If 550 cord is not on the Table of Allowances (TA) for a particular unit you will most likely not be able to get it. That is how it was when I was in the Air Force. Case in point: When I worked on the flightline in northern Maine it got kinda cold in the winter. The only gloves we had to work with were the thick leather gloves with the wool inserts. They are not useful when trying to safety wire or manipulate small connectors. Pilot's (flight Nomex) gloves would have solved the problem; but they were not on our TA. Strange SAC mentality. The guys from fighter bases would have plenty of pairs. It just depends how the item is viewed. Justification has to be made to add it to the TA. Red tape, red tape, red tape....

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