Historian David Yelton described the situation as two ranking officers at the helm of a sinking ship fighting over command. The "Volkssturm" "uniform" was only a black armband with the German words "Deutscher Volkssturm Wehrmacht". Some variants of the above-mentioned armband worn by Volkssturm members were simply red or yellow cloth-bands with "Deutscher Volkssturm Wehrmacht" printed in black on them. On top of the identification armbands, there were black rank-patches, either with or without silver pips, worn on the collar of the Volkssturm members' uniform. These were characteristically derived from the rank insignia of the various paramilitary organizations of the Nazi Party, which had control over them, and not of the regular "Wehrmacht". The German government tried to issue as many of its members as possible with military uniforms of all sorts, ranging from field-gray to camouflage types. Most members of the "Volkssturm", especially elderly members, had no uniform and were not supplied, so they generally wore either work-attire (including railway workers, policemen and firemen) or their civilian clothing and usually carried with them their own personal rucksacks, blankets and cooking-equipment, etc. The simple paramilitary insignia of the "Volkssturm" were as follows:  Typically, members of the "Volkssturm" received only very basic military training. It included a brief indoctrination and training on the use of basic weapons such as the Karabiner 98k rifle and "Panzerfaust". Because of continuous fighting and weapon shortages, weapon training was often minimal. There was also a lack of instructors, meaning that weapons training was sometimes done by World War I veterans drafted into service themselves. Often "Volkssturm" members were only able to familiarize themselves with their weapons when in actual combat. There was no standardization of any kind and units were issued only what equipment was available. This was true of every form of equipment—"Volkssturm" members were required to bring their own uniforms and culinary equipment etc. This resulted in the units looking very ragged and, instead of boosting civilian morale, it often reminded people of Germany's desperate state. Armament was equally haphazard: though some Karabiner 98ks were on hand, members were also issued older Gewehr 98s and 19th-century Gewehr 71s and Steyr-Mannlicher M1888s, as well as Dreyse M1907 pistols.