New Army PT Uniform

[scoutpilot]

First, for years Marines carried a set of service uniforms in their seabags for liberty and leave no matter where they were at. i would bet you would find the Army did something similar...although I could be wrong about the Army.

Second, while I can accept the wearing of Cammies while traveling in and out of theater....I personally cannot stand the wearing of cammies for an everyday uniform. These new "wash and wear" utilities do look sloppy and very unprofessional.

I don't know where the idea of starching and ironing a uniform that was made to be worn in combat came to be equated with "professional." I think wash and wear is exactly what a utility uniform should be. You wouldn't starch a pair of carhartt pants, would you? I always found the starching of BDUs to be insane. It ruined them for field use--their intended use.

Do I think we should wear them everyday? No, especially those for whom the field is someplace that others go. You want to be a PAC clerk or an intel desk-jockey? Wear your Class Bs to work.

But, I find the idea of hauling Class A's to an COP on a mountain-top in Afghanistan so we all look pretty when we fly home for R/R is ludicrous. God forbid the nation be reminded that they sent their military to war.

For official travel otherwise, my first choice is that no uniform be worn. AT/FP being what it is, calling attention to ourselves isn't smart. But if we do travel in uniform, it should be a dress uniform and not a utility uniform. I'll agree with you there.

 

[LineInTheSand]

For official travel otherwise, my first choice is that no uniform be worn. AT/FP being what it is, calling attention to ourselves isn't smart. But if we do travel in uniform, it should be a dress uniform and not a utility uniform. I'll agree with you there.

But then how would you get your free meals and advanced boarding on planes?

 

[scoutpilot]

But then how would you get your free meals and advanced boarding on planes?

I tell them I'm one of the Romney boys.

 

[bruno]

But then how would you get your free meals and advanced boarding on planes?

Well- I fly a damn sight more commercially than most (and I'm pretty confident more than the folks posting on this thread unless you can top 108 k in miles last year on United and close to 90k thru October this year) and I am happy to see the external world treat people in uniform with some consideration and have yet to hear anyone (other than LITS for some reason) begrudge them that treatment. And frankly it's good for the military to be seen by citizens outside of Fayetteville or "Hop Town" or Norfolk etc... so I am all in favor of them travelling in uniform, and I don't think anyone would really argue that a service member coming home on midtour from Afghanistan in ACUs, Cammie's etc, is out of place.
But I can't see any excuse for Conus travel in those uniforms. Flying out of San Antonio at 0515 this morning- probably a dozen E3s in Airforce Cammie uniformson that flight from SA to Houston- they weren't enroute from a war , nor were they enroute to one- they were coming from Lackland. A couple of weeks ago- I sat with an Army 1 star in ACU's on his way back to Bragg from South Texas- with his aide carrying his Blue's in a garment bag back in Coach. He was on his way back from a soldiers funeral- he should have been travelling in uniform and it darn sure shouldn't have been fatigues.

The policy now is sloppy and it's mostly explained by laziness.

 

[LineInTheSand]

I am happy to see the external world treat people in uniform with some consideration and have yet to hear anyone (other than LITS for some reason) begrudge them that treatment.

I don't begrudge them, I just don't automatically sit and heel. I've paid for a drink or a meal, more than once, for my fellow service members, after I separated.

While I was in, I had more than one meal bought for me, by who? Who knows. I was thankful. I had a number of Amtrak tickets passed back to me "use this another time".

Granted most of this was just after 9/11.

That said, I never expected it. I never had issue when my ticket wasn't passed back to me or my meal wasn't paid for.

If my inclination isn't to automatically pay for a meal that is likely already being paid for, while on travel, is "begrudging" that I shall begrudge away.

 

[AF6872]

The history:

http://usmilitary.about.com/cs/generalinfo/a/berethistory.htm

Still think "cammies" are horrible for travel. Took the Freedom Bird to Clark AFB but had to change into Class A for trip to CONUS. Showing up at Travis and traveling home in fatigues was a no no. And we were expected to have that uniform in the duffel.