[Targan]

It's just common sense that the US military (and later the military forces of MilGov, CivGov, state government forces, local quasi-government forces) will first track down and attempt to return to functionality those military vehicles that they have accurate records for and can easily get their hands on. Obviously that means mostly vehicles they actually own and can return to functionality without too much trouble. Then they'll start casting further afield and thinking 'outside the box'. Post-TDM, things will be in complete chaos for a while and moving non-functional combat vehicles around (and finding parts for them, and refurbishing them) will become a low priority/impossible, for a while.

Eventually in '98/'99/2000 the various national/state/local/quasi-official military and para-military forces might start trying to requisition the older and more obscure decommissioned military vehicles, and that will most likely be because they start encountering them in the hands of non-official groups. That's when panic will set in, mainly at the local level.

State Guard company commander: "Oh my God, those bandits down in Smithsville have got themselves some kind of armoured vehicle, initial reports suggest it's a Sherman tank. We have to deal with them before things really get out of hand. We need to take that tank intact if we can, if not we have to destroy it".

Afterwards, the ramifications of that situation will start to filter up the chain of command and efforts will be made to determine if other, similar surprises are hiding on the fringes. That's when concerted efforts will be made to seize and bring in as many old, privately owned military vehicles as possible.