Army Tents

Brent,
most Australian Army tents are green, I doubt if you would be able to get a desert coloured one, the American Army have them, I lived in one for 4 months whilst in Somalia in 1993.
I still have contacts in the Army will find out for sure and let you know.
We always destroyed our tents once they were deemed obsolete, they were either 11 x 11's or 22 x 11's, the canvas was generally a good quality, so it was rare to have them destroyed.

Cheers
Spango

Dont the army usually sell most stuff when its rooted?

and Desert colour -
1) why
2) havent seen one that colour for years - any they have now would be in use in Iraq region...

I have never seen a desert colored tent, only the green ones. When in the desert, or anywhere for that matter we just threw a dirty great cam net over the top.
Cam nets have 2 sides, one for bush, the other for desert/grass areas.

Unless you intend to erect one and leave it there for ever they are a complete pain in the !@#$.

We'll look at the 11ft x 11ft (the smallest one)

When folded the 2 pieces of canvas are approx 0.25 m3 and weigh around 20 kg.
The bag of poles is about 5 ft long so you will need a roof rack or trailer to carry them, plus they are quite heavy, I'd say around 15 kg.
Then you have a bag of knuckles which connect the poles and some pegs. More weight and space taken up!

It takes two experienced people around 15 - 20 minutes to get one up and as long to pull it down and fold everything. It is hot and dirty work.

I don't understand what the fascination is with army equipment. It is generally outdated, bulky, cumbersome, and not user friendly (like the Landrover 110). I've been in the Army for 25 years and you won't find one piece of equipment in my camping ensemble, except the folding entrenching tool (shovel). There are much better products available out there that are easier to erect and take up less carrying space.

They don't tend to auction them off,as it is usually cost effective to repair and keep them. When they do get rid of them it is usually only the canvas which is beyond economical repair. If they did sell one it would have so many holes you could use it to drain peas.

Wizard
Gold Coast

Might be a bit of a long shot, and not knowing where you guys live it may also be too far for you. But try giving Aussie Disposals in Frankston (Vic) a call. 03 9783 3321. Ask for Jason - if they don't have it he seems to have a knack for finding it!