Okey dokey, then can you tell me what B.D.U. stands for?
I would think that anyone who was put off by that should instead stop and think that these people are there in the military to defend them and get the heck over their “put-off-ness.” They’re just clothes. I mean, what are you asking, that soldiers/airmen/whatever change clothes before going home? Never been seen in public in BDU’s? What about police officers? You want them to change before they go off duty, too?
The soldiers playing in the band were performing their duties. They wore the uniform their command told them to wear. If you think your “I pay your salary” argument will fly, why not visit the commander and tell her how you feel?
That issue disposed of, soldiers at the supermarket are probably on their way to or from work. At my last post when I was the service, the Army and air force were allowed to wear their uniforms to do quick errands on the way to and from work. The Navy was not; they couldn’t even pump gas while in their uniforms. Nowadays I would guess that there’s more laxity about the wearing of uniforms since so goshdarned many people are enjoying the military’s hospitality lately. You might have noticed in the news in the last several years that lots of National Guard and Reserve units are mobilized.
Some soldiers are undoubtedly breaking the rules for reasons of their own, but that’s not exactly your problem. Again, if it’s really bothering you, bring it up with their command. Hey, you pay taxes, right? That makes it your job to set policy, right?
As for paying soldiers’ salaries: they pay taxes, too.
This has been covered before in this thread- the Base commander and other commanders make this decision, not the individual enlisted man. He may not be able to wear “class A’s”.
If you’re so proud of that uniform, why don’t you get it squared away i.e. remove that chip off the shoulder? The same microsegment of the population that takes offense of the sight of you in your BDU would have the same opinion of you in your class A’s, or if you appeared dressed in civvies but took your hat off indoors and revealed your high and tight.
We are not all like that. We know that in towns like Fayetteville and Tacoma you supply 60 cents out of every retail dollar pumped into the local economy, and we don’t begrudge you the need to pick up a loaf of bread on the way home
Some of us who do acknowledge the need to maintain and equip the best possible fighting force in a fucked-up world, many of whom ourselves wore that uniform and look back upon our own service with gratitude, nonetheless wonder if your presence in your fighting uniform isn’t a manipulative policy by those who would have us in a constant state of fear so that they can enjoy a constant hold on power.
Oh, is that the system?
Well, I pay their salaries, too. In fact, the odds are I pay more of their salary than you do. And I say that wearing uniforms in public is just fine.
If you’d read the whole thing through, you’d have read that that was about the Class A equivalent of dress blues, not the dress greens in general. Dress greens are still in effect; I see them constantly at the Army bases. The dress blues shown at the bottom of that page are service dress blues, worn only (someone correct me if I’ve fucked this up) by non-commissioned officers. Privates can’t wear them, but if they have a formal event they have to attend, they can wear their dress greens.
If you have a problem with combat wear, you’re in for a hell of a surprise. BDU’s are normal wear on most military bases nowadays. When I was at MCRD San Diego, you saw two uniforms: Dress Blues (rawr) and camouflage (well, and occasionally their version of dress greens…usually on the drill instructors). And you have to have authorization to wear dress blues.
To the best of my knowledge, they don’t actually call them (BDU’s) that anymore. I may be wrong, but I’m relatively sure they switch to some other, less-combat related, more politically-correct acronym. I remember hearing about it in high school, along with the whole black beret thing.
Oh, and Lil’ Slugger - I dare you to walk up to any serviceman or woman and tell them you think they ought to change out of their hard-earned uniform because “I pay your paycheck.” First, because they pay taxes too, so that’s a stupid argument, and second, because the majority of sane people in this country aren’t put off by cammies in public, so why should they bow to your whim?
If the soldier in question had their gun with them in public, I’d probably be a little more disturbed. But just cammies? You’re out of your damn mind.
~Tasha
Are you also fine with them not wearing uniforms?
I for one would just like to pop in and say that I’m always fine with Marines and Soldiers not wearing their uniforms. Wearing them is good, too. Just the dog tags works, too.
What?
Seriously though, I’m going to chime in and say the OP is being a bit silly. Soldiers are people too and do have to take care of daily minutia like the rest of us. And just like I don’t always have time to change out of my business suit after work, sometimes the military-folks don’t have the time for the same.
And don’t cammies = BDUs? Don’t pretty much all the branches have dark green and light brown and that’s pretty much what they wear every day to work? That goes for the tank operators *and * the guy who does accounting. My boyfriend sits in an office fixing computers and he wears his cammies every day.
Like someone else said, if there was a Marine wandering through Wal Mart in his cammies, with an M16, a helmet, and some Kevlar. . . well, then I’d be a little confused and concerned. And probably turned on, but that’s an entirely different issue.
They upset me because of the “killing other people” part of the job; going to another country and killing people is not defending me. It makes me sad that people use the energy and gifts they have to be aggressive toward other people, and being willing to kill them. So yeah, uniforms and military clothing is upsetting to me.
I think I share the same feelings. In addition, soldiers are trained to kill. I would like them to leave that mentality at work, along with the uniform.
Well, Mrs. Bricker might take a dim view of this response, but I believe there are a fair number of our nation’s military that I would be willing to see sans uniforms, yes.
strongly agree 
What the hell does the clothes have to do with it? I have worn one uniform or another for the past 18 years. My attitude and thought processes don’t change when I change clothes. It’s a work outfit. Sometimes that work means running around in the woods with a weapon. Sometimes it means doing paperwork or sitting in a classroom. If it is your wish to not have a military at, sorry. The world isn’t all puppydogs and rainbows.
If you said this to me in person I’d toss a nickel to you and tell you to keep the change.
Neither the band or their uniforms are prescribed by law. Personally, if I were not from the USA and liked it enough to become a citizen, the dress of the band or even their absence would not concern me at all.
Many things are essential for civilian society. The military is one of them. In a perfect world, they would not be necessary. But this is not and never will be a perfect world. Perhaps being reminded of that is what’s unsettling you. <shrug>
Since the soldiers have no authority over you, that’s your inference, not the uniform’s implication.
George Orwell, “Notes on Nationalism”.
I work near a base, and I see people in fatigues all the time, at the local restaurants & such. Never occurred to me to be bothered by this…are they supposed to change into civvies before they run out for lunch?
Not if they’re going back to work or on the way home. Obviously, a soldier can’t run around playing Army guys in his cammies on his days off, but if he’s en route or something it’s not generally frowned upon.
If you were being sarcastic, I bow to you. 
~Tasha
I’m sure it does - at least, most people’s do. The purpose of a uniform is to define what you are. It affects the wearer’s sate of mind, not just the perceptions of those around him/her.
I never claimed my feelings were logical or justified. We are still in IMHO, aren’t we? I know it’s my problem that I’m disgusted at the sight of combat uniforms.
There’s some truth to the idea that your clothes color your attitude. I mean, I remember how much of a badass I felt like when I would wear a team jersey to school on the day of a game. I don’t know if that’s a shared experience for everyone who played high school sports but we did it at my school. It’s like, “I’m part of an elite group, and you’re not,” I guess. Call it pride, or cockiness (what’s the difference, anyway?)
Frankly, I don’t care whether a military person is wearing the uniform out of practicality or out of pride. It’s their uniform, they can wear it when they want. I feel the same way about deputies using their sheriff’s car to drive around off the job - I don’t mind it at all. There are people among us whose job it is to maintain order or fight, it’s just a fact. I’m glad that they’re here to serve us.
See, that’s the logical disconnect I see all throughout this thread. On the one hand (A), guys working on military bases are just regular Joes and Janes like you and me, and dagnabit, if they don’t want to be hassled to change out of their work clothes before going home, well, it’s their choice and nobody’s business to tell them otherwise.
But on the other hand (B), we’re also told here that they have no choice as to which kind of uniform they are allowed to wear off base. It’s the base commander’s call, sir yes sir, and they snap to attention and follow orders.
So which the hell is it?
And for the slow of reading, let me reiterate one more time that I’m not disputing whether military people wear uniforms among the populace. It’s which kind of uniform I’m questioning. As my dad has told me, and as confirmed by several veterans in this thread, it used to be that dress greens would be worn off base, never combat uniforms.
Why did that policy change? If it’s for the sake of expediency, well, I find that expediency carries an inverse correlation to courtesy–courtesy to the civilian population who elect the officials who are their bosses, and pay the tax money that keeps their organization running.
But if it’s not simple expediency–if someone higher up has decided to change longstanding policy on uniforms in order to send the population a message–well, I like that even less, for what I hope to God are reasons obvious to you all.