Yeah, you, guy in BDUs who spent all of Friday night hanging out right at the bar so that everyone could see you. The other women I was there with both flirted with you, and the guys I was there with both bought you a drink, but I kept my distance because the more I thought about you, the more annoyed I got. I was probably the most pro-military person in that bar, but what the fuck made you think that using your uniform to get drinks/women was a good idea? It struck me as annoying at best, verging on downright disrespectful. And you weren’t some fresh-faced recruit straight out of boot camp: I didn’t note your rank, but you were clearly old enough to know better.
My brother does this. A free drink or two and a little attention, what’s the harm? They can’t very well start any trouble in uniform. He also wore his dress uniform to our niece’s wedding (she was 19 at the time). He not only got free drinks (goddam Protestants and their cash bars) but was able to display his Distinguished Marksman medal prominently, for the groom to see.
A man wearing a uniform is certainly going to get MY attention. I don’t remember what the rules are, but I dont recall it being against the rules. When I was in basics (in the dinosaur age), we all HAD to wear our uniforms to the airmen’s club, on the rare occasions we were allowed out. Unfortunately, with those shoes (UGLY) and skirts way too long (course we had a trick of rolling them up at the waistband to make them as short as possible ) it’s amazing any guy asked us to dance.
At any rate, like a lot of women, I love a man in uniform, and I don’t see a THING wrong with a man taking advantage of this fact.
Maybe “disrespectful” is too strong a word (hence the “verging on” bit), and there’s no real harm, but I definitely think it’s tacky. Deliberately wearing your uniform to a bar to get a drink or two and a little attention is tacky. Maybe it’s just me, but I tend to hold members of our military to a slightly higher standard, especially when they are in uniform: deliberately drawing attention to yourself like that is immature and smacks of “using” the military (I guess that’s where I got the disrespect thing from).
And wearing your dress uniform to a family wedding isn’t comparable, IMO.
I never said it was against the rules, I just think it was tacky and he should have known better.
But you see the difference between that and one lone guy in uniform at a civilian bar far from the nearest anything military? I can’t imagine any cirumstance in which he wouldn’t have had the chance to change before going to that bar.
All of the other women there seemed to agree with you.
Now the above two pertain to BDU’s specifically. Wearing them off post at the wrong time or at the wrong place can get the soldier into trouble. OK, it’s not high treason, and it’s enforced differently depending on where you’re stationed, but this is pretty stupid shit to get busted over.
Hell, just wear your dress uniform. I wore mine to bars all the time. People look scruffy and militia-like when they wear their BDU’s in public places.
OK, if you got upset over the violation of regs, I’m with you, but using your uniform to get laid is an old, old tradition. Nothing disrespectful or annoying about it, unless you start copping an attitude because no one buys you drinks or promising the girls they’ll marry them.
Shit, if it helps people get laid, and it’s not illegal or devious or treacherous, I’m all for it. Half the world’s problems are caused by angry guys not getting enough sex. If the (in-regs, dress) uniform helps them get a little cookie, where’s the problem?
Could it be that there are rules specific to certain bases that prohibit guys wearing their uniforms to bars? I seem to clearly remember when my ex-husband was stationed at Fort Stewart, GA and Hunter Army Airfield in Savannah, GA, the guys were certainly not allowed to wear their uniforms into a bar, particularly BDUs. I think there was a different rule for Class As, depending on the situation, but I am not sure.
Either way, I’ve always thought it was a bad idea for someone to do that- not because of the scamming for women and/or alcohol, but because of some people being jerks to people wearing military uniforms. I know the military frowns on fighting civilians, particularly if the man in question is in uniform.
'cause it works – it’s really that simple. Pitting fellows for dressing so as to attract women seems rather silly.
Put me in the camp that thinks that it is tacky – not because it is a uniform (wear them with pride, folks), but because camo as a fashion statement is tacky, tacky, tacky. Going out on the town? Try dressing up a bit, as in wear a dress uniform. (Do you folks ever wear kilts as part of a dress uniform down there?)
Unfortunately, my required working garb is a big black cape. I can’t see myself ever getting drinks/women wearing that in a bar unless a really short sighted filly confuses me with Batman – with my luck some Robin wannabe would hit on me.
Just 'cause using your uniform to get laid is an age-old tradition doesn’t make it any less tacky to me. Hell, it could be encouraged and I’d still think it was a cheesy thing to do.
I still don’t get why you think it’s “tacky” or “cheesy”. I mean, there’s this:
Look, the military holds itself to a higher standard. A much higher standard. Those guys you see in the bar work their asses off for shit pay, and who’s to say that six months from now they won’t be dodging small arms fire in Iraq or Afghanistan. You know, if I was in that situation, and I didn’t have a wife or girlfriend, I’d probably want a little attention before shipping out to some godforsaken hellhole myself. I think passing judgement on them over how they conduct themselves in what little free time they get is a bit much.
So what if they’re drawing attention to themselves? Who doesn’t draw attention to themselves in a bar when they want something a little more than a beer? There’s nothing tacky about that; drawing attention to yourself is what you do in a bar if you want to get some company, whether you’re a guy or a girl.
And lastly, what’s wrong with “using the military”? It’s not like the military isn’t using them!
And I didn’t say you did say that. I was just trying to recall my experiences and posting a disclaimer, since I honestly don’t remember (that’s the first thing to go you know :)).
I thought you said there were two guys? And no, I don’t see that it’s all that odd. But then, I live in a military town. And a great deal of my projects happen on the bases.
There aren’t a lot of bars here that are “far from the nearest anything military”. I don’t know what happened in your specific case, maybe they’d just gotten off of a plane and wanted to relax before their ride picked them up or something?
I don’t know the circumstances of your particular gripe. But we don’t really know that it was two guys who said “you know? Let’s put on our uniforms and go party”. Even if it was, knowing the prepensity of we girls to be attracted to that, who can blame them? Tacky? Not in my book.
I mean we girls normally put on OUR best “uniforms” to attract the men do we not? And those lowcut sweaters get a free drink or two do they not? (at least in my prime, which I am DEFINITELY not now) they did.
If they felt that their most prized “who I am” was being put on display, and for a reasonable purpose (attract girls), I can’t say it’s wrong, or tacky, or all that different from us wearing tight jeans, or a short skirt and heels.
Come on, do you really think the groom was happy to be shown up at his own wedding by your brother’s medals and fancy military uniform? All grooms are shown up by their brides, of course, but it seems cheesy for a guest who happens to be an army guy to deliberately steal what’s left of the groom’s thunder by going around at the wedding saying, 'Hey guys, look at my marksmanship medal! I could shoot you dead at 100 yards with my eyes closed! Aren’t I great?"
Ok, y’all, part of me feels like it would be rude to not address every reply I get, but this isn’t IMHO or GD and I’m not going to change my mind about thinking it’s tacky to deliberately wear a uniform in a bar for the purpose of picking up girls and/or getting drinks. I’ve already explained why I think it’s tacky, but it’s not a statement of fact that I expect everyone to agree with me about: it’s my opinion, pure and simple. There is no “right” or “wrong,” and holding this opinion doesn’t hurt anyone.
I came here to vent about something that bugged me. I don’t care if you disagree with me, but I think it would be a waste of time to post “I just think it’s tacky” over and over and over. So I’ll answer specific questions, but I’m not going to feel compelled to reply to everyone who disagrees with me.
Well, no, because I don’t think they were. But even if I did, why would you expect me to say something to them? I didn’t say anything to the guy in the bar, I only vented about it here.
Why not go back and re-read the OP instead of telling me what you think I said?
There are tons of bars closer to the airport than the one I was at. Also, if he were getting picked up I doubt he would have closed the bar with us.
You’re right, you don’t know what happened in my specific case, so why not give me the benefit of the doubt that I’m not bitching about some poor schmuck who just got off a transport and stopped into the bar near base for a drink before heading to the barracks?
) it’s amazing any guy asked us to dance.
I didn’t say anything to the guy in the bar, I only vented about it here.