means it is US government issue. For all the reasons mentioned I say the chances of this being a fake are extremely, extremely small. Did I mention extremely small? Well, just in case I'll restate that I think it's extremely unlikely this is anything but US government contracted item.

I think you get my point

The RN number doesn't bother me a bit. This was no doubt a small contract run for a DoD agency that doesn't normally do this sort of thing (or so it seems). We don't know if the DAL has different tag requirements from standard ones.

Now, is it worth $60? That's a different question. As I said, I think it's high. However, it really depends on what you are trying to do with your collection. It's probably worth minimum $30-$40, so think of the "premium" factor as $20-$30.

BTW, I have 1990s OD and Black BDUs with SPO numbers.

Steve

I highly doubt that it is an issue piece. The RN number only makes sense IF made for the commercial market.
I had a similar shirt "dated" 1981. It was also made by a DoD contractor (Winfield or something like that). Spent too much money on it. I learned it the hard way that there is lots of 80s dated commercial OD stuff.

The 1990s dated green and black BDUs are real. These are for OPFOR training.

I can not state this strongly enough... if this item was made in the US then the company executives that put a DAL number on there could go to jail in Federal prison for fraud. I have never seen any company stupid enough to do such a thing. I bet if you looked at your "Winfield" jacket label again you'd either see it has no DoD contract number *or* it is legitimate issue and someone was wrong to convince you otherwise. Because you're right, there are tons of 1980s commercial items out there (I have a pair of trousers in front of me), but they don't have government contract numbers on them.

The other possibility is a foreign company decided to make an exact copy of an obscure uniform with a label that is extremely accurate except for the inclusion of the RN number. I find this so absolutely unlikely that I would say the chances are one in a million.

So if it isn't a domestic fake or a foreign fake, then by exclusion it must be what it appears to be; legitimate.

Obviously we can agree to disagree on this, however if the only reason you're rejecting this is the RN number... I think that's a pretty weak reason. But each to his own

Where we do agree is that the price is too high no matter what it is.

Steve

Forgot to note this...

Philip wrote:The 1990s dated green and black BDUs are real. These are for OPFOR training.

Yup, and 1980s issued OD uniforms are also real too. US Army and Air Force personnel were issued OD uniforms well into the 1980s for use in hot climates. We even have a thread about this somewhere on this Forum posted by a vet who wore them in the early 1980s. I just wanted to make sure this is understood.

Steve

Amazingly, I found the thread I was thinking of:

https://iacmc.forumotion.com/t2884-us-transitional-tropical-jacket-1978-1981

Some pictures in the mix along with yet more confirmation that the ODs were worn until 1987.

Steve

I know that. BUT these were Vn era jungle uniforms. Your OD RDF jacket must be an exception. I also know about the USAF wearing OD in the 80s. Seen 80s dated M65 field jackets and boonies made for them. Also in 1987 light weight cotton rip-stop woodland BDUs were already available.

Sorry Steve, I don't agree with you on this one.

CollectinSteve wrote:However, it really depends on what you are trying to do with your collection.

I'm trying to downsize and get rid of stuff...

The jacket was mixed in with a bunch of legit surplus OD Vietnam dated jungle jackets and post Vietnam dated OD M-65 trousers so I think it is unlikely to be a fake.

I thought I posted this post but it disappeared?