CIF turn in is gonna be brutal!!!

[Chase369]

So im ETSing (leaving the Army), And im getting all my gear together that I have been issued over the passed 7 years.

Between my storage in North Carolina, Florida and just me loosing shit. Im looking at paying anywhere from $500-$1000. 4 Desert Flight Suits are gonna kick my ass.

Anyways, just felt like ranting to someone. Maybe someone out there has felt my pain.

 

[forestpanther]

ets cif turn in

Damn that brings back memories lol..i got out the army in 02..CIF was hell then also..even though i had everything spotless..they still kicked back about 50% of my stuff just to make it take longer lol..the next day i went back without touching a thing and they took some more and still kicked stuff back again..finally on the 3rd try they took the rest lol....CIF was by far the worst part of getting out lol

hope ya have better luck then i did

 

[Chase369]

heh if the KATUSA's tried that with me i'd snap. I got abit of a temper when it comes to dumbshit. Funny thing is, I can totally see that happening.

Where did you outprocess from?

 

[EverquestBB]

Doh

Statement of Charges inc . . .

 

[Chase369]

haha yep

 

[bartab]

CIF ?

 

[EverquestBB]

CIF

Central Issue Facility - the supply folks in the Army. Sadly, they are mostly civilians with a few WOs and senior NCOs running around to make your life miserable if there is a spec of dirt in your canteen cup. When you ETS (Enlisted Termination of Service - which means get out) - these folks make sure you turn in everything they gave you before that can happen. They are notoriously nasty about the condition of the gear and if you are missing something they will make you pay for it through a statement of charges (like an IOU but it can turn directly into a federal lien).

The gear you turn back in is called TA-50 (Table of Allowances - stuff the Army thinks soldiers need) and it is mostly field gear that the Army determines can be re-used so it is things like sleeping bags, chem mask, web gear, etc. The Army charges ridiculous prices to soldiers who mislocate this stuff when, in fact, the same items can be had brand new at Army surplus stores for pennies on the dollar just a few blocks off Post.

Not sure if they sell flight suits, but it might be worth a look . . .

 

[Chase369]

Yeah I would definitely check out surplus stores, but unfortunately i'm in south korea right now. The koreans off post know how much the gear costs and dont give much if at all lower prices.

The flight suits alone are about $150ish a piece and I have 4 of them in storage back at Fort Bragg. When I left Bragg i didnt know I was going to be ETSing here in korea.

 

[twizzops]

Yeah I would definitely check out surplus stores, but unfortunately i'm in south korea right now. The koreans off post know how much the gear costs and dont give much if at all lower prices.

The flight suits alone are about $150ish a piece and I have 4 of them in storage back at Fort Bragg. When I left Bragg i didnt know I was going to be ETSing here in korea.

Do you have a friend or family member that can get the suits out of storage and ship them to you. It will cost a ton shipping, but has to be cheaper than $150 per.

 

[Quatarian]

Don't forget that a statement of charges (at least it used to) will discount gear 75% due to wear and tear. You will not be paying full retail for stuff.

I remember the biggest nightmares were the Kevlar (anything, helmet, body armor), gore-tex shit, and on down the line. However, I never had any flight gear.

 

[JimJohnson]

CIF ?

I always looked at them some what like the IRS only worse, you cannot evade these fuckers and get out of the service.

Mine ETS was not to bad minus my 14/14 for giving my Platoon SGT the double bird joking around.

I had acquired doubles of just about everything issued since people really do seem to have a hard time keeping their shit and not leaving in in supply trucks.

I still have 3 NBC suits(two still unwrapped) and 2 Pro Masks from like 01-02 time frame

 

[Ccomp5950]

I was in a different position. I had already turned in my TA-50, was reissued it, never unpacked it, and had to turn it in a week later to ETS. Reason I was reissued it was because my commander wanted to be a dick about me not reinlisting and still wanted me to go on a field exercise, which I couldn't go on since I already cleared Medical.

They kicked back shit that was never used, and was issued in like manner 6 days prior.

I had a CW5 who was in with the Division commander, was interesting when you have a letter from a General in your pocket saying "Take this shit back or you are going to be inspected, and expect some turn over" how quickly they help you get your stuff out of your vehicle ready and willing to accept it.

 

[Casca]

I guess there are bonuses for being in a really small subset of a really small service. Any kinda flight gear that has to be returned is unit property we turn in whenever we PCS (permenant change of station) and is generally no hassle as everybody knows everybody and we all get along.

That's weird you guys have to turn in flight suites. They issue you flight suits that are used?

 

[orion949]

lol I have boxes of just about every flavor of Army flight suit you can imagine. OD one piece, Desert one piece, woodland two piece, Desert two piece, digital two piece zipper and digital two piece velcro. Im pretty sure we dont have to give most of that crap back as far as I know and I can DX any of the digital ones anytime for a new one but they wont touch any of the others.

On a related note, I fucking HATE CIF. I hate the douche civilians that work there, I hate the nutroll of getting in and out of their, and I hate the cock faced ass fucks they put in charge of that shit that act like Im privileged to be allowed to enter their facility. They are so tight with shit too you would think they are handing out their own personal stash of shit instead of government owned issue.

Im not looking forward to clearing CIF when I retire at all. Fuck, I may just pay for everything just to avoid going there.

 

[Dealings]

been a long time since i got out (USMC 93) back then some staff nco collected your crap, with exceptions of kevlar weapons and goretex they didnt care too much about crap hell in some cases (other than the previous mentioned) you could give them a piece of something that resembled the item and they'd say fine, our shit got used and abused they were lucky to see anything back, some Marine Friends that have left in recent yrs especially those that saw combat said they had to return some stuff but alot of it was given a pass. Oh any nvg type gear was top on list to return

 

[forestpanther]

cif

lol..even if you buy your stuff new they'll still kick it back..i had a buddy ets'ing the same time i did..he still had the tags on his canteen covers..they smack the covers..dust came out..guess what..it's dirty..take it back lol

 

[Chase369]

lol I have boxes of just about every flavor of Army flight suit you can imagine. OD one piece, Desert one piece, woodland two piece, Desert two piece, digital two piece zipper and digital two piece velcro. Im pretty sure we dont have to give most of that crap back as far as I know and I can DX any of the digital ones anytime for a new one but they wont touch any of the others.

Im not looking forward to clearing CIF when I retire at all. Fuck, I may just pay for everything just to avoid going there.

Yeah I have just about the same selection of flight suits back in storage.
Only thing is I leave in 8 days, so cant get them to myself.

HAHA I was gonna try to just say fuck it and pay for everything I had since I noticed I was gonna be paying alot anyway. Wife almost bitch slapped me.


Im just happy the next time I take an apache apart. Ill be making alot more money, taking alot less bullshit.

 

[Zinky]

Crap - we're no longer using desert camo...DCUs were out in what, '06? Hopefully they would give a pass on that (though recent letters to the Army Times indicate otherwise).

I got all my RFI (Rapid Fielding Initiative) stuff on my first Afghan deployment...as I was an individual augmentee, it was issued directly to me rather than through a unit, and no one collected it when I got back even through I am still signed for it. Wonder what it will be like trying to turn tall that stuff in when I retire in five years, or how much of the same stuff they will try to issue me when I go through CIF for my upcoming deployment. Do I really need two Kevlar helmets or duplicates of all the other crap?

* * *

Jim, your story of having 2-3 of everything reminds me of one of my earliest experiences with the amazing ability of NCOs to find shit. Our tank battalion had just finished 45 days at Hohenfels in March/April (read:mud), and the battalion commander decided to send the hex tent liners in to get professionally cleaned at the local AAFES cleaner. Something which was explicitly forbidden, but everyone did it and the white tent liners were filthy. So the battalion turns in some 58 tent liners to get cleaned, and off they go to the central drycleaning plant.

Low and behold, the next week the plant burns down....along with the battalion's 58 tent liners at some $400 a pop (well over $1k now). The NCO chain springs into action.

We had a battalion S4 who was a real prick - would always criticize folks right and left , mostly underserved, always yelling at his subordinates to try and hide how weak his shit was. Thoroughly detested by virtually everyone in the companies and on the staff, officer and enlisted. Well, the arrogant SOB had refused to sign over his unit gear to his NCOs. First thing you learn as a lieutenant, sign over all your unit gear - vehicles, compases, tents, etc. to the NCO who will actually be iwth it/using it on a day-to-day basis. But this captain was too arrogant to 'trust' his E7 with signing the gear over to him.

The battalion's NCOs, through heraculean effort calling in chits from all over Germany, managed to replace 54 of the 58 tent liners in a week and a half - all but the four that were signed for by the S4. And they made it a point to the Sergeant Major and the Battalion Commander that they weren't replacing those tent liners. The S4 decided to get out soon after - definite boon to the Army.

 

[Chase369]

haha nice story. Ive met acouple of those assholes in my short 7 years.

 

[Chase369]

Oh yeah, so anyway... Back to my topic I started here. I went to CIF turned in all my shit. I got a Statement of Charges for $1,273.88!!! the 4 desert flight suits and 2 sets of black fleece cold weather gear hurt the most. Did yall army guys know that those ugly sunglasses they issue you before a deployment must be turned it? Yes I said it! they want them back, at like $57.99 or something like that.

On a good note though, the CIF dude told me that once I get back to my house in florida and get my stuff in storage sent to me. I can take all the gear I have back to any Army base CIF and they will reimburse me for the cost I paid.