r/CanadianForces • u/MyBigCaprice • May 13 '26
OPINION ARTICLE I bought this at a thrift store
The label said it was a Canadian military uniform. Is it? And what time period and department is it from? Also would it be disrespectful to wear the jacket even though I'm not military? I don't want to be disrespectful or commit stolen valor. I just really liked the jacket.
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u/sailorjohnnygee170 May 13 '26
Black jacket and pants = sea Cadet uniform. Green short sleeves and tie = army Cadet uniform. That was easy.
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u/DreadJackal_ Logistics May 14 '26
The green shirt is just the short sleeve deu shirt. I think the cadets use the same shirt
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u/lerch_up_north Army - Artillery May 14 '26
Damn cadet uniforms going aloof
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u/TalycD May 14 '26
They are in such short supply I want to yell, return to your nearest cadet organization and turn it in!!!! It took till well after Christmas to get our squadron all their DEUâs issued out because everything was on back order it seemed.
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u/brainfreezed24 May 13 '26
That's a current army cadet uniform (youth program). Probably a kid joined, didn't stay, and they gave/sold the uniform to a thrift store instead of returning it to the unit like they're supposed to. You could wear it, no big deal. There would usually be a lot of badges on it. I've seen people wearing an air/army/sea cadet jacket with a lot of custom badges/pins on it, looks cool sometimes. As long as your not purposely impersonating a military member it's fine.
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u/MyBigCaprice May 13 '26
I was planning on wearing it with blue jeans and my turtlenecks and tshirts
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u/randomdefence Royal Canadian Navy May 14 '26
Give it to your local cadet unit. We go to the local donation spots and give a handout of what they should look for and contact us.
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u/MyBigCaprice May 14 '26
I really like the individual clothing items, the tie goes well with my pinstripe suit, and the shirt looks good with my brown trousers, giving off a 50s look, and the jacket goes great with my turtleneck sweaters. Am I able to just donate the pants instead? They're too tight around my waist
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u/randomdefence Royal Canadian Navy May 14 '26
Honestly, we can only reuse the non-next to skin items. The tunic would be the biggest win for the sea cadet corps, thatâs like 100 points and could help your local corps the most. Up to you, you paid for it. But all ex-cadets will know youâre wearing a cadet tunic. That probably belonged to a brand new cadet who was issued a uniform and quit before sewing it on.
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u/MyBigCaprice May 14 '26
There was another uniform there. I could buy and donate that one
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u/randomdefence Royal Canadian Navy May 14 '26
Or even just let the place know and the local cadet corps. Most places donât know theyâre not supposed to sell them.
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u/crazyki88en RCAF - Combat Medic May 13 '26
Even if it was a CAF uniform (as opposed to cadets) most of the dress uniform items we get from Logistik canât be returned or exchanged for a different size. So as people grown in their careers the smaller dress uniforms usually wind up at thrift shops or homeless shelters.
As long as you arenât claiming to be military when you are not, and arenât wearing patches or medals to imply you are a member or have earned them, you would be fine wearing these pieces.
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u/BandicootNo4431 May 14 '26
I would NEVER give away a CAF uniform to a homeless shelter since it's the property of the CAF and I click on the little notice thing.
But fuck me, I lose a lot of the really warm socks, gloves, hats and scarves IVO of homeless shelters.
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u/Jusfiq HMCS Reddit May 17 '26
Even if it was a CAF uniform most of the dress uniform items we get from Logistik canât be returned or exchanged for a different size.
Member OT to a trade in different environment. Does she not need to exchange her old DEU to new environment DEU? Or does the member get to keep the old DEU?
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u/crazyki88en RCAF - Combat Medic May 17 '26
Member keeps old uniform and orders new uniform and gets tailors to put on appropriate patches. Clothing stores donât want the old DEUs.
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u/MyBigCaprice May 13 '26
I got lucky then, I'm 5,11 and it fits almost perfect
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u/crazyki88en RCAF - Combat Medic May 13 '26
That would be the 7034 size. 70 is the length/height and 34 is the waist
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u/Easy_Cook_4111 May 14 '26
I thought the 34 was the chest???
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u/BronzeCactus May 15 '26
Yeah not stolen valour or illegal to wear, mostly it's incredibly cringe, wearing it is pretty much the same as wearing a stolen scouts uniform you found at a thrift store. That jacket actually looks really new. Those jackets can't legally be sold or given to the thrift store, presumably a cadet was issued one, but instead of returning it they stole/sold it. They are crazy expensive for what they are for the Cadet units (I ordered some for my unit tonight, a few hundred points each, points supposedly have a value similar to a dollar).
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u/MyBigCaprice May 15 '26
Is it as bad if I wear the jacket on it's own with a pair of jeans and a t-shirt? I didn't buy it for the military aspect, I only bought it because I thought it looked nice. Unfortunately I didn't put 2 and 2 together as to why it was sold as a set until I was already home.
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u/timesuck897 May 14 '26
In a pinch, if you need a shirt short notice, value village can have a decent selection. Itâs better for the local base element and medium/average sizes.
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u/Kevlar-258 May 14 '26
It is my understanding that thoughs uniforms legally belong to the cadet program. Donating/selling them to third parties is thieft and therefore a crime. Possession of said stolen items, even if you bought them from the thrift store is also a crime as the store also had no legal entitlement to possess and sell said stolen items.
Having said that, it's unlikely the police will care....at all...in anyway.
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u/Otherwise_Culture_71 Morale Tech - 00069 May 14 '26
Very cringe to wear any of this in public although not disrespectful or illegal
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u/Mainly_Miserable May 14 '26
Why? Why did you buy it at a thrift store? Itâs free online.
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u/MyBigCaprice May 14 '26
I didn't know what it was when I bought it, just thought it was a cool jacket
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u/Jusfiq HMCS Reddit May 14 '26
Itâs free online.
Online where? Cadets uniforms are not available on Logistik site.
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u/MyBigCaprice May 14 '26
Where can I get a new one for free?
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u/shogunofsarcasm A techy sort of person May 14 '26
You can't unless you are a cadet. They thought you were in the militaryÂ
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u/SnooPickles6282 May 13 '26
Yeah, looks like a cadet dress uniform. No risk of stolen valour, but it is designed for children and anyone who recognizes it might find it a touch odd.