Here's some of my arabic/english hats and caps. I real love them !







I also have a ACU boonie hat with arabic, but I haven't the time to take a picture.

This sort of personalization where common during 2004-2005 on DCU uniforms. A friend of me, that's french and that goes in Iraq as contractor (not military, but to embroidered patches in military bases) told me that the US central command began to be mad because there's some and some fantastic uniforms that appears (it was fashion for soldiers to personalize their own uniforms). So the US CentCom began to limitate this sort of personnalization and now he told me that soldiers can bought souvenir from Iraq for their return home, but not add arabic name on their real equipment (jacket, hats, caps,...) during deployment time.

So I had some chance to find one in ACU, it's probably one of the last produced with arabic.

Nice hats. I have one like that but only it doesn't have english on it, just arabic. Just a heads up, the boonie is backwards, the name goes to the rear.
Andrew

here is mine, I just picked this up late last week
Its a Tru-Spec (non-issue) Boonie

very very cool!!!
Id like one please!!!

paul

Here's two more in my collection ;









And the other one, rarest because in ACU camouflage, but 'problem' is that it's a private purchase, not issue ;

Don't worry, private purchase stuff is quite common especially on embriodered stuff. My ABU Boonie that's embriodered is commercial and I know it's legit.
Andrew

My embroidered boonie is commercial too, no worries!

No, I've no doubt on it, I know it's legit. There's some metal rank marks. But I prefer have an issued...

P-E wrote:No, I've no doubt on it, I know it's legit. There's some metal rank marks. But I prefer have an issued...

A lot of the guys will buy commercial. Especially because they have to turn in most of thier stuff at the end of a deployment. Guys will buy commercial stuff and it gets recirculated through the system while they keep thier own.
Andrew

when my budy came back from iraq they let him keep all his stuff , all but his m4 and his 9 mm ,
and batteries,

i got 2 tuff storge footlogers full of stuff from him and a buffle bag full , it was crazy the stuff that was in there , and alot of it was brand new , he never used


all your hats are very nice

bhmilitarycollector84 wrote:when my budy came back from iraq they let him keep all his stuff , all but his m4 and his 9 mm ,
and batteries,

i got 2 tuff storge footlogers full of stuff from him and a buffle bag full , it was crazy the stuff that was in there , and alot of it was brand new , he never used


all your hats are very nice

Interesting. I've heard from several shop ownera around Bragg that they collect the stuff. How long ago was this?
Andrew

i bought all the stuff from him last year, i think he was in in 2004 or 2005 , he had acu's

These hats are great, i can see this sort of thing becoming very rare to find soon.
Got a DCU jacket with some Arabic below the name tape, it took me ages to find one. Love the hats though very nice collection P-E.

Cheers
Rich

RICH S wrote:
Got a DCU jacket with some Arabic below the name tape, it took me ages to find one. Love the hats though very nice collection P-E.

thanks, and yes, I had some chance..I found 2 of them for realy low price...(around $7)...Please, can you show us your uniform with arabic ??? I also have one, but missing name tape in english (I know the name of soldier, but it's bad the name tape was remove ) :







All other patches are original and never remove. I'm realy mad for the name tape...

And here's pictures of soldier who worn arabic uniforms (directly embroidered) :

Look, this uniform is realy beautiful, with full theater made patch. And especialy, this guys is from US Postal !!! Picture taken in Iraq.



and here's other picture with name tape in arabic (not directly embroidered on jacket) :





(see General Wells, on the left)







And now, arabic personalzation of hats and caps ;







I searched during some and some time on internet to find these pictures...realy rare to see ! If you have other, do not hesitate to show and I'll add them in my picasaweb album (see : http://picasaweb.google.com/militariabelgium/)

Cheers,

P-E

No problem P-E, i will try to take a photo and post it tomorrow.

Cheers
Rich

Here you go mate,





Name tapes look theatre made??

Cheers
Rich

Rich, Andrew is an expert of it, he would be able to say if it's theatre made. Based on my non-expertise view, I think it's theatre made because no issue name tapes have woven-like material as this one. All of Arabic names are theatre made and the name tapes look alike to it.

Nice DCU!

BEAUTIFUL !!! I love it. And yes, it's theater made. You've some chance, it's realy beautiful !! Do you have any picture of soldier wearing it ? I'll try to search it for you, it's easier to find pictures of officers than enlisted !

P-E wrote:BEAUTIFUL !!! I love it. And yes, it's theater made. You've some chance, it's realy beautiful !! Do you have any picture of soldier wearing it ? I'll try to search it for you, it's easier to find pictures of officers than enlisted !

Dont have any pictures of anyone wearing it, not too good on the internet to be honest, the first picture i ever posted on a forum was here.
Would be very interesting if you could find something.

Cheers
Rich

Most definitly theatre made! Good jacket!
Andrew

Here's two more ;











this one is a US Navy. It's the first time I see one 8 points cap with embroidery on it. Bought it on ebay, from an Italian seller. It's strange, because there's name "ELLY" on rear of cap, and a second name inside (pen writed) : "WIDMER". How can we explain it ? Is Widmer a name and Elly Family name ? Or Elly the name and Widmer family name ?

In the Navy, camouflage is organizational gear and therefore used only by people who are deployed to the gulf, and then turned in after the tour is over. Im guessing Widmer was the name of the person who it was first issued to, then turned it back into Supply, then Elly was issued it when he/she was deployed and got it embroidered

Here's my current collection of them ;



It misses one I wait to receive. It's a boonie with black embroidery (name in english and arabic).

Misanthropic_Gods wrote:In the Navy, camouflage is organizational gear and therefore used only by people who are deployed to the gulf, and then turned in after the tour is over. Im guessing Widmer was the name of the person who it was first issued to, then turned it back into Supply, then Elly was issued it when he/she was deployed and got it embroidered

Same idea here. I have this one navy BDU cap that has four names on the inside of it. So yes, thats the case.
Andrew

Thanks for the informations guys ! But do you think it's the same for commercial items (= private purchase) ?

P-E wrote:Thanks for the informations guys ! But do you think it's the same for commercial items (= private purchase) ?

Yes I think it's possible because a soldier must return the items given to him. A lot of folks will buy commercial and turn it in and it will be re-issued to another person.
Andrew

Really? If I buy stuff from my own money I'd keep it...

Philip wrote:Really? If I buy stuff from my own money I'd keep it...

Well if you bought stuff from your own money then it would be your's unless you kept the one you were issued, so you'de have to get one like it.
Andrew

Ok ok, you've probably right. But what I find really strange, is that the clothes that are returned by soldier after their service was used by another soldier again... clothes are personnal (not as backpack or weapons). Moreover it's US Military, and DoD spent thousands billion dollars to equip its troops.

So why not new personnal material (= jacket, trousers, headgears,...) for each soldier ? I just think it's strange. In 14-18,the french soldiers in no man's land had no news uniforms and took/received the uniforms from others dead soldiers for they own use. But current US Military is one of the biggest army, with a military industry really functionnal. Its first priority is comfort for deployed troops. But well, I know nothing about that, you've probably right. I just find it soo strange.

What I though, is that they have to return back their personnal stuff, but it's not used again, but serves for training or burn as we saw on Iraq ;



I can't imagine they are given to another soldier. Look strange. I do not say you've wrong (= I know nothing about that), it's just my personnal opinion. I think it too strange.