Hello! I'm Mack, and this is a Blog post in which I will describe the various pieces of Military Surplus I own, where I got it, and a brief look at its history!

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Today we are looking at the Kruschiki Supply Company T-Block Smock

Now, I've tricked you JUST slightly.

How? This item is actually not a military surplus. This jacket has never been fielded by any military, has never been adopted by any paramilitary group, or has seen combat in any way (unless some irregular troop bought one, but accessibility is an issue.) So, why the hell am I posting this? First, let's describe the smock and where it came from, and then we can move on to the juicy historical bits.

Firstly, this jacket was purchased for me as a fantastic Christmas gift from my wonderful boyfriend, Viktor. This jacket is known as a Smock, and it is manufactured and sold by the infamous Kruschiki Supply company, a US-based military surplus procurer and dealer. Kruschiki has a broad range of items. East German uniforms (Cold War), Modern Russian body armor pulled off of the battlefields in Ukraine (current day), and tons of camouflage from several different countries, such as Japan, Ireland, Ukraine, the UK, the US, and more! 

That being said, he also creates his own shirts and jackets to sell. The smocks manufactured by Kruschiki are sold at a hefty price of 145 dollars US. We're going to focus on the Jackets. These jackets are called Smocks. A smock is a term often used interchangeably with Anorak. Anoraks were an Inuit invention and were used as protection from harsh weather in the Arctic, and Smocks were worn by shepherds during the 18th century and were originally baggy and made of wool. Nowadays, both are often worn with a hood and are meant to withstand wind, rain, and cold.

With that little bit of history out of the way, let's get to the features of the smock. 

This smock runs a little big. Despite being a medium, it's a little baggy on me to allow for layers to keep you warm. As you can see, I'm wearing a sweater underneath it. This sweater may appear during a different Military Surplus blog post, so stay tuned. ; )

As you can see in the photo, the smock has both a storm flap and a zipper, which is a very nice feature for keeping you warm and dry in harsh conditions. You can also see the drawstrings (More visible in the very first photo) at the waist, which help keep the smock shaped. unfortunately, the drawstring sits a little low for my liking, but it's not too bad so I don't mind.

Here is a better view of the drawstrings cinching the waist, as well as a look at the storm flap when it's closed along with the zipper. The smock, while lightweight, is rather sturdy. This is due to it being constructed from Nylon-Ripstop and Cotton, so it will stand up to some wear and tear. The hood also has drawstrings to keep the hood nice and tight to your face in windy conditions. The next photo is just the hood down.

If you saw my last post, you know I love pockets. 

This jacket is no exception! It has 8 spacious pockets, two below the waist, one hidden inside, one on the left sleeve, and two on each side of the chest. The breast pockets are especially interesting, as you have two pockets in the front with buttons, but under these is a zipper pocket that goes from the drawstring at the waist all the way up to the shoulder, which is insane, frankly. A diagram below visualizes this. The blue outline indicates the space of the top button pocket, and the red indicates the space of the zipper pocket underneath.

Alright, cool. We know this jacket was made by a guy somewhere in the United States, but why the hell is it important?

This jacket is decorated with a very special camouflage pattern known as T-Block or T-Mout developed by the United States Marine Corps back in 1999. This camouflage was never used outside of Operation Urban Warrior, an exercise with the objective of testing and planning Military Operations of Urbanized terrain, or MOUT. This program was made following the battle of Mogadishu in 1993, also known as the Black Hawk Down incident.

Above is a marine wearing the experimental camouflage whilst carrying an experimental USMC-issue combat skateboard (I'm not joking.)

Here is another picture of American Marines undergoing a training exercise regarding gas masks and their proper usage whilst wearing the rare T-Block BDUs. I have the same exact gas mask, carrying case, and CBRN hood pictured, and I may do a post on it  : )

Unfortunately, the T-block pattern was never adopted, as the USMC decided to instead adopt the digital camouflage pattern known as MARPAT, which is used to this day.  and as such it is extremely rare, with only 800 uniforms being made. Any collector in their right mind wishes they had one of these sets. I've seen a helmet cover from this set go for 600 dollars US. Your best bet for finding one of these is high-quality ripstop reproductions, but even those cost a pretty penny.

Overall, 

I like this smock! Kruschiki is a pretty reputable source of high-quality goods, and this is no exception. It's light enough for warmer weather, easy to layer for colder weather, comfortable, has plenty of pockets, and pays homage to one of the coolest most sought-after camouflages ever developed. You can't really get them now in any size except for small, as Kruschiki has run out of T-Block camouflage material to make the smocks. He has other camouflage, but no more T-Block, once again making it a rare commodity. 

THANKS FOR READING! LEAVE A COMMENT IF YOU ENJOYED! : D