ROTC uniform

[ekb1398]

AFROTC, everyone get the same stuff. My son went in without a scholarship and as far as I know, received the gear. He is going in a senior and has contracted and didnt receive anything new outside of his pilot flight suit

That, actually, varies by college. I know of situations where AFROTC cadets did not get gear.

At my old school, they didn't.

 

[Pima]

Son is going to buy a whole set of uniforms as he commissions in May. Does he need to buy the Mess uniform at this point. From what I read, he wont wear it until he graduates UPT. I hate for him to spend 500 for something he may not wear for 2 years.

We purchased the mess dress when DS was a junior. At his det they wore them at least twice a year. I would say at his senior dining out that everyone that was a POC was in their mess dress. I do not recall seeing any senior not in a mess dress. He also wore it twice after graduation before UPT to attend friends weddings.

I know that at UPT he wore it at least twice, the annual AF ball and his winging. I think he may have worn it three times, because I recall him going to a friends winging the class before him.

Most parents here typically will buy as their commissioning present the mess dress if their child is going to UPT. Reason is simple, they won't be wearing their blues often. Otherwise they buy the blues before the mess dress.

 

[Humey]

Son is going to buy a whole set of uniforms as he commissions in May. Does he need to buy the Mess uniform at this point. From what I read, he wont wear it until he graduates UPT. I hate for him to spend 500 for something he may not wear for 2 years.

We purchased the mess dress when DS was a junior. At his det they wore them at least twice a year. I would say at his senior dining out that everyone that was a POC was in their mess dress. I do not recall seeing any senior not in a mess dress. He also wore it twice after graduation before UPT to attend friends weddings.

I know that at UPT he wore it at least twice, the annual AF ball and his winging. I think he may have worn it three times, because I recall him going to a friends winging the class before him.

Most parents here typically will buy as their commissioning present the mess dress if their child is going to UPT. Reason is simple, they won't be wearing their blues often. Otherwise they buy the blues before the mess dress.

Thanks for the info. The cadets at the detachment formal ball wear either the Mess uniform or the standard blue one (sorry , can’t remember the name) so it it isn’t necessary for that. They send out a email listing everything to buy after commissioning and it included the Mess uniform, so I can infer that it isn’t necessary while in college. I have no problem buying him the Mess now, but it would seem that by the time he gets into Upt and actually needs it , it will probably be a year. On the other hand , I don’t how accessible they are at the UPT bases (Columbus) if you want to buy one there. So what is your opinion, buy it now or wait ?

 

[Pima]

Every base has a military clothing store so getting it there is no biggie, he just needs to have it ordered early enough. Mess dress pants need to be hemmed. The jacket will also need the braiding to be put on because the mess dress is the same for enlisted and officers, they just place different braiding on the sleeves.

Plus, you also need to realize that others will be buying too, especially if it is around the time they are about to attend a function, be it winging, AF ball or weddings. They may not have his size in stock and will need to order it in. Or they may have his size in the uniform, but not the mess dress shirt. Or they may have that all, but not the rank or the wings for the mess dress.
~~ Wingings at all of the bases, except ENJJPT are about every 3 weeks, thus a lot of people are buying their mess dress on a weekly basis.
~~ If he wants the PARTY mess dress shirt he will need to order that online and give some leeway for that to come in.
~~ Trust me I can not count how many times Bullet in his career had to run to the clothing store a few days prior because he can't find his garters, or needed a new shirt only to find out that everybody else was doing the exact same thing. By the end of his career, and even now (retired) if he has to wear his mess dress (IE wore at DSs wedding and winging) he would buy the items at least 2 weeks out.

If you know for sure he is not going to wear it than wait because he may gain or lose wait at UPT and these uniforms are incredibly tailored. Gains 10 lbs and he might need new mess dress pants.

I would also say I think the mess dress from start to finish is closer to 600. You have to buy the shirt, the cumberbund, the bow tie, the rank, the cufflinks, the insignia (wings and ribbons). That is on top of also paying for alterations.

 

[Pima]

I would also say that although it is an expensive investment, in the long run it is insanely cheap.
~Bullet (DH) has the same one since he made O4 back in 2000.--- as stated they are very tailored, and as men age their chest size will still grow until their mid 30s. IOW, even if his weight stays the same, ie the pants still fit, the jacket across the shoulders will get to tight.
~ DS still has the same one we bought him when he was an AS300, and as stated before he wears it at least 1x a yr. The only thing he has replaced was upgrading from the official mess dress shirt to the party shirt. I believe he has 2 of them. 1 that he got for his wedding, and the one that his squadron sells.

In case you don't know what a party shirt is, when they have the jacket it on the shirt looks identical to the one they sell on base. However, when the smoking lamp is turned on, they can take the jacket off and the sleeves, plus the back of the shirt has funky patterns. IE for his wedding his wife loves Batman, so all of the groomsmen had the batman pattern. I have seen everything from Hawaiian patterns to bowling pins to the airframe they fly.

 

[Humey]

Every base has a military clothing store so getting it there is no biggie, he just needs to have it ordered early enough. Mess dress pants need to be hemmed. The jacket will also need the braiding to be put on because the mess dress is the same for enlisted and officers, they just place different braiding on the sleeves.

Plus, you also need to realize that others will be buying too, especially if it is around the time they are about to attend a function, be it winging, AF ball or weddings. They may not have his size in stock and will need to order it in. Or they may have his size in the uniform, but not the mess dress shirt. Or they may have that all, but not the rank or the wings for the mess dress.
~~ Wingings at all of the bases, except ENJJPT are about every 3 weeks, thus a lot of people are buying their mess dress on a weekly basis.
~~ If he wants the PARTY mess dress shirt he will need to order that online and give some leeway for that to come in.
~~ Trust me I can not count how many times Bullet in his career had to run to the clothing store a few days prior because he can't find his garters, or needed a new shirt only to find out that everybody else was doing the exact same thing. By the end of his career, and even now (retired) if he has to wear his mess dress (IE wore at DSs wedding and winging) he would buy the items at least 2 weeks out.

If you know for sure he is not going to wear it than wait because he may gain or lose wait at UPT and these uniforms are incredibly tailored. Gains 10 lbs and he might need new mess dress pants.

I would also say I think the mess dress from start to finish is closer to 600. You have to buy the shirt, the cumberbund, the bow tie, the rank, the cufflinks, the insignia (wings and ribbons). That is on top of also paying for alterations.

Great, thanks a lot. I think we will wait. You hear they gain like 15 pounds at UPT

 

[Pima]

Our DS didn't gain any weight at all at UPT. Some do if they are work out enthusiasts because they will not have the time to work out everyday. DS would run every Saturday, but that was it during the time he was at UPT. He also didn't in take as many calories at UPT as he did in college.
~ They typically get up @5-5:30 a.m. to be at the squadron for academics, sims or flying. They get home around 6 p.m. Make dinner and chair fly while they eat until @11 p.m. So in essence they eat 3 meals a day with no snacks in between. Their big caloric in take is Friday night when they head over to the Big House (the club) and eat the crap they put out for happy hour, plus imbibe in alcohol.
~~ Saturday is their day of rest, so many will go out and explore the area. By noon on Sunday they are back to studying and chair flying.

If you have not read raimius's blog yet (his signature tag) than you should. The UPT portion starts a few pages in, but it is true, true, true.
~ Not to take this off track, but the one thing as a parent you will want to not hear from them while they are there, unless it is a Saturday or Sunday. Mid-week phone calls equates to feeling your stomach drop and thinking is this a good call or a bad one....check rides.

 

[Mayville-Cardinal]

DS told us this weekend he is not buying his Detachment-issued AF dress uniform and wants/needs to buy dress blues and mess dress. As others parents have mentioned, we'd like to help him out and buy his uniform(s) as a commissioning/graduation gift but don't know where to start (and assume we're behind the eight ball at this late date). We're looking for any suggestions others might have... are these uniforms available for purchase online? Are there special tailoring requirements? Any/all help is appreciated.

 

[Humey]

DS told us this weekend he is not buying his Detachment-issued AF dress uniform and wants/needs to buy dress blues and mess dress. As others parents have mentioned, we'd like to help him out and buy his uniform(s) as a commissioning/graduation gift but don't know where to start (and assume we're behind the eight ball at this late date). We're looking for any suggestions others might have... are these uniforms available for purchase online? Are there special tailoring requirements? Any/all help is appreciated.

My son and his AFrotc friends traveled to Wright Patterson base in Ohio (3 hours away from school) and went to their store where they had all the different types of uniforms . They have a lady there that does all the alternations and then they will ship it to them . You can buy the stuff online and they will do the alterations for you based on info u tell them . You can also have them done locally . If your son is near a larger base, he can go there and buy what he needs

 

[Capt MJ]

DS told us this weekend he is not buying his Detachment-issued AF dress uniform and wants/needs to buy dress blues and mess dress. As others parents have mentioned, we'd like to help him out and buy his uniform(s) as a commissioning/graduation gift but don't know where to start (and assume we're behind the eight ball at this late date). We're looking for any suggestions others might have... are these uniforms available for purchase online? Are there special tailoring requirements? Any/all help is appreciated.

This is the link to the Exchange-based Uniform Store, so you can get an idea on prices. But - only someone in the DEERS system (military ID card database) can access and buy.

Uniforms with tags still on can be taken to any military base exchange uniform shop and tailored, rank insignia put on, etc. So, if he gets them delivered, it’s a matter of going to a military base.

Oops - I wasn’t allowed to post the link because of the dot-com.

Google “AAFES Air Force Uniform shop my exchange.”

 

[Humey]

Our DS didn't gain any weight at all at UPT. Some do if they are work out enthusiasts because they will not have the time to work out everyday. DS would run every Saturday, but that was it during the time he was at UPT. He also didn't in take as many calories at UPT as he did in college.
~ They typically get up @5-5:30 a.m. to be at the squadron for academics, sims or flying. They get home around 6 p.m. Make dinner and chair fly while they eat until @11 p.m. So in essence they eat 3 meals a day with no snacks in between. Their big caloric in take is Friday night when they head over to the Big House (the club) and eat the crap they put out for happy hour, plus imbibe in alcohol.
~~ Saturday is their day of rest, so many will go out and explore the area. By noon on Sunday they are back to studying and chair flying.

If you have not read raimius's blog yet (his signature tag) than you should. The UPT portion starts a few pages in, but it is true, true, true.
~ Not to take this off track, but the one thing as a parent you will want to not hear from them while they are there, unless it is a Saturday or Sunday. Mid-week phone calls equates to feeling your stomach drop and thinking is this a good call or a bad one....check rides.

Well After all that, he bought the Mess Uniform as everyone bought one