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The Army-Navy surplus store on Thayer St. has always been the place to purchase a t-shirt bearing the face of the famous Cuban revolutionary Che Guevarra. But now, for the first time anyone can remember, the store has run out of its Che shirt stock and anticipates it won't be able to obtain any more in the near future.
As store manager Arthur Gretwood explained to the Noser, the store's stock of t-shirts is contingent upon the military having a surplus-"the bottom line" says Gretwood "is that the military needs Che shirts, and they need 'em bad[ly]."
Lieutenant Colonel Matthew Tjorven, the Army's most senior fashion coordinator, confirms this account. "They're absolutely essential. We don't really believe in communism, but those Che shirts make us look so badass."
Gretwood expects the Che shirt shortage to be only the start of a larger trend. "As you may know," Gretwood continued, "Our store carries a wide selection of Converse All-Star shoes. About ten years ago, Army demand shifted primarily to lower-ankled Converse shoes, and as a result the military had a significant surplus of higher-ankled All-Stars; but now that production meets demand, that surplus is quickly running out."
Added Jack Ostu, another store employee, "I really don't want to think about what would happen if the military steps up its need for berets and messenger bags back to pre-1990 levels."
The plight of the Thayer street store is indicative of a larger trend of shortages hitting military surplus stores nationwide. "What it really comes down to is President Obama's troop surge," explained Martin Verrier, VP of Inventory for The Gap, Inc. "Most people don't know this, but Old Navy, a Gap subsidiary, really is a Navy surplus retailer. As the military increases the deployment levels, it necessarily increases the number of polo shirts and cargo shorts it needs as well. Things aren't looking too good for us right now-Old Navy has had to cut advertising for two of its new winter jeans styles due to a simple lack of inventory."
Many Brown students have expressed shock at the shortage, especially freshmen who never had the chance to buy a t-shirt bearing Che Guevarra's visage. Susan Dinsdale '13 is outraged: "Owning a Che shirt is an important part of a liberal arts education in this country. It breaks my heart to find out that at Brown I won't experience this opportunity that I was promised as a pre-freshman."
But Gretwood remains optimistic, insisting that the shortage isn't as bad as it sounds. "Sure," he admits, "We're out of Che shirts, and high military demand is running down our stock of tie-dye peace sign shirts and Mao shirts as well. But we still have plenty of new t-shirts printed with portraits of other famous Communist leaders, including our popular Fidel Castro and Joseph Stalin designs."
Gretwood added that the Che shirts will be replaced with an expanded selection of body armor, combat helmets and other items the military does not widely use.
