Sunglasses? lol.

i was mistaken, AO and Randolph are separate companies. i thought they were the same because they are both based in Massachusetts, and the both have had the contract at different times for providing military glasses that are practically identical
 
A6E Dad said:
i was mistaken, AO and Randolph are separate companies. i thought they were the same because they are both based in Massachusetts, and the both have had the contract at different times for providing military glasses that are practically identical
Click to expand...


AO Original Pilots can be customized here. They were the first nice pair of sunglasses, or anything really, that I bought myself. I credit Ryan Gosling as Neil Armstrong in First Man. I'm glad I chose the right pair.

My original pair is now on the bottom of the Severn :(
 
A6E Dad said:
you're right, junk was the wrong word. these are high quality glasses, not polarized though. at least in my time, there weren't very popular among active aviators.

i still have my original mil spec HGU/4P glasses from American Optical (later became Randolph Engineering - based in nearby Randolph, MA). iconic design going back to the '50s i think, used by Navy, AF and NASA.

View attachment 5829 View attachment 5830
Click to expand...
American Optical still makes them - do a google search. The last time I saw them at an exchange, they were AO branded.

I've worn the issue version since about age 10 as my dad was an aviation chief with good sunglass/flight jacket connections in supply.
I still keep a pair in my car and used them as recently as yesterday
 
My DS and I both wear AO Optical sunglasses. Mine are very old (1980's) "flashy" gold frames with the brown lenses, and his are new within-regs silver with grey lenses. His pair looks designed exactly like mine (even though his were given to him in 2017). Mine also have the bigger 57mm lenses/frame to fit my big potato head. I think he has the 52mm iteration.

When I see those teardrop Ray-Bans, I chuckle.
 
On R-Day after standing in line outside in the sun for hours, #3 Cadet headed into Ike Hall w/ his sunglasses firmly placed on his head. We did the 30 second good bye and he headed down to meet his destiny with his sunglasses firmly place on top of his head. He would have completed the amnesty station before he was photographed getting onto the bus from Ike Hall to Thayer Hall, in which he had the same sunglasses firmly placed on top of his head. Future pictures of him leaving the Thayer in the Army PT uniform and ill-fitting low quarters did not include sunglasses.

I asked, 'Did you really head into your new life as a plebe with sunglasses on top of your head?'--and the response was, "I figured it out and disposed of them."

To the OP, you won't need sunglasses other than the protective eye gear that is issued to you during BEAST.
 
DrMom said:
On R-Day after standing in line outside in the sun for hours, #3 Cadet headed into Ike Hall w/ his sunglasses firmly placed on his head. We did the 30 second good bye and he headed down to meet his destiny with his sunglasses firmly place on top of his head. He would have completed the amnesty station before he was photographed getting onto the bus from Ike Hall to Thayer Hall, in which he had the same sunglasses firmly placed on top of his head. Future pictures of him leaving the Thayer in the Army PT uniform and ill-fitting low quarters did not include sunglasses.

I asked, 'Did you really head into your new life as a plebe with sunglasses on top of your head?'--and the response was, "I figured it out and disposed of them."

To the OP, you won't need sunglasses other than the protective eye gear that is issued to you during BEAST.
Click to expand...
He didn't report to the Cadet in the red sash with them? That would have been classic.
 
to continue the thread derail....

RayBans were the original Aviators, invented for military pilots in the '30s and the design hasn't changed. in the 80s, they were a lot more popular in the fleet than the issued AO's were, although in places like the LSO platfrom or the tower, the most popular glasses were the ones that were more of a wraparound style, like oakley's etc.

RayBan is no longer an american company though, and nothing beats a small, private company that manufactures high quality in the US like Randolph and AO.

back in the day, those teardrop RayBans were popular with some groundpounders too....

lieut-macarthur.jpg
 
Last edited:
bull74 said:
Hello everyone,

I was wondering a couple of things:

First, are sunglasses allowed for incoming cadets during beast?

Are Cadets allowed to wear sunglasses during the Academic Year if they are AR-670-1 Compliant?

Is there anyone with experience on this that could recommend a pair or two?
Click to expand...

Most likely, you will not be allowed to wear shaded eyepro(or sun glasses) as a new cadet. This is so you can't sleep while wearing eye-pro and pulling patrol etc..

Generally, the only people I see wearing sunglasses around, during the academic year, is people who just got PRK(corrective eye surgery).
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top