The Global War on Terrorism ( GWOT )

[Chopperman]

My nephew fought in the GWOT.
He gave my a couple calling cards and one of his challenge coins.

[Mark K]

This particular knife was brought home by a Canadian Soldier serving in Afghanistan .
Model 81 tactical field knife made by Glock the blade material is spring steel (HRC55 ) and is phosphate-treated with edge clip point blade,
The grip and scabbard material is manufactured from polymer in the color of olive green the weight: 7.27 ounces, Blade Length: 6.5", Overall Length: 11.4".
The knife hilt doubles as a can opener and top of knife has a saw tooth blade and the sheath can be easily attached to most belts and provides easy one hand release of the knife .
The balance on these knives are reported to be excellent and I have heard throw quite well ...

Regards Mark

[Mark K]

The Advanced Combat Helmet ( ACH ) this particular helmet was produced by MSA and is in a nice large size came with a great Graffiti covered reversible Marpat cover it has that been there done that look I like so much in my helmets and came into my possession via a friend and Marine that did a tour in Afghanistan ...

Regards Mark

[Jerry B]

GWII most wanted playing cards, it is the full set, but I have only shown some of them. It was said to be an original bring back but who can say.

[Chopperman]

Challenge coin given to me by my nephew after his return home.

[Composite]

Is it too late to consider sub-dividing what will become a HUGE thread?

Headgear inc. Hats, Helmets, scarves etc
Uniforms
Badges, medals & awards
Weaponry
Paperwork
Vehicles
Other

....just a suggestion........

[Mark K]

Morning Ade great suggestion I wonder how we could go about doing this ...
Staying with the Canadian theme a great score yesterday a rather nice in country used CadPat Arid tactical vest these are incredibly hard to source as most were destroyed by the Department of Defence once they were pulled from service...

Regards Mark K

[Mark K]

Canadian issued CadPat Arid CamelBak..

Regards Mark K

[Composite]

Nice bits Mark.

Re the groups...I was thinking that a handful of new threads are starters..... "Helmets - Post Here"...."Uniforms - Post Here" and so on...and then the usual unstructured madness can happen in their own little world......as a helmet guy, I've got to plough through everything from Tiger Stripe trousers to Canuck Camel backs to find the numerous (?) helmet posts....

..actually, the more I think about it tho, I'm definitely in the minority re structure and order.......this place is constantly bombarded by the Look-what-I've-got crowd who don't give a toss if there's 30 existing posts on exactly the same thing........so let's give up on that one......

[Brig]

This is a very interesting field to have watched develop, having been a collector since before the conflict started. It has also put a lot of things into perspective for me. Some things I have noticed about GWOT collecting:

1) It's rapidly gaining popularity.
-I think this can be attributed to a couple of factors. First, it's readily available and thus affordable. This conflict is still in effect to various extents, thus new stuff is still appearing routinely. Additionally, the guys who fight in it don't see their stuff as intriguing collectibles, they see it as musty surplus junk. During the height of OIF, as guys were getting out as the force reduction began, you could find this stuff all over craigslist, especially in military towns. Guys getting out were selling their beat-up musty gear cheap for a couple tanks of gas to fund their transition back to the civilian sector.

2) There's a ton of variety.
-As with any conflict, forces rapidly learn that their old, peace-time used surplus gear is insufficient for the modern conflict it finds itself in, and thus new stuff gets developed. I've long noticed that nothing spurs the advance of tactical and medical science like an armed conflict. The difference with these conflicts vice others, is that it couldn't be churned out quickly enough, and units often purchased gear from third party manufacturers using unit funds. Additionally, there was a lot of leeway on what private purchase gear could be used overseas, and guys bought a lot of different stuff. There are whole businesses that flourished for years on offering tactical gear to troops...catalogs were thick with options. Field gear collectors today are in heaven by the dozens and dozens of different patterns were used. However, this will and already has led to some problems, as old surplus gear used by air softers and hunters can be sold as 'military GWOT style', and the only true way to be sure it was military used is to get it from the source or in a grouping. Another reason the hobby is booming...it's a 'get it while you can be certain' time period right now. I've been offered more for a set of combat worn cammies than they cost new at the PX...a very tempting offer to a currently serving GI, who can trade in his unservicable cammies for a new set and case of beer.

3) Investment.
Early 2000s saw a spike in value of a lot of Vietnam gear, which had just a few years prior sat on shelves untouched as 'surplus junk'. Guys are grabbing up GWOT thinking the same thing could happen in 30 or 40 years.

4) Relatable.
The conflict started long enough ago that the children of us earlier participants are old enough to want to collect the stuff of their father's era. A lot of guys complain that WWII doesn't have that many young followers...there's a reason. A lot of us collect WWII or WWI because our fathers or grandfathers were in it, and we knew them, and grew up hearing first hand accounts of those battles. Kids these days have fathers and grandfathers who fought in Korea, Vietnam and the Gulf...their ancestors of WWII are largely gone, and WWI are all passed on at this point, so more recent conflicts are more personal to them. They've grown up watching the GWOT on the news, and their parents who fought in it were gone in their lifetime...it's a very relatable conflict

I have also gained an appreciation for how vets of past conflicts look at us collectors. Many of us have interacted with a vet who doesn't quite understand why we're all so interested in their old musty surplus junk. As a veteran of GWOT, I have a couple of trunks of my old combat used kit in the garage, not mixed into my collection. It's full of memories...some good, some bad...but I don't view it as a collectible, I view it as a memento...yet I am still hit up several times a year asking if I have any old gear....esp combat worn....to sell. During one of the few chances I got to check email my last tour, I even got a message asking if I had any combat worn cammies to sell...my response was I had them, but no I can't sell them, I needed them, I was wearing them RIGHT THEN AND THERE.

I think this field is going to continue to gain popularity, but once we finally pull the last boots off the ground, you're going to start seeing a lot more put-together groups of surplus and 'military style' type listings. I think those with the 'get it while it's plentiful from the source' are of the right mentality, especially since a lot of guys don't yet see the collectibility of it.