English translation: PX, Military Clothing Sales Store
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00:05 Apr 30, 2011
Russian to English translations [PRO] Military / Defense
Russian term or phrase:вещевой склад
As in the store in a military unit or garrison where they keep new uniforms, boots, etc. for issue to new recruits and such. What do they call it in the US Army? Clothing depot, is that it? I'd appreciate opinions by natives with military/defense experience. Gary G, Jack Doughty, please?
Explanation: Okay Misha, I found it (I was never in the Army, so how did you expect me to know?) I would go with PX, since it's the basic Army jargon for the store. Where you go when you need body armor and real expensive stuff, I have no idea. This is from the link I gave:
"The Post Exchange (PX) is a modern self-service shoppette that offers high quality merchandise to military personnel their families and retirees.
Ordering service is available for items not stocked in the store. Both the Class VI and Military Clothing Sales Store (MCSS) are located in the PX.
AAFES has introduced a new Military Clothing Catalog for all soldiers. Just like shopping in a Military Clothing Store, any military member can purchase whatever uniform item they may need."
If you do more googling, just stay away from all the .com's, and look at the ones that are actually run by the Army.
Strange: I clicked on the above reference link this morning, and was told I am forbidden to access this Defense site. But if you go in via a google search, to the same URL, no problem.
Anyhow, I agree with what Misha and Mariya wrote about the PX as an all-purpose store (it's also clear from this link, but I thought the MCSS bit added to the plausibility of this as an answer. I do have a couple of veteran friends (most of my friends, and husband, were Vietnam War draft-dodgers), and I'll ask round.
Exchange it is then, even though I feel strongly tempted to use gear issue. That, however, sounds a bit too technical for a general purpose text, and exchange seems like a safer bet. Many thanks, everyone. Special thanks to Mariya for invaluable info from the source. I wish I could split the points here. 4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer
Quartermaster is definitely an option, especially in the case of enlisted personnel. However, I have plenty of leeway here since this is my own writing, and exchange seems to fit the bill. I'll stick with that. Thanks anyway.
My second Army veteran source said the same as the first: That would be the Quartermaster, the Quartermaster Corps is responsible
for logistics, or supplies--every company, regiment, division, etc has a
quartermaster--locally operating through a supply-room, to get stuff to the troops.
So to get a replacement uniform, body armor, etc. go to the Supply Sergeant
at the Supply Room--restocks in bulk come from the Post or Division Quartermaster.
(This is an elaboration of what Michael said.)
but issued (free) to new recruits and to the GI's who had a reasonable cause for having ripped their fatigues. Basically, it's nothing if not kapterka/Sergeant-Major's supply room. Or simply supply room/storage: i.e., http://www.proz.com/kudoz/russian_to_english/military_defens...
Yes, the PX or simply exchange is definitely an option. However, those are primarily base stores for anything and everything not directly issued by the US government to its military personnel. As you said it yourself in some of the comments here, they have not yet come to the point where a raw recruit would have to go to the base store to buy his or her own uniform. This may not necessarily be a bad thing, but it just isn't happening yet. I'll keep looking and let you know what I decide to go with.
By the way, here's the sentence I need to use it in:
The man’s uniform tunic was white too, if one didn’t count a ketchup stain on the front and a smear of greasy shine around the elbows that made him stand out better against the untampered radiance in the back. XXX took a sneak sideways peak: his own top was an identical tunic, only newer, fresher, right out of [the exchange].
Explanation: As in "Naval Clothing Depot", "Army Clothing Depot", "Air Force Clothing Depot", "Royal Army Clothing Depot", ''Marine Corps Clothing Depot".
Explanation: I am not really sure whether it's the same for the US Army, but that's what my husband (a former seabee) says they call it in the US Navy. Hope this would help.
Here's what my husband said: he would still use "gear issue" in a context like "it looked like it just came straight from the gear issue", but if you want to be sure, "exchange" seems to be a safe bet.
Here is what I can add regarding "exchange". The word "exchange" is used throughout the US Armed Forces, it's just that it's not exactly what is equivalent to a Russian "вещевой склад" (I myself have been to a Navy Exchange many times) - it can be anything from a supermarket to a small-scale shopping mall, and you can buy there uniform and all kinds of military gear, too, but they also sell food, toys, cosmetics, clothes, babies stuff, bikes, furniture - literally everything depending on the scale of the store and of the base it's located at. (By the way, the part of the Exchange where they sell military stuff is usually one small room somewhere near the entrance where you can buy uniform and some accessories; and the rooms itself does not even look like a part of the store.) The main difference between an exchange and a regular US store is that all Exchanges are tax-free and the prices in general are lower than they are in the rest of the state it's located in.
This being said, my main conclusion would be - "Exchange" is not equivalent to "вещевой склад", although these two terms definitely have something in common, so if your context still would allow to translate "вещевой склад" as "Exchange", then why not?
One more - PX is the name for the Exchange stores for the US Army. NEX is Navy Exchange, MCX is Marine Corps Exchange.
MariyaN United States Local time: 03:13 Native speaker of: Russian, Ukrainian
Notes to answerer
Asker: Many thanks, Mariya. I am mainly interested in usage here, so will you please do me a favor and ask your husband if he would use this as in "the uniform was so new it looked like it just came straight from the gear issue". My gut feeling is that probably no, all the more so since gear would primarily refer to equipment, accessories and such. So what would he say instead? Many thanks
Explanation: Okay Misha, I found it (I was never in the Army, so how did you expect me to know?) I would go with PX, since it's the basic Army jargon for the store. Where you go when you need body armor and real expensive stuff, I have no idea. This is from the link I gave:
"The Post Exchange (PX) is a modern self-service shoppette that offers high quality merchandise to military personnel their families and retirees.
Ordering service is available for items not stocked in the store. Both the Class VI and Military Clothing Sales Store (MCSS) are located in the PX.
AAFES has introduced a new Military Clothing Catalog for all soldiers. Just like shopping in a Military Clothing Store, any military member can purchase whatever uniform item they may need."
If you do more googling, just stay away from all the .com's, and look at the ones that are actually run by the Army.
Strange: I clicked on the above reference link this morning, and was told I am forbidden to access this Defense site. But if you go in via a google search, to the same URL, no problem.
Anyhow, I agree with what Misha and Mariya wrote about the PX as an all-purpose store (it's also clear from this link, but I thought the MCSS bit added to the plausibility of this as an answer. I do have a couple of veteran friends (most of my friends, and husband, were Vietnam War draft-dodgers), and I'll ask round.
Susan Welsh United States Local time: 03:13 Works in field Native speaker of: English PRO pts in category: 12
Grading comment
Exchange it is then, even though I feel strongly tempted to use gear issue. That, however, sounds a bit too technical for a general purpose text, and exchange seems like a safer bet. Many thanks, everyone. Special thanks to Mariya for invaluable info from the source. I wish I could split the points here.
The translation workplace 
