Well, you could go against type and paint it pink, or some other "unmilitary" color - the way eastern Europeans painted Soviet tanks left as WWII monuments pink after the fall of communism (Google "pink tank"). If you're a good painter, you could do a camouflage pattern with unusual colors. You could probably find camouflage wallpaper online, if you wanted to go that route. In any case, I'd cut a piece of 3/4" plywood a little smaller than the bottom and screw it to the bottom, and attach legs to the plywood to get it up off the ground.

(BTW, pink has been used by the military - "Mountbatten Pink" was used on some camouflaged warships of the Royal Navy in the Atlantic in WWII.)

My parents used to buy old trunks and strip off the canvas covering them and refinish the wood underneath.

I would paint the drawers in different shades of pastel colors in accordance with the room it will be placed in, in order to make it look softer.

I love that! I'd go nautical navy or royal blue. Put a base under it wrapped in a bit of rope.

I would start by removing the hardware and giving it a good sanding to see what you have to work with. If the wood isn't that great or has a lot of dings and damage that you don't want to have to deal with repairing beyond puttying then paint will likely be your best route. If you do want to accentuate the wood you might try pickling or a dark wash, depending on what the rest of the room looks like. Or paint the wood then immediately wipe off, basically staining or pickling without thinning the paint. Paint the metal and hardware a darker version of the wash you choose or something complementary.

Was there a lid with it? Have you searched eBay etc. to try and see what one in better condition might look like? Tried Brasso on the metal? The wood looks thin (to keep it from being too heavy). As I like green, I'd probably carefully work on removing the blemishes and try to upgrade it to a more original state vs paint it pink, blue or other.

I think there are two options; embrace the military history of the piece and work with that theme, or go completely "code pink" on it and make it in to a fun piece that works with your existing decor (not necessarily pink, but some other eye-catching color).

I personally would keep the military look and just update it tastefully using a color scheme inspired by WWII logos like this one: http://bit.ly/VJNANO. A nice fresh coat of a slightly different shade of green, trimmed with dark blue, white and red accents could really make this thing pop.

LEAVE IT AS IS! just give it a gentle cleaning with mild detergent then apply a coat of Johnson past wax to bring out the color, hide imperfections and protect it.

I would build a base by attaching legs or large steel casters to a piece of plywood and set the cabinet on that. Then use it as as a side table, entry table or nightstand.

The way it looks is a story in itself. Nice conversation piece you have, good find!

I second Garimi, painting would ruin the history of the piece. Clean it up then leave it as is.

There's a blog called twicelovely.com with great, easy-to-paint, amazing 'before and afters'

I would try to clean it up and see what ones in better condition look like, then model it after that. Don't paint it pink!!! Keep the history.

There's a complete desk for sale here if you want to see what it looks like with the top. http://portland.craigslist.org/wsc/for/3584364440.html

I like the camouflage idea with non-traditional colors.

Clean it, get all those stickers and stuff carefully cleaned off, then live with it for a little while. I think it has a lot more visual interest in it's original patina. Or maybe paint the drawers black or a bright, but leave the outer shell rough as-is. I like the idea of attaching casters.

I kind of like it the way it is. Use goo-gone to get the sticky residue off, and give it a good scrub, stand back and see what you think.

I love this piece!! What room is it going in and what is will it be used for?
For kids' room for toys/clothes- do bold and wild colors- different color for each drawer and stencil/sticker words for what's in each! Keep them organized if that is possible!
For a bath/laundry room- crisp white or soft blues/greens. Family room- yummy warm earth tones. And check out this paint brush- http://www.creativecommodities.com/products/the-right-brush.html. The right angled handle makes painting a comfortable joy!!
Have fun and be sure to post the final masterpiece :)

You won't believe this, but I literally have THE EXACT SAME field desk. No joke, right down to the number of drawers, hardware, handles, color, everything! It looks like it is missing the top, which would have held 2 folding chairs inside and would have doubled as the 'table' and the drawer cover when it needed to be stored. I haven't had a chance to drastically alter mine so it has stayed the same army green, but I did put it up on casters (4 from IKEA) and have used it as a side table; it also stores some files since I gave away our filing cabinet we weren't filing up completely anyway.

The plan for mine was to find a fabric that really popped, something graphic and non-army looking, to modpodge to the drawer fronts, then a solid color for the tops and sides - maybe paint the hardware silver or brass to make it stand out. I'd love to see what you end up doing!

It just dawned on me that you might want some history. I bought mine from the second owner (I believe) on Craigslist for $100. He said it was built during the Vietnam War but had eventually ended up at Guantanamo (I didn't ask!) and he took it home with him.

How about: Make it a glossy black. I've used the local auto "bump" shop for old metal trunks - they spray it multiple times and it looks great, as long as you bring it in meticulously clean. Put some large brushed aluminum feet on it. Then find some small aluminum pulls for the drawers - unless everything is in perfect alignment, old drawers can be tough to open. What a find! Hope you have fun with it.

It'd be way cute if you wallpapered it. I'll keep an eye on this, though -- I have a foot locker that needs some love!

Or simply, you can do like here. With Google translate is easy:http://raduvezure.ro/o-masuta-chic/

I think it would make a great side table, little cabinet for small spaces, used in bathroom for towels and accessories, etc.
Since it doesn't look like it's in very good condition - I'd take the hardware off, do an Ombre painting technique with 3-4 colors that accent/accompany where you place it. Depending on color, I'd paint the hardware silver, bronze, gold, black or white. Ombre looks like this - in case you've forgotten. ;) Whatever you do, be sure to take some 'after' pics so we see what you chose. please
http://media-cache-ec3.pinterest.com/originals/34/ac/f4/34acf49e76e2504b0b529c7c5cf034a4.jpg

Please treat as an antique, with respect but clean up just enough just preserve its history. It's gone to hell and back again!
Painted pink will look only cheap and age badly and certainly end up in the dump.

What room are you thinking you will use it in? How will you use it? What other colors/styles/moods are going on in it's new home? It's impossible to answer this "good" question without knowing more.

I don't really have a problem with your painting or refinishing this, but its majorly cool the way it is. Leave it.

I 3rd this!! What a find. I am totally envious.

Don't paint it white.

I have this desk, too! My husband got it out of a pile destined for the dump about fifteen years ago.

You aren't going to believe this, but I loved it so much that I designed out entire living room redo around it. We took out all of the drawers and the little stools that came with it and put caster wheels on the bottom to raise it up to the right level to use as a corner coffee table. I bought a rust/gold Pottery Barn wool carpet from eBay and an entertainment center from the pottery barn itself. We got a Chesterfield loveseat to go beside it and I found a cheap wingback chair at the thrift shop that we had reupholstered in rust/gold. Our lamps are industrial and I found a leather clock to go on the wall.

The drawers bugged me. I didn't want to throw them out and I used them in my craft room for the longest time. Finally I broke down and had to do something with them. I modge podged a bunch of foreign currency that my husband had been collecting onto the bottom of the drawers and we got some plain industrial hooks at Home Depot. I drilled holes in the sides of two of the drawers and hung one on the wall and used the hooks to hang the second underneath the first. The third drawer hangs beside the other two. We use them to display fossils and other kitch from our travels.

The two big file drawers are used as file drawers. My husband made some two crates. We put a board on the top of them and another board on the bottom. More casters. That made the coffee table and we have a good place to keep our files handy. (There's a little more to that project, but I won't get into it here.)

So that little green ended up being the inspiration for our entire living room. We're going to love this look for years.

Sorry about the grammar! I was too excited to edit! lol!