We got a clothing allowance during the anniversary month of enlistment for Army during the late 1980s and 90s.   The first year wasn't much because they assume much of your IET Basic Issue is still serviceable but two years and later, it was almost $400 I seem to remember.

But like a previous poster said, a lot of Jr Enlisted spent it on bullshit or bills then went to AAFES to open a Deferred Payment Plan DPP credit account for buying new uniforms.

The 6-Color Popcorn/Chocolate Cookie desert pattern with the huge Elvis Collar and the extra layer of fabric across the lats for a sunshield?

Yeah, anniversary month for us too. It's DoD wide I believe, so I'm sure Marines in the 80s and 90s got it too. It was also about $400 IIRC. It was easy to miss though if you don't watch your pay close, it just looks like a fat paycheck and unless you check your LES guys may not know what it was for.

If you count desert pattern BDUs as a separate uniform by 15 years I'd been in 4 uniforms:  OG-107 fatigues, wash & wear fatigues, BDUs and chocolate chip desert BDUs.  Plus three different versions of dress blues:  summer & winter dress uniforms,  polyester blend uniform and the "Gen McPeak Delta Airlines pilot" dress blue uniform.

The military has their fashion division working overtime.

It goes along with their anti discrimination and diversity division.

The best part is the rank patch is now up front, so when our guys get promoted, we get to punch them in the fucking sternum to pin their stripe on.

It means you HAVE to look at a woman's chest to learn her rank :-)

3 color desert.  Got them ramping up for IZ, we thought it was to stick up through the IBA and fold down over it, but that's just a theory from a bunch of drunks
Only about 30% were leisure collars, so we don't really know why there were two versions of that blouse.

I’ve gone from Marpat to ACU to OCP in the span of 4 years.

Shut it.

I was thinking the same thing.

Still have a set of each, even though I'm retired...BDU/DCU/ABU.

That OCP would make for a great hunting outfit for around here.

once I retire my OCP pants will be my new hunting pants

Army doesn't issue OCP (Multicam) any more. They've moved onto Scorpion.

Dude I was USMC O grade (Marpat, desert and woodland pattern. Dress A, B and Cs. Service A, B and Cs. To top it off a fucking sword.)

Then I had the bright idea of going Army in 2015, right before ACUs went out. I bought ACUs, then OCPs, as well as ASUs obviously. I’ve also got flight uniforms (A2CUs) in multicam as well as ACU, that are about to be unserviceable.

Don’t get me started with buying uniforms.

My father went from the green fatigues that you could either blouse with combat boots or wear with low quarters.  You could also get the sleeves cut to short sleeve.  Then they went to the earlier BDUs (the waist tabs on the blouse being the biggest difference that I can remember).  He had a pair starched so much you could stand them up on their own.  He also had a few pairs without the stripes (he was enlisted) and the velcro patch for rank and AFSC.  What a dumb experiment.

Here's a few pics of me getting issued ABUs in basic.

I joined at the start of 2008 and was one of the first flights to get issued all ABUs.  It was weird transition period.  BDUs were still allowed and since the green ABU boots were not common place, you could wear desert boots with ABUs.  You could also wear the green ABU boots with BDUs so you wouldn't have to polish.  I hated the short little, steel toe, danner style desert boots we were issued, so once I got to my school, I ordered a pair of Altama ripple sole desert boots.  I had always liked how slim and tall the OD green jungle boots made you look, and one of my TIs wore the same desert boots during basic, so I was sold.  We were issued an ABU pattern rain coat that I never saw anyone else outside of basic wear...I got plenty of "is that in regs?" and "where did you get that?!" when I got to Japan.

The ABUs we received in basic were the super thick ones with the STUPID and USELESS "map pockets" inside the blouse.  You could cut them out so long as it didnt change the appearance on the outside.  There were also issues with the coloring on the ABUs when first released.  There was a mix of items that were green in tone and others that were gray.  I received 4 pairs, 2 of which were green shaded for the blouse and the pants, and the others were gray.  I preferred the green and used the gray ones for security forces augmentee training and duty.

Nametapes were also an issue at the start.  The TIs who got their ABUs early couldn't get their hands on ABU pattern nametapes so they had to use ACU patterned nametapes.  You could tell the obvious difference in the colors and pattern.

At the end of 2011, ABUs were mandated and desert boots would no longer be allowed.  A SSgt and I in our office got so much shit for wearing desert boots until the last day.  Even a TSgt on quarters wearing tennis shoes in uniform would tell us we needed to get ready.  We went to Andrews AFB to get green boots and ran into a 1 star at clothing sales who was buying her pair at the last second too.  I was pissed because I was going on terminal leave in January and only had about 90 days to wear the damn things.  One of my buddies who got out hooked me up and gave me a pair so I ended up not having to buy any for my last 3 months.

I still work with the AF and just got back from a TDY.  The units there were almost all OCP.  Some had a weird mix of ball cap and patrol cap.

Seems ridiculous that a member of any modern military would have to buy their own uniform.

The only time I got free boots was right before a deployment.
You used the cammies you had for deployment. Our Bn CMDR wanted us with fire protection and procured flight suits for the entire battalion. I went through 3-4 of them in 7 months.
In the end, I ended up with a suit 3x bigger because that was all there was.
We did get FROG suits mid deployment, but never used then.
Afterwards, we got free boots and a couple sets of FROG suits before a deployment

Might actually buy a set of those, just because.

Still have my Class As and when I finally bought those ASU Blues, never got around to wearing it, then I got out.

And why so small?

The Army made the transition period long enough that, in theory, everyone could just buy the new uniform when it was time to replace their old ones for wear.  Most of us chose to buy the new ones earlier than that because UCP is retarded.

I started out in BDUs. Got issued DCUs for Afghanistan. Then ACUs. Then Multicam. Now this scorpion stuff.

I don’t even want to deal with the stupid pinks and greens bullshit.

I was thinking the only thing that fits in there is the victory dance.

Our units always had fairly sane rules.
- Need new boots? Come to my office and show me your old ones. I sign a chit for new issue, and your old ones go in the dumpster.
- Uniforms ruined by fuel or hydraulic fluid get replaced on the unit dime. Crew chiefs and hydro troops tore through uniforms.
- Don't show up in an unserviceable uniform. I will check your clothing replacement allowance date. If you spent it on a phone, or wheels, or...whatever...you'll be buying new uniforms out of your next paycheck.

My favorite part was any formation that required enlisted ops to show up in anything other than a bag. They were issued flight suits, and even though the guidance said those were "only to be worn while engaged in flying operations", most of them wore their flight suits no matter what they were doing. They still got the same uniform allowance...they just pocketed theirs.

Formation in BDUs? Flyers in too short, gaped open, buttons strained to the failure point, rumpled basic training-issued uniforms with hastily sewn on stripes. Hard to make a bunch of maintainers look good, but they always did an admirable job.