Since a military surplus tent is designed to be portable, it is built as lightly as possible while still maintaining its ruggedness and durability. Since the whole purpose of this shelter is to keep the elements which can harm you off of you, it only stands to reason that at some point these elements are going to harm it. There are several actions you can take though, to ensure that you get decades of use out of your used army tent.
First and foremost you need to protect the part that will receive the most wear, the bottom. If your used tent has a bottom canvas, the material is going to have to deal with friction between you and the earth. Rocks, sticks, thistles and thorns are all types of detritus material that make up the earth's face, and walking on the floor of your canvas tent is going to stress the material against it. A good rule of thumb is to leave the shoes and boots at the door. Your grandmother had the right idea when she wouldn’t let you wear your lucky cowboy boots on her new carpet, and that idea holds true when caring for your surplus military tent. In a harsh environment, an extra pair or two of wool socks can accommodate the loss of the insulation of your boots. Beyond this, it’s very important to have a ground mat made for your tent. This foam rubber item, though usually custom made, is relatively inexpensive, and will save your tent lots of wear and tear.
The old adage, "you take care of your stuff and your stuff will take care of you" has never been more true than when talking about taking good care of the shelter which is there to protect you from the storm. These tents are built and designed to win wars and protect soldiers from the harshest environments on the planet. All they need in return is just a little bit of tlc...