I suppose the question is all in the title.
I’ve never been a big customer of army surplus stores but it seems, at least as far as clothing is concerned, that a very large portion of what’s on sale comes from the German military.
I’ve seen this in various places, from Canada to Japan.
So, what gives?
They lost.
No, I’m not talking WWII era stuff, but contemporary German gear. You know, post-reunification, although there used to be a lot of West-German stuff before, also.
Is it still plain olive? A few years ago the German army switched to a spotted camouflage pattern and I suspect that they had shiploads of the old uniforms (and other equipment) left.
Isn’t military service compulsory in Germany? I can imagine loads of people that didn’t wanna join the army in the first place ditching their stuff, as opposed to a US (volunteer) soldier that might wanna keep his gear for sentimental reasons.
Yes, a large part of the German armed forces are still conscripts (on 9 month stints, nowadays). But I suppose army surplus store stuff is usually real surplus, sold off by the armed forces in bulk, rather that stuff that had been issued?
There has been a lot of restructuring of the German armed forces beginning in 1990, and still ongoing (reduction from W. Germany 495,000+ E. Germany 135,000 to the current 270,000, plus restructuring for from Cold War to new roles.). I suppose that means a lot of stuff isn’t needed anymore while other stuff needs to be bought. Also most equipment of the East German armed forces was sold off in 1990/1991; some of that is still on the market.
I’m not 100% on this, but I think that after their national service they hand their uniforms back, wheich the German Army then sells off. I’ve bought several German Army surplus items (a shirt, a heavy jacket, a pair of combats) and have found stuff in the pockets. I found an unused pair of ear plugs in the Coat pocket (still in packet with instructions in German) and a receipt of some description (like a laundry receipt) in the combats pocket.
You can get exemptions for various reasons like if you are a Jehova’s Witness or as a conscientious objector. In that case you are tasked with community service type work. One of my friends was an ambulance driver. I think there is also a programme where you can work on development projects overseas. These options mean a longer period of service though.