Disclaimer up front: I am currently active duty military and have traveled to/from the desert in uniform as well as other military destinations. None of the following is expected when they are deployed or in the field on exercise.
In my current assignment I travel ALOT. I’m flying 4-5 round trips per month. Now, in my current command we are not required to fly in uniform when we travel on official business. Most of the USAF doesn’t, except Air Combat Command, though I don’t think they all do. Anyway, after spending tons of time in tons of airports I have a few gripes with my comrades in arms.
Wash and or press your fucking BDUs if you are going to travel in them. You are representing the US military when you travel in uniform. I don’t give a fuck if your commander makes you wear your BDUs when you travel and you don’t like it. You look like shit and it embarrases the SHIT out of me and I’m not even in the army.
Wear the fucking things correctly. You know? Things like buttoning up all the pockets so they don’t hang wide open flapping in the wind. Blouse the damn pants correctly too. I saw a fucking Lt Col today in the Dallas airport who was wearing his BDUs like they were Wranglers hanging down over his boots. A Lt Col!!!
Stop slouching around and looking all lethargic all the time. Also stop cussing like you are in a loud nightclub. People can hear you.
Your ruck sack is an extension of your uniform and should be as presentable as it can be while you are not in field. These guys walk around with the straps flopping everywhere, coats and hats just dangling off of them in disarray.
Do something with your fucking bootlaces. These aren’t hightops. You don’t just let the laces dangle all about.
I don’t care about “being in regs”. Some of these things may very well be within regs for the army. Just “being in regs” is the same as doing the bare minimum and you can expect to be criticized for that in life in all that you do.
I rarely see Navy guys looking like complete shit. I rarely see Marines looking like shit in public. It’s exclusively the fucking soldiers and I’m sick of it. I’m an officer in the AF and technically I could take it upon myself to lock up some of these guys when they are WAY beyond the pale but cross service discipline is frowned upon so I wouldn’t do that just as they wouldn’t do it to an AF guy.
As an aside I also feel like the army forcing their guys to travel in bdus is outdated and needs to be stopped. It really comes across to me like “look at me look at me I’m a solider” alot of the time. That’s fine if you want people to look at you but at least make yourself presentable. If you are traveling to war wear your uniform, otherwise wear civvies.
Wow. I just picked up my wife from the airport. All of the soldiers
i saw coming in to Ft. bragg from Fayetteville airport looked good. That goes the ones i saw when I flew here a month ago.
Air Force? I remember hearing about them. Almost all of them are mechanics of one kind or another. Their officers dress a lot like the cabin attendants who bring me drinks and peanuts.
Not to excuse the behavior or appearance of these Soldiers, but was there any chance that these Servicemen were on R&R leave during deployment. You have to travel in ACU’s because you may not have civilian clothes with you. Also, you are on a military flight from Iraq to your hub, and there may not be enough time to change before your flight takes off. The uniforms are not pressed because these Soldiers may have been sleeping in them for the last three days trying to get home. Depending on what FOB the Soldiers are on, there may not even be a place to get your uniform sewn until you get stateside. As to pressed, you have to be kidding to think that a pressed uniform is available to all deployed troops.
As I said, I don’t know if they were returning from deployment, but that would be my guess.
I don’t doubt that some of them had been returning from the AOR but I know where many of them are going/coming from because of where I frequent and I know they aren’t home on R&R because I’ve chatted up many of them.
Even the guys going to/from the AOR don’t get a complete pass. I’ve done it 3 times. The things that are in your control (like buttoning up your pockets, blousing your boots, ensuring your velcro patches are at least SOMEWHAT straight on your sleeves etc…) are things you can and SHOULD do before you hit the commercial travel world no matter WHERE you are coming from. Live like you’re in the shit while you’re in the shit, don’t continue to live like you’re in the shit when you are sitting in the DFW airport with the US public looking on. Dallas may be shitty but it isn’t the shit.
There are always exceptions to every expectation but these guys look like they take zero pride in themselves and the US military and the sad thing is that I think many of them know that but just don’t give a shit.
I’m with the OP. My brother is a former Ranger (and current SF sergeant) and he wouldn’t be caught dead looking like shit while wearing the uniform, even if he was straight off the plane from Afghanistan.
Pants not bloused? Boots not laced? What the fuck?!? :eek:
[old Geeze] In terms of appearance, in terms of public image, in terms of having a soldier feel pride in his appearance and in himself, one of the poorer moves the Army has made was to allow a field and fatigue uniform to be worn as a travel uniform. It can’t be all that expensive to issue each soldier a green Class A uniform and make them wear it while in a travel status.
In the old days, unless in route to and from quarters or in in route from one kaserne to another , when off post a soldier wore civies, greens or tans. That was it. When the green BDUs came in it was the same rule – in fact initially BDUs were not to be starched at all, fluff dry only.
Lately I can’t tell the soldiers from the turkey hunters. When I see a soldier I want to see shined leather and polished brass. If I want to see people wandering around in ill fitting, baggy camouflage I’ll go to a sporting goods store. [end Old Geezer]
Why in good God’s name would I ever press my ACUs? I’m tired of telling people this: they’re not supposed to be pressed!! Ever!! Not in garrison, not in the field, not on parade day!! There’s nothing wrong with blousing your pants over your boots either. I don’t think it looks good but I’m not the fashion police. They’re just as right to call me out on blousing them up high or even into my boots. The “rucksack is an extension” thing…that’s news to me. Who are you to say that straps hanging out is worse than straps tucked in? Or that gear isn’t supposed to be attached to them? You’re making up your own standards and cussing us out for breaking them.
The laces thing I’ll give you, but if you’re going to go off about buttons (and I assume velcro fasteners) you should hold off judgment until you figure out if these guys actually have the buttoms and velcro still attached. I don’t think any of my 4 sets of ACUs lasted with all my buttoms and velcro intact. You’ve probably caught a few genuine dirtbags but, jeez, lay off on some of this stuff.
Class A’s are kind of expensive and thats not counting having insignia, patches, ribbons and all that put on it. ACU’s are pretty crappy in my opinion. They wear out faster than BDUs did under use.
But if the soldiers the OP saw were in BDUs they may have been Air Force. (which makes them airmen not soldiers. ACUs are wash and wear though.
I’m with you. When I was a soldier I was not allowed to wear BDUs off post unless I was going to or returning from work. I think it’s a shame that the army has relaxed it standards to the point of doing away with the green class A uniform and allowing soldiers to wear their ACUs in transit.
I understand the point of not allowing soldiers ro press their BDUs and ACUs, but they should have a dress uniform to wear traveling instead of walking around looking like they’re in the field.
First of all, if you are walking around in public your shit shouldn’t look like you just grabbed it out of your dufflebag and threw it on to go jump on a United Airlines flight to Ft. Bliss. I don’t give a shit whether they are meant to be pressed or not. If I have a choice between wearing a uniform that looks like I pulled it out from under my sleeping dog or running a hot iron over it I’m going to hit it with an iron. My ABU’s are wash and wear and we aren’t supposed to press them. That doesn’t mean I’m going out in public in a uniform that looks like I just don’t give a fuck.
The Lt Col’s pants weren’t bloused over his boots. THEY WEREN’T BLOUSED AT ALL. Take your blousing straps out of your pants and pull your pant legs down over your boots. That’s what his were doing. Soldiers/airmen/marines who blouse their pants several inches above their boots look like clowns.
A crooked flag or crooked airborn patch is just lazy and ugly. Of course if the velcro isn’t there I’m not going to say “straighten out your patches”. Think a little here man.
As far as your rucksack goes I’m not making up any standard. I’m saying that they look like shit when empty straps are dangling off unattached. Does the Army require a regulation for even the most basic common sense stuff like that? Seriously?
You go out on the parade field dressed in ACUs that look like what I see every time I travel and any flag officer worth his salt will lock you up and send you off the line and back to your quarters to straighten yourself out.
I’ve had my ABUs for 2 months and 3 buttons have come off already because they are cheap pieces of shit. I sewed them back on with the $2 sewing kit that AAFES sells. It’s that easy. Take care of your shit so you don’t look like a clown.
I agree with the poster that said that soldiers, and other branch members for that matter, should not be allowed to travel in BDUABUACUWHATEVERUs. We should travel in class As (or service equivalent) or civvies. End of story.
As far as I’m concerned, leisure travel shouldn’t be in uniform, period. I once got stranded at DFW because my incoming flight was late and I missed the last connecting flight home. Unfortunately, I was separated from my luggage because it had been checked through and the airline wouldn’t (or couldn’t) give it to me. Consequently, I ended up spending the night with nothing more than the cotton whites on my back. I looked good when I checked out on leave, but no one can spend 24 hours in any uniform and look presentable, and cotton whites are hell on earth to keep clean.
After that, I just packed civvies in my carryon bag and changed at the airport. It was so much easier and more comfortable.
Huh. Different strokes I guess. The way I look at it, we are sending these guys over to get their asses shot at. If they are willing to do that for their country, they can dress in purple mumu’s for all I care.
You talk the talk, but can you walk the walk? One of the jobs of an officer is to lead by example. So do it. When you travel, put on your uniform. Let those who are sloppy see you and be embarrassed when they think of how their uniform compares to yours. Approach those whose outfits offend you, but don’t give them a dressing down instead just a few words of encouragement to smarten up.
Also, if I were flying in Combat Boots, and were I smoker (and thus required to go through security to return from smoking), I might not have my boots laced until after I got through security and got a chance to sit down. Can’t imagine holding up the line to get boots on and off if they were laced up. Huge PITA.
It’s not optional to travel in uniform for AF members. We are not allowed to travel in uniform unless travelling in formation (ie deploying as a unit) though a few units do require certain member to travel in uniform. I have travelled in uniform many times in the past though and I’ve never been so worn out from travel or so worn out from deployment that I couldn’t be bothered to keep myself presentable.
Also, I’m not saying the boots aren’t laced up I’m saying the laces, which are LONG boot laces, are left dangling and flopping all over creation.
I guess alot of you just wouldn’t understand unless you are/were in the military. To you it’s a littl thing for someone to walk around with a crooked patch on their sleeve. To us our first impression of a service member is how they carry their uniform and it’s a shame that these soldiers can’t be bothered.
instead just a few words of encouragement to smarten up.