(Sigh) I have a classic case o' The Blahs today and don't feel like doin' much o' anythang, which includes writing a new and riveting blog post. Or even goin' shopping, which is sumthin' I MUST do later on today, assuming the Motivation Fairy flits in and dusts me with the appropriate stuff. Or hits me with her wand, or however that works. There are mysteries in life and this is one of 'em.
So... it's a re-run fer you, and a recent one, at that. Yesterday's snark-fest about ridiculous uniforms is not without precedent, yanno? And the Air Force provides sufficient fodder every so often to keep the snark machine well-oiled and fully serviceable. Here's another one of those, in which we start off in non-snark mode until we hit the inevitable ridiculousness.
Not Your Father's Air Force XII
I found out today that the Air Force Personnel Center has a spiffy web site devoted to what used to be known as AFR 35-10... the bane of my military existence and a perpetual thorn in my non-conformist side... but is now AFI 36-2903. (Minor digression: Today's Modern Air Force doesn't have regulations; it has "instructions." This irritates me slightly, an unusual position for a non-conformist to take. Whatevah.) I found out about the web site through the (other) usual source, of course.Eye on Style: The Air Force's dress and appearance standards website is now fully operational and ready to help airmen with their uniform questions. The site is accessible via Air Force Personnel Center's public website (left column under "featured programs"). It's designed for ease of use. "It has both pictures and word descriptions of everything," said Capt. Meghan Liemburg-Archer, Air Combat Command force management officer at Langley AFB, Va. She continued, "So you can click if you have a question specifically on [physical training] wear, or you can type in 'PT uniform,' and it will show you a picture for both genders." The website also has a frequently asked questions page. Personnel officials will keep the site up to date. "The website is going to be your most accurate resource," said Liemburg-Archer. The website debuted last July. (Langley report by SrA. Jason Shamberger)"Well, cool!" sez I while promptly trotting off to check out all the different unis. I was suitably (heh) impressed with the site's ease of use, the clarity and brevity of the writing, and the sheer diversity of all things35-1036-2903. A couple o' screen shots:
There sure are a LOT of unis these days! One wonders how many of these uniforms are part of an airman's original issue, how many are "optional" (by that I mean authorized for wear but bought at one's own expense), and how many are organizational issue. As an example, the parka used to be "organizational issue" back in my day: you drew one from supply at your cold weather base upon arrival and turned it in when you left. Those things were expensive, Gentle Reader... and warm, too. The Air Force gave me the absolute best cold weather gear I've ever worn... period, end of report.
Long time readers know my "Not Your Father's Air Force" series tends to run heavily on snark and/or "Get Off My Lawn!" sorts of comments. I was thinkin' "Good on the AF" as I scrolled down and clicked on the various uniform combos, read the verbiage, and all that happy stuff. No snark potential here! Well, check THAT, coz there's THIS:
O my aching ass... It's the Mr. Rogers uniform!I've always wanted to have a neighbor just like you.
I've always wanted to live in a neighborhood with you.Way t'go, Air Force.
Ah, the cardigan. I remember THAT particular item from late in my career. I knew one guy who bought one, wore it to work (once) and got his butt laughed out of the office. He never wore it again. Now I suppose with the demise of "Don't ask, don't tell..."? Ugh, I don't even want to go there.
ReplyDeleteI don't remember the cardigan at all, and I'm not sure if that's because it didn't exist or if it's because I never saw one. I DO remember the wooly-pully, though... and with great fondness. I wore the Hell out of that thing during my three years in Ol' Blighty. I wore it out, as a matter o' fact, and I wish I still had one.
DeleteThis has ZERO to do with the post, but it's a thought that the post sparked (the chick unis).
ReplyDeleteI have always wondered why only 18 year-old men are required to register with Selective Service. Why not the chicks, too?
I don't know the gender differential in the US Armed Forces, but from what I see around here, the gap is closing. Does anyone have a solid answer as to WHY chicks don't have to register for a "just in case" scenario?
I have NO ideer... your guess is as good as mine, or mebbe better.
DeleteWell, I don't even have a guess. So, yours is better.
DeleteThe blahs - must be something in the air cuz I had them most of the day today as well. Tomorrow .... is another day.
ReplyDeleteBut tomorrow is MONDAY. That doesn't mean much to me, but to you... different story!
DeleteThose uniforms are absolutely awful. If I was a four star, I'd be embarrassed to even wear it.
ReplyDeleteBack in the 60's, it was only 505s (I think that's what the number was) and service dress. I even
wore a flight jacket with khakis, though we were not suppose to. It got cold even in CA. And the
base Norton, was more a big office complex for Systems command.
We had 505s and 1505s (the polyester follow-on) back in my day, which were replaced with the light blue shirt/dark blue pants combo in the early '90s. But yeah... I hear ya. I think things were better in our day.
DeleteThe ONLY improvement I see is the PT uni (non-existent in any form when I was in) and the "informal" (also non-existent during my service) I would have worn the s**t out of THAT uni whenever I wasn't in my flt suit. (FYI re cold wx gear, Buck. The standard flt jacket also comes--or used to--in a heaver, thicker, cold wx version that is otherwise outwardly identical to the standard issue.) But the change from AFR to AF*I* really says it all, doesn't it? It was bad enough when they took off the numbered AF patches on the Class-A uniform and on the long-sleeved khaki and dark blue shirts so that we looked TOTALLY like Bus Drivers, but the MR RODGERS look!!!!???? Well my God. It is to weep..
ReplyDeleteYep. You're spot on, Virgil.
DeletePS: I guess the "informal" was brought in to substitute for the old 1505 "suntans." I notice that the original substitute--the light blue ss shirt and dark blue pant is missing. Has it now been retired? And what about the winter "commando" blue sweater w. rank tabs for officers to be worn over the light blue ls shirt? Has that gone away too? (neither of which was yet authorized when I was in) I'm too in my cups now to bother to check out the site..
ReplyDeleteI think the informal uni is for those people that work in RecServices... or whatever they call it these days... not for general wear. I've NEVER seen that uniform in my forays out to Cannon, evah. I also think the wooly-pully is history, and that sweater wasn't only for ossifers... all ranks could wear it.
DeletePPS: I just had a thought. Is "informal" to be used only on base? Or can it be used off-base, eg., when traveling on orders on commercial transportation or airlines mil stand-by like old 1505s?
ReplyDeleteSee above.
DeleteBeing the dog days of summer, I can understand the blahs. Our temps went back up to 106 yesterday.
ReplyDeleteYeah, it was pretty warm here too... until the sun went down.
DeleteYou know about me and Mister Rogers. Love the man. Even so, that cardigan deal is just not right on so many levels.
ReplyDelete"Just not right" is pretty mild, Jim.
Delete