Hi all. Has anyone recently obtained compasses (for outdoor navigation, not for drawing circles) from service sources? If so please could you share a few lines about how you managed to make it happen? Much appreciated, thanks.
I’ve never managed, despite trying. I think whatever form I submitted just disappeared into the ether. To be perfectly honest I think you’d be more efficient time wise to ignore faffing with the RAF stores machine and just apply for a small grant to buy a load.
Yep, that’s the conclusion I have reached on many occasions. Despite that, there is always someone chiming in with “oh, you can get those from stores you know”.
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My response to that is normally - “have you ever tried? No? Well pipe down then, or show me the compasses you got from stores”.
When a Sqn Cdr I did obtain the Silva compasses from stores by simply filling out a request form (sorry I can’t remember the name of the form).
Couple of weeks later they rocked up.
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Not tried for a while, but a bag of grapes, other fruit was accepted, was the going rate 
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Again I got some in return for some jaffa cakes once.
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I only managed this once many, many years ago. And I was so pleased with myself until I realised they’d delivered me a box of compasses marks with Mils. It then took a further year to get them removed from our inventory!!!
They only do mils as I understand it.
Yes, all compasses were in mils - they went back.
Mils would be fine actually. I’m putting together some resource packs which we will use for navigation CPD courses for staff and staff cadets.
Having some compasses in mils means we can teach people what they are and what they look like.
Maybe I’d better re-phrase my original question. Does anyone have any compasses in mils that they no longer require? 
As long as everyone is using mils compasses, it makes no difference.