[QUOTE=JRDelirious]
USAF is itself thinking of changing their Service Dress once again. And the ideas being thrown about include – are you ready for it? Keep the blue, *but bring back the patterns from back in the days of the Air Corps QUOTE]
What’s really irritating to me about this PT-Cruiser version of a retro uniform is that they invoke the spirit of Billy Mitchell in the pitch.
At Mitchell’s court martial, the image of the judges, there to enforce backward-thinking policy, was symbolised by their wearing old stock-collar tunics - like the ones now being reintroduced, while Mitchell with his modern ideas wore the new lapel and necktie uniform.
Yeah, but pins are usually given upon completion of courses and stuff. There’s a ceremony, someone pins it to your chest, punches you on the shoulder maybe, and sends you on your way. If you weren’t given it you haven’t earned it and you shouldn’t wear it, so why buy it?
Anyway, I agree - buying standard equipment is bullshit, and counterproductive to boot. From my experience the only way anything happens in the military is by complaining and shouting. So if you don’t have something you complain to your CO (“Whadda you want me to do? They won’t give me one!”), and then he’ll shout at the quartermaster, and the quartermaster will shout at Division HQ, and then there’ll be a staff meeting with lots of shouting and complaining , and eventually you’ll get your equipment. By buying it yoursef you stop the process short.
To be fair, that’s one alternative being considered – click on the slideshow and you’ll see that they’re also considering the “Arnold” pattern which is the old peaked-lapel Army jacket.
The punching is considered hazing and is prohibited.
Well, there’s also the case where the member’s earned it but the awards aren’t available. Folks who’ve earned stuff like to wear it immediately and thus they opt to buy the stuff from a supplier and then later on, when the stuff’s available, the unit must issue it to them.
Really? I’m not saying they should try to recreate the Mike Tyson/Leon Spinx match on the guys chest (I’ve seen it done, and it’s not funny), but there’s nothing wrong with a symbolic tap.
It’s not a symbolic tap. There was a case not all that long ago where some Marines got court-martials because of what they were doing. IIRC, they referred to it as blooding.
This stuff is not cheap, and the soldiers don’t get paid a whole lot. These salaries are not bad if you’re single and live in barracks. But if you’re married, live in a house, have a kid…you know, a LIFE, then it’s not much at all even with the aditional cash you get for being authorized to live off post.
I’ve always figured that if you’re not going to pay these folks anything for doing what they do, then at least don’t make them have to pay to do it.
Shit I got my “Blood Wings” after jump school. Damn things were buried in my chest with blood dripping down for an hour before I could get off post and pry them off. That was twenty years ago, if I squint real hard and use a little imagination I can still see the holes it made. Any shithead that complained doesn’t deserve the award. Got the same treatment for my sergeant stripes and a few other special badges.
Abso-fucking-loutely! You’re not being trained for a pillow fight with naked sorority girls (…sadly…), you’re being trained to overcome the discomfort of a compound fracture and second-degree chemical burns on your right thigh and shreded penis in order to piss your last while pitching a grenade into a bunker so the enemy will stop turning your mates into swiss cheese.
Fucking pansies who bitch about a couple pinpricks…I loved being a sergeant. >:o)
I actually like the Hap Arnold coat. I’d lose the buckle belt, though. It’s a lot sharper looking than the current Air Force dress blues, which make the wearer look like a glorified bus driver.
The Army gets service blues with light blue pants.
The Navy gets khaki shirts with dark pants.
The Air Force gets either a high-collar tunic or a belted jacket. Everybody gets digi-camo to wear almost all the time.
But only the Marines get to keep the same sharp uniforms they’ve had for decades virtually unchanged.
Proof positive, if proof were wanting, that irony is not a prerequisite to defend our nation’s interests.
I honestly didn’t think armed forces would require its personnel to buy uniforms for themselves. There were news stories about British soldier being asked to return extra equipment they’d bought themselves for use in the Gulf so I thought the Army provided all and that was that.
The particular item in my hand is a unit crest. There is absolutely NO REASON why a unit should not have those on hand to issue new arriving soldiers.
In Korea, supply never had them! They were always out. A soldier needs 5 of them to possess a proper amount. 3 at the bare minimum. At $4.50 a piece, that’s over 20 bucks right off the bat. Add to that all the unit patches and sewing, and you’re easily droping 30-40 bucks just for showing up to work at a new place.
Assuming that even in a perfect Army where the supplies were always on hand to issue the soldiers, there are still a couple of additional issues.
Since Airborne wings have been mentioned I’ll talk about those. Yes, at Airborne graduation there was a ceremony, and wings were issued. Blood Wings are no longer authorized. But the wings they gave us were just standard silver pin-on. Most all soldiers have Staybright buttons on their Class As, and Staybright badges. So, we can’t actually wear those awarded wings on our uniforms. We have to go buy Staybright. Either that, or go buy standard gloss buttons and replace all the other badges on the uniform with standard gloss. The point is, everything has to match. So it’s even possible to still come out of pocket even if you WERE given the thing. Also, now we have to buy black pin-ons for the ACUs.
EIBs are routinely awarded but not physically issued. CIBs as well. So we have to buy one for the Dress uniform and several for the ACUs. Plus of all my medals and ribbons (not very many), I was only issued one of them. All the rest, I had to buy. But I really dont mind buying those little things. What I mind about the ACU subdued pinon crap is that it is expensive and doesn’t stay nice. They have to be constantly colored over or replaced. And no matter what you use to redarken the thing, it looks like shit afterwards.
Absolutely. But I can even tolerate little purchases every once in a while. I’ll be sure to bitch about it, but then I still go out and buy the stuff.
But 380+ bucks to get a couple of ACUs with boots, badges, insignia, and rank. And the, probably, 600 bucks for the new Service Unifrom? That’s ridiculous.
The typical gripe is that the gear provided by the service is manufactured by the lowest bidder (or at least the bidder who goes down the lowest) and as a result the quality is often poor. Witness the marvel that is the M-16a1 rifle, notorious for malfunctions during combat in Vietnam…and we’re still using it.
We like our personal firearms here in The Wild West, so you’d think, “hey, no problem. I’ll just bring daddy’s +3 squirrel hunting rifle with me to Iraq and hit every enemy soldier I see right between the eyes at 300 yards.” Nope. General issue flack vests that are almost as effective as hardened leather–no problem, buy some commercially available dragon skin. Nope. Can’t be supplying your own combat gear, gotta use the marginal crap issued to you.
So the picture is beginning to look like this: Let’s get a bunch of young people, pay them next to nothing for the worst fucking job in the world, give them suicidally inadequate protection and then make them spend what money they have left after buying toilet paper (that’s a whole 'nother rant) and body armor on another class A uniform that they’ll only ever wear in their coffin.
The priorities are all screwed up. There is no way the empire can survive like this.
