Yep, that’s the trick. I was stationed in Germany 1965-68. Every time we went to the range the little PX available to us ran out of Kotex. The guys were using it for shoulder pads. At the end of day there were 55 gal drums overflowing with the tattered Kotex pads.
The wives complained bitterly and damn near marched on Battalion HQs about the third time this happened. BN CO finally instructed S3 to notify PX at least 3 weeks in advance of range firing so it could be sure to have sufficient stock on hand.