So what else do I do with my Pugio

[Crispvs]

"An "unoficial" use which could get the trooper in trouble is the tavern browl
So there is another use for the puggio."

True, but I rather doubt that they were issued to soldiers for this reason. Rifles are not issued to modern soldiers for the purpose of opening beer bottles but for decades and perhaps centuries soldiers have used them for this purpose. The practice has been so common that many modern rifles incorporate parts specially designed as bottle openers in order to prevent damage to the muzzle or other parts through this use. The fact that something can be employed in a certain way does not indicate it was issued for this purpose. Roman soldiers also had cudgels (fusti [?spelling]), which could also be employed in brawls.

"Would I carry one if I was a Roman? Damn right I would! "

So, probably, would I, but not all soldiers of the first century seem to have done. If the imperfectly preserved sculptural record is to be relied on, most but not all infantrymen (and some cavalrymen) may have carried them. The fact that they are so commonly depicted on the Rhineland stelae suggests that they were recognisable military items but the fact that not all men are depicted with them suggests that they were not compulsary for all soldiers.

Crispvs