Thanks for the info. Good to know. And thank you, on this Veterans Day, for your service to this great republic.
Not sure if this is totally relevant to your question, but when my brother graduated from boot camp last month, they all wore their ACUs - we were told they are not allowed to graduate in their dress uniforms during a time of war.
When did “BDU’s” become “ACU’s”?
i get it cut down to the scalp so I only I have to get haircutsevery two weeks.
It’s a jay-oh-kay-ee.
Roughly around 2005 was when they started making the transition. This old post has a brief breakdown of the different cammie uniforms out today.
I may be hijacking this thread, but anyway.
A heartfelt thanks to all veterans and current members of the allied armed forces.
Because of you, I live as I wish to do. Thank you.
Of course, but throughout my military career I heard a lot of people whining about “having to pay for their own uniforms.”
Speaking of whining, it just occurred to me that perhaps the trend of having the ACU as the uniform for memorials is so the Soldiers going to it don’t have to do all the spitshine stuff of yesteryear. I’d see that as a good trend!
Roger that. Looking sharp is one thing, needless chickenshit is another.
I was Navy, not Army. I served in relative peacetime, and I never had to attend a service for a lost coworker or friend. This makes my theory below only an educated guess:
When a full dress uniform event comes up (change of command, retirement ceremony for senior personnel, awards ceremonies…), they impact the regular working day in a significant way.
Everyone has to take time off to get their uniforms ready (as mentioned in post #10), and people are going to need to set aside some time that day to actually change into the uniform (most folks don’t wear their inspection-level dress uniform longer than they have to, because it gets soiled quickly), which usually involves touching up the shoe polish, checking for and removing Irish Penants, and stuff like that. This can add an hour or more to the actual event itself, possibly making the ceremony an all day affair.
The community is possibly still in a little bit of an emotional shock, and making this event a full dress uniform affair was considered an unneccessary source of stress. Allowing the use of the working uniform may also make it feel like it’s more “in the family”, and less of an intrusive dog and pony show.
Irish Pennants?
Join the Marines, and you can really go to town: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/f/f1/PlateV_Evening_Dress.jpg
:smack: Yeah, those. Sorry for the poor spelling.
Well, I was actually asking what an Irish Pennant is. I didn’t even notice your spelling.
It is a little bit of stray thread or string, usually on the seams or cuff/hem of a garment.
Ah, thanks. I figured from the context that it was something that wasn’t part of the uniform, like a burr, but it was capitalized so I thought maybe it was a type of uniform patch that was inappropriate for certain occasions or something.
An Irish Pennant is basically slang for lose fibers. Usually they get snipped or burned with a Bic lighter.
Ah, too slow.
Well, the action photo was a nice touch anyway. 
I’ve seen the term in the Aubrey-Maturin books, appiled to sails and rigging. From the context, the meaning is similar.
Back to the main topic, I’m pretty sure the reason they wore ACUs was because these soldiers were probably at work an hour earlier and went back to work an hour afterward. They’re in their duty uniform because they’re on duty.
When I saw the nice setup they had there, my first thought was that there was some sergeant major, somewhere, ordering around a platoon saying “the President is coming. This had better look good.” and making the soldier’s life…‘stressful’. I was conflicted about whether I approved of Obama going to the ceremony at all, for that very reason.
So I’m sure there was enough to-do just with the president coming. It’s too much to make everyone jump through a bunch of hoops to wear a dress uniform too. Had they done so, I definitely would have cringed for the soldiers and certainly disapproved.