Canadian Surplus

Hey everyone,
Just a tip if you really want to know if the item you bought was properly surplused though the proper Channels that Tag will have a big D Written on in Black Felt

Good point although in my experience only a very small percentage of surplus Canadian material is actually marked with a D.

well its supposed be anyways

The stuff that's turned in is supposed to have a D marked on it when it is turned in. This prevents fraud. However, it is true the application of the mark is inconsistent. That's because Humans are in charge of the process!

A few years after CADPAT came out I had two nearly destroyed trousers without D marks. I sent them to a Canadian Army friend of mine who was short one set (he lost them on exercise) and didn't want to fill out the paperwork. I sent him the two and he was able to exchange them for new ones specifically because there wasn't the D on them. He kept one and I got the other one. Good deal for both of us

Steve

I have often wondered when the 'D' marking came into use. One sees it mostly on kit from the 1982 pattern period and later, but not so much on earlier kit.

I don't believe though that all turned-in kit is marked as such if it is deemed fit for re-issue. My helmet, most of my clothing, and probably all of my webbing had clearly been issued several times to other soldiers before I received it, and of course, it was not marked for disposal. As such, I suppose that only items that will not be reissued would be marked.

As Andrew stated, items can be reissued over and over again as long as they are still serviceable; and it is possible to be issued items that have had previous owners. Once an item is marked with a 'D' either in black or white, which appears to pre-date the black, then the item is sent for disposal. The recognized flaw in the system is that not every items that makes it out through disposal is marked with a 'D'.

Correct.  The "D" notes that it has been taken off the books and is not to be reissued.  This prevents a soldier from trying to use a "D" item to get a replacement.  For example my friend (noted above) lost a piece of kit while on maneuvers back in the early days when this was a big no-no to come up short on CADPAT items during inspection.  I sent him a used piece that did not have "D" marks on it.  He used it to keep from getting in trouble.  If the piece had a "D" on it he would have been in trouble if someone came in and checked on his kit.

Steve

One variation on this procedure applies to combat boots, which when turned in had a small hole stamped through the tongue, which was impossible to undo...

I hope the hole in the tongue applies to the boots and not the person returning them....

Hehe

Germans and Austrians do the same thing. German boots get two small holes somewhere along the top, Austrians get a big chunk out of the tongue.

Steve

"I hope the hole in the tongue applies to the boots and not the person returning them...."

Only if the person was a smartaleck Ed!

Back in the day the D was usually applied with felt marker on the instrucions label if we lost kit we would go buy a replacement at the surplus store and remove the label, if it was marked on the item other than the label ie. web gear we would take a black marker and add a last name that started with D and a 3 digit number and never a problem returning it to QM.

LOL. A grunt will always find a way ... problem is at the end of service, most soldiers I know have more kit than they know what to do with ..