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What To Do With Old Military Acus & Military Gear


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#1 knittychick

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Posted 07 May 2018 - 07:13 AM

I know there are Veterans on myfolsom, so I’m hoping you can help me. I have two very large boxes of Army ACUs, dress uniform and gear. My son was in Afghanistan for 14 months in 2009-2010. I am finally ready to let these items go, but I don’t know how. I called the local and national Veterans Administration and they said either donate them or throw them in the trash. I can’t do either – I can’t bear the thought of someone possibly wearing my son’s ACUs to commit a crime and throwing them in the trash seems dishonorable. I tried a recruiting office and they had no suggestions either. I talked to a few former soldiers and they said that some bases offer uniform shredding services or hold ‘garage’ sales on base for military clothing and gear. However, neither of those services are available in Northern California and I (as a family member) would not be eligible to participate. Apparently, his ACUs were the worst design ever – the digital pattern is no longer used and the fit (according to soldiers who wore them) was extremely uncomfortable and impractical, so donating to an active soldier is not an option. I found a small company that recycles old uniforms by turning them into a variety of bags. The company employs Veterans (https://www.swordand...iform-donations), however, they have had so many donations they are not accepting any at this time.

 

I was thinking if there was a respectful flag burning ceremony maybe I could bring my son’s items and add them to the ceremony? I’ve removed all his identifying patches.

 

Any ideas? Thanks in advance.

 

 

 


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#2 camay2327

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Posted 07 May 2018 - 10:58 AM

I am not a member but you could try the

VFW  Veterans of Foreign Wars here in Folsom.

 

1300 Forrest Street, Folsom, CA

 

916-985-7911


A VETERAN Whether active duty, retired, national guard or reserve - is someone who, at one point in their life, wrote a blank check made payable to "The United States of America" for an amount "up to and including their life". That is HONOR, and there are way too many people in this country who no longer understand it. -Author unknown-

#3 knittychick

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Posted 07 May 2018 - 12:51 PM

Thanks for the suggestion.

 

I just called the VFW. They were very nice, but the only suggestion they had was to donate them to an Army surplus store because a lot of homeless shop there and camo gear is very popular.

 

I may not be rational about this, but that option makes me uncomfortable. I donate civilian clothes to charities, but my son's military uniforms are different.

 

Thanks again for the idea. 


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#4 olivia

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Posted 07 May 2018 - 02:34 PM

There is a small company on the East coast that takes uniforms and make an American flag out of the material. Here's their web page:

https://www.combatflags.com/

They were featured on Facebook, on a feature called "Returning the Favor" mc'ed by Mike Rowe.  The episode was called "Thank you for your service."



#5 knittychick

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Posted 07 May 2018 - 03:47 PM

Thanks! Another great company benefiting Veterans. I think I have between 75 and 100 lbs of clothing and gear (ACUs, various jackets, backpacks, Camelbaks, etc.), so it would be expensive to ship to North Carolina, but I would do it to help raise money for Stop Soldier Suicide, however, Combat Flags website states: "Unfortunately, I'm not currently taking in new gear. Check back later to see if the submission form is back open!"

 

I will keep my eye on both Sword & Plow and Combat Flags to see when they reopen for donations. 

 

Please keep the suggestions coming as I am ready to part with my son's things and I would like to do it (in a respectful way) in the near future.


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#6 Chris

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Posted 08 May 2018 - 05:43 AM

I know Goodwill on Blue Ravine saves up military clothing to put out during Halloween.  Also I am sure Snowline Thrift would take them as they are a good organization.  You can cut the name tags off with a sharp razor blade if you don't want to give them away with the ID.  Chris


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#7 knittychick

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Posted 09 May 2018 - 09:01 AM

Thanks Chris, Snowline is my favorite donation spot. Part of my reluctance is me – I can’t control who would purchase my son’s uniforms and I can’t bear even a chance that they would be used for criminal activity of any sort, so not knowing who would purchase his clothing and gear would bother me. I do not have this control issue with non-military items. The other part is that the current and former military people I talked with asked me not to donate his gear for civilian access because it would be easy to purchase and use for nefarious purposes – to access a military base or gain credibility in a crowd – and that could put our soldiers or peace officers lives at risk. So, in this instance, donating the items to charity is not an option for me.


"Peace is always beautiful." - Walt Whitman




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