As you know, there was a lot of chatter recently in the mainstream media about the US Army’s poor choice of camouflage, and how many billions of dollars may or may not have been spent issuing kit in that pattern to soldiers.  Well, as this article from 1917 shows, it seems that griping about the high cost of everything is nothing new…

According to an online inflation calculator that I found, $156 in 1917 money would be equal to about $2,786 in 2012 money.  That’s still quite a bargain compared to the $12,000 to $15,000 that it actually costs to equip a modern US Army soldier (without counting his/her rifle).