I know everyone wants to get all up on da-mil radios, but I've repaired and maintained a lot of RT524 and PRC-77 ( have prolly 5 RT524 that are supposed to work, but often are flaky when you need them, and the PRC-77 are ok, but also flakey) and they are getting VERY LONG IN THE TOOTH... they drift off freq like crazy and it takes a lot of effort to replace all the out of spec components. RT-524 are just as bad.
If you want good Comms go with GMRS using mobiles, instead of handhelds, or full ham... If military radios are your thing, I use a couple RT-1439 non-crypto Sincgars but those are super pricey...