Our Long National Uniform Faux Pas is Over (kind of)

It has taken almost two decades, but the "everyday casual" meets COSPLAY meets to damn lazy to look professional uniform trend birthed by the Boomers post 911 seems to be retreating.

Excellent news;

In recent messages to their respective forces, the services announced that, effective July 6, Marines and sailors must exchange their comfortable camouflage utilities for crisper service uniforms, at least when they're in the Pentagon and in certain locations around Washington, D.C.

Sadly, it was not a fully victory. Some people who just COSPLAY too hard went in to high-warble for an exception;

It notes that sailors who are on duty in the National Military Command Center, Navy Operations Center and DiLorenzo Tricare Health Clinic within the Pentagon reservation are permitted to wear camouflage utilities and flight suits.

I will take the "W" and carry out the plan of the day.

The standard uniform of the day for sailors in the National Capital Region is now service khaki for officers and chief petty officers, and the Navy Service Uniform for enlisted sailors in ranks E-1 to E-6, Ed Zeigler, a spokesman for Naval District Washington, told Military.com.

A corresponding All-Marine message released June 30 dictates that the uniform of the day for Marines within the Pentagon reservation is the seasonal Service "B" or "C," a uniform with olive-green trousers or skirt and a long-sleeved or short-sleeved khaki shirt, depending on season.

"We aligned the Navy-Marine Corps uniform policies in the National Capital Region and the Pentagon Reservation to demonstrate a unified, professional image of our integrated Naval Force," Zeigler said, adding that the decision was made by Naval District Washington "in coordination with Navy and Marine Corps leadership."

The Navy Defines Professionalism Down

I can hear Mama Salamander right now;

If everyone else jumped off a cliff, would you?

This is wrong in so many ways.

Starting Monday, Navy personnel will walk the Pentagon’s corridors dressed in green as the service falls in line with the other military branches who years ago authorized wearing utility uniforms throughout much of official Washington.

On Oct. 1, the green camouflage Navy Working Uniform (NWU) Type III officially supplanted the Type I, popularly known as the “Blueberries.” In doing so, the Navy worldwide joined the other service branches in donning a camouflage pattern composed of mostly a green décor.

However, by authorizing Navy personnel in the Pentagon, on the Navy Yard and at several other facilities in and around Naval District Washington (NDW) to hang up their khakis and wear the Type III Saturday through Thursday each week, the Navy is bucking a long-standing policy of using a more formal working attire in the nation’s capital.

I didn't like it after 911 when other services did it. The fact we are following their mistake is beyond understanding.

Why no?
1. I see the people in the Metro. They are sloppy looking, unkempt, and seem out of place.
2. In a republic of a free people, its military should not be wearing a combat uniform in the nations capital as daily wear. It sends the wrong message.

Mostly, it is just an unprofessional look.

Are our leaders so ashamed to be Sailors that they are content to let everyone be mistaken for being a Soldier or Marine?

Just a poor, patronizing, and wrong headed call.

...and so; Goodbye to the Blueberries

As I've been aghast at the NWU since 2006, let me quote myself (a favorite pastime) when the Navy decided to force the blueberry uniform on us;

This is the wrong answer. As we say in D.C. - I non-concur, sir.

At last, our long national nightmare is over;

The last day of approved wear of the Navy Working Uniform (NWU) Type I is Sept. 30, as this uniform has been replaced by the NWU Type III, as announced in NAVADMIN 174/16.

If people would just listen to 'ole Sal and the Front Porch earlier, we would be saved from such grabassery - but such is life.

Next, let's move on to LCS.

Another uniform failure

OK fine, I'll say it.

Everyone, man and woman, looks 5-months pregnant.

Ditch these horrible uniform options, visit every ship in SNMG1 and SNMG2, steal the best ideas, and then try again.

The Women's Revolt

So, you know that "force women to wear men's combo covers" that had our female Shipmates' nogg'ns all cattywampus?

Well, head on over to USNIBlog where something happened that will make you proud of the female contingent of the Potomac Flotilla.

Ratings fiasco isn't a leadership or a Navy problem; it is a Mabus problem

Though I think they are on the right path in macro terms, in the details I have to non-concur with the NavyTimes editorial of 23 Oct;Navy's personnel policy fiasco is an important lesson for leaders;

The Navy’s recent decision to strip job titles from every sailor is a misstep of epic proportions – one that should serve as a stark lesson for leaders across all the services.

This fall, the Navy revealed it was suddenly removing all 91 of its enlisted ratings. This so-called “modernization” effort has been billed as a way to broaden training and career opportunities for sailors. It also satisfies the Navy’s desire to strip “man” from its titles, i.e. fire controlman, corpsman and seaman.

This move, thrust on the service by Navy Secretary Ray Mabus with the endorsement of Chief of Naval Operations Adm. John Richardson and his former top enlisted adviser, was poorly conceived, researched and communicated to the fleet.

It’s been a total morale crusher, with thousands of sailors lobbying for an immediate reversal.

Unlike the other services, sailors have been identified by their job title and not just their rank. As one sailor noted, ratings have been part of Navy tradition since 1775. For sailors, it’s part of their identity – a badge of honor and a source of pride.

“Our sailors don’t understand it,” an E-9 told Navy Times about the change. “We don’t understand why this could not have been a two- to-three year, very gradual process that examined all of the effects from advancement to recruiting.”

This isn't a leadership failure, this is a leadership agenda. The SECNAV wanted this to happen, and happen this year, and it is. Part of leadership is following orders. In the USN chain of command, that goes to the SECNAV.

He gave a lawful order, one based on the most silly foundations of the 3rd Wave Feminism of today with a bit from the 1970s where he cut his intellectual teeth, as I covered on my previous post on the topic at USNIBlog.

This is all socio-political agenda in action. Nothing more than someone having power and using it for their own purposes. There is nothing modernizing in this move, but it does fit an agenda, the SECNAV's agenda.

I encourage you to go read the entire editorial and then come back. Better yet, read it twice. You can almost see where they wanted to pen a much stronger editorial, but backed off.

Future military leaders should use this as a case study. Avoid such fiascos at all costs. Challenge your superiors when they propose harebrained ideas. Make sure that sweeping change is done with careful forethought and proper execution.

How do they know that didn't happen? As a matter of fact, from what I have heard that is what happened ... but only to an extent. Warnings were giving, objections provided, but there is this simple fact; when the SECNAV gives you a lawful order, you have one of two options; you can execute that order as best as you can, or you can resign your position.

No one in a senior position decided this was worth resigning for.

SECNAV decided that he would do what he wanted to do based in the advice from others and for reasons best known to him. There was not desire for this from the Fleet. There was no initiative from the uniformed leadership. He created this out of whole cloth which whatever gender-issues advisors he listens to. He wanted it done before he left, and it hoping that institutional inertia and a guard of PC Commissars he put in place will stop it from being overturned when he leaves.

It’s a shame that Mabus took away these time-honored titles so abruptly, marring what is expected to be his last months of service. He’s created a mess and handed it off to the next service secretary to deal with.

That isn't the only mess, but this is one that will stick out early for whoever replaces him.

The remedy to this fiasco is to reinstate these titles immediately and wait for the results of the career flexibility review, when officials will finally be able to answer the questions on sailors’ minds.

That isn't going to happen as long as Mabus has a hand on the lever of power. Get used to it.

This is all so sad and unnecessary. For a SECNAV who I once thought had so much promise to bring us to this sad, fevered spot with full uniformed leadership support is useful in this respect - it shows that there is a full-submissive compliance to civilian leadership. That is a great tradition this nation has, shame it is being abused for such a petty, personal, political reason.

I'll leave you with one of my favorite sayings. When you continue to decided that this issue or the other one is not a "hill worth dying on," eventually you find yourself surrounded, in a ravine, with your opponent owning all the high ground. 

That isn't a great place to start to fight, so why would anyone expect one? The only options is surrender or death.

Political death does not get one seats on Board of Directors, appointed to Commissions or Panels, or appointed to positions of influence in the civilian sector.

The End of Blueberry Season

It looks like The Front Porch can close a file from the extended rant drawer and put it in the "victory" file;

The Navy’s most mocked camouflage uniform will soon be a thing of the past, the service announced today.

The Navy Working Uniform Type I, blue camouflage utilities commonly referred to as “blueberries,” will be replaced everywhere in the service by the forest-green NWU Type III camouflage utilities developed by Naval Special Warfare Command as a tactical uniform.

According to an announcement today by Naval Personnel Command, sailors will have the option of wearing either the NWU Type I or III beginning Oct. 1 of this year, and will be required to wear the NWU Type III as the primary working uniform ashore and in port by Oct. 1, 2019.

Well praise Buddha - another bad idea from a decade of bad ideas is finally done.

I should have known better than make fun of the Turkish Air Force back in 2005, because a year later - well, you know the story from my opening salvo on the topic in March of 2006, "Sweating My Balls Off;"

Look at that heat-sink (higher res here). Everyone who has been deployed on the deck (not in the air looking down) to Oman, Kuwait, Bahrain, Afghanistan, Saudi Arabia, and/or Iraq during the summertime in the last 5 years raise your hands. The summer, heck spring and fall, direct sun of SW Asia should not be a shock to anyone. Throw in the deck of a CVN and think about how dark that uniform is. I am not going to even talk about the "blue theme." That BDU is going to give Sailors heat stroke and will do zip, zero, nada to anyone trying to hide in a desert environment.

I hope our Corpsmen get to wear Marine BDU. If you are Haji bringing your AK up on a group of Americans, if you even bother to aim, where are you naturally going to point....right! At the dark target against the light background. This is so wrong in so many ways. I like that they kept the hat and all, but just take the Marine or Army pattern, save some money, and get to the business of the Navy. I am sorry. I don't care about your desire to hide you paint stains (this won't do it BTW). This is the wrong answer. As we say in D.C. - I non-concur, sir.

All the reasons we are ditching this horrible uniform a decade later were known then. That is why we need to look very hard at the institutional mindset that got us here. This was the uniform no one asked for, liked using, or thought in hindsight was good. Well, some people did - but you know the type.

The evidence was all there that we had options, but we ignored them. Why? It can only be mindless bureaucratic inertia and loyalty to personalities inside a toxic command climate. Then again, this is the same team that birthed LCS, so there you go.

Enjoy this outstanding decision, but use this as an example. Remember the Blueberries for what they represented, and when you are wearing stars, don't be that guy.

Women's Uniforms: Yeah, I went there ...

... and I went there over at USNIBlog. 

After I wrote it, I'm not sure exactly why I did it. One way or another, I think I'll piss off everyone.

Head on over and give it a read.

Blueberries - almost ripe for the picking

Glory, glory, glory. Someone arrange a triumph for CNO Richardson;

After six years in the fleet and some controversy, the blue-and-gray cammies could be headed for Davy Jones' seabag.

The digital blue Navy Working Uniforms were a fleet mainstay until 2013 after they were found to be unsafe to wear while fighting a fire. One plan is ditching these blue Navy working uniforms in favor of their green cousin. The service could potentially save millions by switching to the woodland cammies already worn by Seabees and master-at-arms. The green-and-tans are also not flame-resistant but would be the standard for ashore wear; flame-resistant coveralls and flight suits are mainstays for at-sea wear.

They say six years, but here at CDRS, we've been against this horrible idea of a uniform for over a decade. Yep, even back in 2005.

Let's go back to the article from a few days ago. What is driving this move?

He’s heard sailor's complaints that the heaviness of the fabric makes it hot from shoulders to boots. Sailors have told him it's “very uncomfortable,” he said.

Sure, the blue NWUs have been popular with those who like the battle dress-styling. But its camouflage is an open joke. Sailors have called it their “blueberries” and gagged that their foremost value is concealing paint spills. Even the Navy secretary has mocked it, saying three years ago that “the great camouflage it gives is if you fall overboard.”

Indulge me a bit. What did I say in early 2006, a decade ago?

Look at that heat-sink (higher res here). Everyone who has been deployed on the deck (not in the air looking down) to Oman, Kuwait, Bahrain, Afghanistan, Saudi Arabia, and/or Iraq during the summertime in the last 5 years raise your hands. The summer, heck spring and fall, direct sun of SW Asia should not be a shock to anyone. Throw in the deck of a CVN and think about how dark that uniform is. I am not going to even talk about the "blue theme." That BDU is going to give Sailors heat stroke and will do zip, zero, nada to anyone trying to hide in a desert environment.

I hope our Corpsmen get to wear Marine BDU. If you are Haji bringing your AK up on a group of Americans, if you even bother to aim, where are you naturally going to point....right! At the dark target against the light background. This is so wrong in so many ways. I like that they kept the hat and all, but just take the Marine or Army pattern, save some money, and get to the business of the Navy. I am sorry. I don't care about your desire to hide you paint stains (this won't do it BTW). This is the wrong answer. As we say in D.C. - I non-concur, sir.

Why are we only now sending out trial balloons on getting rid of this albatross around our neck? Again, it is as simple as it is maddening. 

From the start, I was not alone is seeing the problems with this uniform. Almost all knew this was a bad idea. This was supported and pushed because it was so desired by personalities. Even after those personalities were gone, inertia from timid leadership kept it going forward. We had to wait until this mistake thoroughly soaked in to the Fleet until we admitted it was a bad idea.

Sad.

There were a lot of bad decisions in our Navy a decade ago that we are still paying the price for, and will be for decades. Blueberries is a small one, but a significant one. It is probably too far to address the SA uniform our E-6 and below are wearing, but I'll take any victory I can.

Make it so.

His predecessor is too ear-deep in the food trough to say why he did not take action - but that is the past. CNO Richardson, BZ and please follow through. It makes sense and our Sailors will love you for it.

Oh, and whoever approved this paint job, can we fire them or at least make them fly plastic dog-poo out of Hong Kong?

The Guinea Pigs of Annapolis

I would like to take a moment to apologize to the female members of the United States Naval Academy Class of 2015; they were not assigned the right female leadership with the right priorities - and I think the picture of the Lieutenant (for the record, not her fault either, sorry to use your pic Shipmate - but it is what the Navy wants us to use) to the right tells you all you need to know as an executive summary, but let's go a bit in to the detail.

The women of this class have been used repeatedly as guinea pigs for new "gender neutral" uniform testing. Why our future 2LT and ENS? Well, because of who they are and where they are, just a few people can force their will on them and ignore any feedback they may receive contrary to a narrow agenda. These agenda driven leaders could blaze their trail on the back of other women because the other women had no say in it or effective redress of grievances.  

Great leadership lesson to the next generation, fellow GenX and junior Baby Boomers. Well done. Well fracking done. Pick up your CAPT Holly Graf Memorial Leadership Award at Gate 8 between 0200-0245 on Sunday.

In a way, we had good warning of this when the class of 2015 had male covers strapped on their heads, so no shock it seems they will have the clearly ill-fitting and uncomfortable choker whites to complete the loop.

Midshipman First Class Adriana Ayala, who was part of that initial fitting, said the new dress whites are "definitely different, nothing like any uniform" currently worn by females. It closely resembles the male version but is well-fitted to the female body, and "it does look very sharp."

"It is comfortable, but definitely not as flexible as the old uniform," said Ayala, a history major from Englewood, California, who is slated to be a surface warfare officer aboard the destroyer Gonzalez in Norfolk. "It's pretty stiff. Maybe it takes some breaking in; it was definitely hard to move our arms."

I've been blessed to discuss this with few female MIDN who, rightfully, are trying to stay under the radar, but their concerns deserve a voice. I'm going to take a bit here and there from those conversations and outline how this happened to the broader audience.

When the switch to male combination covers occurred in 2015's 3/C year, both male and female MIDN came out voicing their disapproval. A survey was even done of the female MIDN, and the vast majority disapproved. Other surveys were done, and from the perspective of the MIDN, results ignored. 

Even after significant negative feedback, the opinion of those impacted most evidently did not matter to the agenda. 

If the look wasn't right, then the spin was there was a chance to get a better fit.  Better fit, more approval - that was the theory. 

So now for their graduation they have been fitted for choker whites, another male uniform in an effort to make them more "standardized" (AKA - not look like they are a woman; implying, again, that there is something wrong with being a woman). The thing is - they are not standardized.

These women are joining the Fleet and the first thing they want to do is to get started right and integrate themselves as soon as they can ... but at graduation, they are wearing a uniform that no other women are, and may never in the long run. If that plays out, for the rest of their lives, their USNA graduation pictures will have them in their guinea pig outfits. That is wrong on so many levels ... but I guess that doesn't matter. 

I fully understand why the opinion of a NROTC retired CDR does not matter to Annapolis - but why ignore those most impacted, the female MIDN themselves? I think we answered that questions already, but it begs to be asked again.

Is it fair and right that their male classmates will be in their traditional officer's uniform, while the female MIDN will be in an experimental, training uniform? 

There will be female officers present from the Fleet, with different uniforms than the newly commissioned ensigns. That is not uniformity. That is not standardization; that is experimentation. 

In a larger sense, what is actually wrong with being a woman? What is so important to awkwardly make them look like a man on graduation? The underlying message keeps coming back; there is an assumption that being a woman is something to hide from. 

I'm sorry, come closer so Mama Salamander can slap 'yo face, her son flinches even pondering such a mindset. 

Toxic leadership? There's your Ref. B.

There was an opportunity to modernize the female uniform here, and the female MIDN might have been a great place to brainstorm solutions. Those in power, it seems, did not want the MIDN for their brains, they only wanted their bodies for others to work through their own issues on.

Their input was not desired, only their presence. This is how they found out;

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Debbie [redacted] ;[redacted]@usna.edu>
Date: Mon, Nov 17, 2014 at [redacted]
Subject: Mandatory 1/C Female Choker Coat Fitting Starts Today at 1300
To: "Midn_2015.[redacted]"
Cc: Linda [redacted] [redacted]@usna.edu>, Michael [redacted] [redacted]@usna.edu>

CLASS OF 2015
FEMALE FITTING

PLEASE READ ENTIRE MESSAGE

Starting today, Monday, 17 November at 1300 the 1/C females will be having a mandatory fitting of the choker coat.

Location: Dress Uniform Issue Center, 5th Wing Basement
Dates and Times:
Monday, 17 November 1300-1545
Tuesday, 18 November 0730-1545
Wednesday, 19 November 0730-1545

USN Female Choker Coat Program Information is as follows:

1.0 Background. In conjunction with the Gender Neutral effort endorsed by SECNAV, NEXCOM via N13 has tasked Navy Clothing and Textile Research Facility (NCTRF) to develop a Female Service Dress White Coat design that mirrors the Male Service Dress White Choker Coat design but addresses the female fit. In addition to modifying the fit of the coat to align with USN Female sizing, a metal hook and eye closure will be incorporated into the neck closure and a review of the Female USMC (development), the Australian and the Korean Choker Coats will be conducted. Coats will be evaluated in the current CNT fabric. End goal is to outfit the Class of 2015 Females graduating from the US Naval Academy in a Choker Coat Uniform consisting of a Coat and Slack or Skirt (TBD) .

2.0 Size Prediction Process Females will be issued a Choker coat and either a skirt or slack for the May 2015 graduation. The standard cover that was previously issued to the Midshipmen will be worn with the choker uniform. During the week of 17 Nov a team of professionals from NCTRF will be onsite to measure and try on coats to accurately predict the correct sizes. An associate from the USMC Uniform team will be present at the size prediction session as well. In the event that you have applied to be accepted into the USMC you will be predicted into both the USN and USMC choker uniform.

In an effort to expedite the process please arrive at the site:

- Wearing a T-Shirt under you uniform. As part of the process you will be required to take off your uniform shirt.
- With your sizes of the SDB Coat, Skirt and Slack examples of the sizes 12 MR , 10 JP - the sizes are on the tags inside your uniforms

The process will be as follows:

a. Report at the scheduled time and fill out an information sheet
b. Remove your uniform shirt
c. Fitters will take your measurements
d. Try on sample coats for fit assessment (USN and USMC if applicable )
e. Put shirt back on and exit the issue site

The time to complete the above process is estimated to be 10-15 mins (this does not include a wait time - we have 2 teams)

Again, why the big drive for gender neutrality? Women are different, and that is OK. Not inferior, just different. I thought we were supposed to embrace our differences and find strength in our yada yada yada. But no, instead, we mindlessly throw a male uniform on them.

Let's go back to what could have been done to help modernize the larger Fleet issues with female uniforms - instead of ruining the visuals for graduation. We, yes we, could have used the opportunity to find better fitting and better feeling working uniforms. 

Some ideas that have come my way; 
- Slim down female summer whites tops, so women are not fighting against their shirts bunching. 
- Put pockets in our working uniform pants. 
- Change the fabric of male and female SDB's.
- Oh, and the 1950s are calling, they would like pants 4 inches above the belly button style back. 

Our young female leaders are better, and deserve better than this. 

Want to know what a small number of people working through their personal issues from the '70s, '80s and '90s looks like on the back of women born in the first Clinton Administration? Well ... here you go.

In the larger sense - this is one avoidable shadow on what should be and will be a great day for the Class of 2015 later this month. My advice, have the serenity to know there is nothing you can do about it. Handle it with grace, and move along. In the end, it really does not matter for the Sailors and Marines you will soon lead. 

For both men and women of '15; well done and ... get to work.

Crossdressing a few hundred million dollars of social justice

How does one address this wonderful example of the power of satire - and the power of pushing back against absurdist policies that the powerful force in to those under their thumb?

Well, our good friend Chap gave me an idea I am more than happy to steal.

Shot:

More than half of some 770,000 soldiers are pessimistic about their future in the military and nearly as many are unhappy in their jobs, despite a six-year, $287 million campaign to make troops more optimistic and resilient, findings obtained by USA TODAY show.

Twelve months of data through early 2015 show that 403,564 soldiers, or 52%, scored badly in the area of optimism, agreeing with statements such as "I rarely count on good things happening to me." Forty-eight percent have little satisfaction in or commitment to their jobs.
...
the internal data obtained by USA TODAY shows most soldiers today trending in the wrong direction. Two-thirds were borderline or worse for an area called "catastrophic thinking," where poor scores mean the soldier has trouble adapting to change or dwells on the worst possible things happening.
...
-- About 300,000 soldiers or nearly 40% didn't trust their immediate supervisor

Chaser:

In the “Walk a Mile in Her Shoes” event, cadets were required to wear high heels and march to “raise awareness of sexual assault against women.”

Is there a connection? There sure is. You make the larger connection for yourself ... but I want to dive in to the specifics of this pebble in the shoe.

There are so many ways to address it from here, it is difficult to know where to go.
- Regardless of what the ROTC leadership says, this was not voluntary any more than my wife saying, "I don't think I can even think about cooking dinner after a day like today," is a neutral statement about the odds of a full dinner for the family from the capable kitchen of Mrs. Salamander. Chinese takeout it is.
- There is something very wrong at the ROTC unit at ASU. Just look at their own pics; the fetish for the sloppy ACU everywhere (just look at their website) and the golf shirt by staff puts forth a less than professional image in general. The non-uniform wearing of the ACU during the off shoot of "Slut Walks" needs no further commentary from here.
- This does nothing to address the very real issue of s3xual assault, this is just rolling in the hot-house cause-of-the-moment faux-outrage pushed by agenda driven radicals in the only place they can get away with it; government college campuses and places where opposing viewpoints, and often facts, can be suppressed by intellectual fascist cadres.

The way the broader world knows about this is a reminder how the traditional media continues to fail. 

Bravo Zulu to the folks over at AWTFM - they did some top level work bringing fresh air and light to something that can't stand either ... and gave a voice to those whose voices are choked by toxic command climates. They don't mind being called names by bringing out uncomfortable absurdities of the reactionary college leftists and what looks like their Army supporters.

One of the sure ways that the SJW Cultural Marxists know they have been caught out in the open ... they try to cover their tracks. In the 24-hrs after their standard threats and bluff - the guilty parties have resorted to opaque statements and deleting their digital footprints.

Finally, let me quote Chap about a sinister 2nd order effect of forcing Cadets in to what is a humiliating communalist degradation - "voluntary" or not. Reminds the historically literate of;

... the signs on the Chinese they had to parade around during the height of the Cultural Revolution.

You have to, as always, look to the Direction and Guidance coming from leadership.

At ASU, Major MAJ Michelle Bravo, USA. What happened in your command? The folks at AWTFM have a solid track record on things like this - was this really you?

"I saw a comment posted by someone who made a false statement regarding Arizona State University Army ROTC. I am the Professor of Military Science for that program. We are having a "Walk a mile in her shoe" event tomorrow in support of the Chief of Staff of the Army guidance to support efforts to stand against sexual violence. This event is not mandatory and we are not wearing our uniforms. There is no retribution for someone choosing not to participate.

I would like to know the name of the individual that posted that information. They truly are misinformed and are clearly not representing our program or the Army in the way that a future officer should."

Not mandatory? When my commander defines something as a "mission" - I don't give it a pass. As a NROTC guy, I was focused on doing what was needed to get my commission and to stay out of trouble. The Commander has a priority? Well, it is my priority. Maj. Bravo knows this dynamic. If she does not, she is not in the right job.  

Uniform requirements? They seem rather clear.

Back to the actions of the guilty.

If it is such a great event ... who do you have to go to googlecache to find it now? All over the place ... googlecache is the only place to find it.

I was willing to give everyone the benefit of the doubt until everything started getting deleted.

I know that I am in the minority opinion that there is a horribly slack attitude towards looking sloppy in uniform in public - but that problem comes from the top. Just spend time in the DC Metro looking at all the combat uniforms, wrinkled, faded with only a shoddy civilian backpack over the shoulders hiding that slop from the public.

Here is another data point.

One would think that a 1-2 day a week ROTC uniform requirement could at least put on a professional veneer ... but again, I know I am the minority. Sloppy cross-dressing? Well ... the pics speak for themselves.

Major General Combs ... this is going on all over your command. I guess you're cool with it then?

A nation at war. At war with a brutal enemy who will be trying to get at our throats for decades to come. One of the only things we have going for us in the enemy's eyes is the fear they have of our military. 

In a world where face - especially for men - is critical ... and this is what we are doing to ourselves in front of everyone? And for what besides our own self-preening?

The senior Army officer, General Dempsey and General Odierno ... you're OK with this? Really?

---

UPDATE: Drudge is linking to a Doug Ernst WashTimes article on it ... so ... yea; lots of air and light;

“Attendance is mandatory and if we miss it we get a negative counseling and a ‘does not support the battalion sharp/EO mission’ on our CDT OER for getting the branch we want. So I just spent $16 on a pair of high heels that I have to spray paint red later on only to throw them in the trash after about 300 of us embarrass the U.S. Army tomorrow,”

---

UPDATE II - Electric Boogaloo: 

BEHOLD!

A spokesman for U.S. Army Cadet Command, Lt. Col. Paul Haverstick, said ROTC units across the country were directed to participate in Sexual Assault Awareness Month events on their campuses “to help stamp out sexual assault on the campuses where they have a presence.” But Maj. Gen. Peggy C. Combs, the cadets’ commanding general, did not direct how the units would do so, and had other events as options, Haverstick said.

“After receiving some comments about uniforms, we are currently reviewing how local universities implemented their participation in these events designed to raise awareness on the issue of sexual assault,” Haverstick said in an e-mail.

About 15 of the 120 cadets at Temple University wore uniforms for the event, said Army Lt. Col. Gregory Nardi, the professor of military science there. It was an optional event, and most of those involved wore their uniforms, he said. Temple cadets will adhere to any guidance that senior commanders have for the event in the future, he added.

---

UPDATE: The Navy has beaten Army ... again. 

Here be dragons.

Hey, if everyone else is getting a warfare pin ...

For the details, click here.

Hat tip GM

Nice Salad Bar

Last week's pic of the 1st Sea Lord had me thinking about uniforms again. With perfect timing, the folks at GlobalSecurity put out a topical piece, The Sukhomlinov Effect.

"There is a curious, disturbingly regular, pattern apparent here. In war, victory goes to the side whose leaders appear the least prepossessing. The handsome dressers lose. This is particularly obvious for military field dress. ... It is not accidental, therefore, that the revolutionary's garb is puritanical, a symbol of renunciation of the old order. There is Mao Tse Tung's boiler suit. Ho Chi Minh's simple jacket. Fidel Castro's messy fatigues. It is the outlook which such renunciation garb represents that gives staying power to the Long March, single purpose to the revolution, and appeals so seductively to the jaded mentality of bourgeois intellectuals." [James, BJ; Beaumont, RA (1971) The Law of Military Plumage (Dressed Up to Kill). Transition [Magazine] 39: 24–27.]

In Dirty Little Secrets, James F. Dunnigan and Albert Nofi write [on page 283]: "Consider the lessons of history: the barbarian invasions, the Dutch War for Independence, the English Civil War, the American Revolution, the French Revolution, the Napoleonic Wars, the American Civil War, WWI, the Russian Revolution, WWII, the several Arab-Israeli Wars, the Vietnam War, and the Afghan War were all lost by the side that had the snappier uniforms. There is more than a coincidence here, though the suggestion of a "law" at work is perhaps a bit facetious. ... The Sukhomlinov Effect describes a common pathology of armies. Particularly in peacetime, armies tend to concern themselves more with appearances and style than with fighting skill, which cannot, after all, be demonstrated. Men who "look" like generals- tall, ruggedly handsome guys with broad shoulders and splendid posture who wear the uniform well- are more likely to be promoted than those who may have a real talent for war, since the latter may not meet the peacetime criteria. Although lots of fine commanders have been short, and fat, and slovenly, they had to wait around for a war before they could prove themselves. There is no known way to pick the able generals in peacetime. As a result, despite a few notable exceptions, the generals who command at the onset of a war are rarely still in charge by its conclusion."

We have all heard the arguments for the ribbon-for-not-getting-a-BCD-this-year and the you've-reached-your-PRD-medal - and I don't buy them. Never did, and still don't.

Besides how patronizing they are, think of the admin-overhead they cause. I don't know about you, but British, Canadian, and German military performance is quite fine with their few and far between awards.

How did all that work out for our friend Sukhomlinov?

Vladimir Aleksandrovich Sukhomlinov (1848-1926), the Russian general and war minister, was born in 16 August 1848. He passed through the cavalry school in St. Petersburg, and in 1867 was given a commission in the Guard Ulans. He graduated from the Academy of the General Staff in 1874. He took part in the war with Turkey in 1877-8 as an officer of the general staff, and was awarded the St. George Cross of the fourth degree.

From 1884 to 1886 he commanded a dragoon regiment and from 1886 to 1897 he was the head of the officers' cavalry school in St. Petersburg, having meantime in 1890 been promoted to the rank of general. His next appointment was as commander of the 10th Cavalry Division. In 1899, while commanding the troops of the Kiev military district, Gen. Dragomirov appointed him as his chiefof-staff and later as his assistant. His close connexion with Gen. Dragomirov, who enjoyed enormous prestige in the Russian army, ensured Sukhomlinov's future career. After the death of Dragomirov, he was appointed commander in Kiev.

In March 1909, Vladimir Sukhomlinov took over the post of Minister of War of the Russian Empire. He was a proponent of the development and use of new technologies; Thanks to him, the Russian army established automotive units and a naval air fleet. In 1911, the Russian army military counter-intelligence was established.

In the Council of Ministers at Suhomlinova had a difficult relationship with Minister of finance V.N. Kokovcovym, who sought to reduce military spending. In the midst of the first world war, when in the spring of 1915, the biggest disadvantage of shells and other military equipment, Suhomlinova became regarded as the main perpetrator of poor supply of the Russian army. In June 1915, he was dismissed from his post as Minister of war, and soon there began investigations of his activities at the ministerial post.

In March 1916, Vladimir Sukhomlinov was dismissed from military service in April was arrested and while the investigation continued, had been detained in Trubeckom bastion of the Peter and Paul Fortress. In October, he was transferred to house arrest. As co-defendants were also his wife E.B. Butovic.

The trial of Suhomlinovym lasted for months. He was charged with treason, idle power and bribery. The majority of the allegations had been substantiated, however, Vladimir Sukhomlinov was found guilty of unpreparedness of the army for war and sentenced to indefinite and deprivation of all rights. His wife was acquitted. Katorga was soon replaced by a term of imprisonment, and was placed in Sukhomlinov Trubetskoy bastion of the Peter and Paul Fortress.

After the October revolution, Vladimir Sukhomlinov was transferred to another prison. In May 1918, as a result of an amnesty, he was released and then travelled to Finland and from there to Germany. In exile, wrote memoirs, which tried to rehabilitate him. Vladimir Aleksandrovich Sukhomlinov February 2, 1926 died in Berlin.

But, he looked sharp, I guess.

Can you go back? How do you put the salad bar back in the tube? It would take one heck of a SECDEF and CJCS .... with a little zeitgeist at their back. 

No time soon, methinks - and that is sad. We are a better military than that; a better people than that. At least, I think we are. Am I wrong?

I don't think so. When did all this go south? It was before my time, probably dates - as many things which are bad - to the late '60s to early '70s.  

It really got bad in the 1990s though when they got rid of the UIC quota for NAMs. When was it? 1995?

The Army and USAF went off the deep end earlier than that methinks, and the USMC is the last one holding the line, but from what I have heard, they have picked up the other services' bad habits.

Does it matter? Of course it does. 

By diluting real achievement, it loses its significance and makes it hard to point your finger at what is really desired. You turn exemplary service in to a needle in a haystack. You make average to sub-par performance in to exceptional performance. When all is exceptional, then nothing is.

You sate the insecure at the expense of recognizing superior performance. That is not a formula to promote a culture of striving. That is the cost.

Hat tip MH.

Sunday Funnies

Better late than never

At last ... some sanity WRT shipboard uniforms;

Within the next nine months, the average sailor deploying on a ship will have a flame-resistant coverall in his or her pack, something most don't have now.
...
To date, only sailors with specific jobs in engineering or other hazardous locations are issued flame-resistant clothing to do their jobs.

The Navy Times reported recently that the panel found there weren't enough fire-resistant coveralls issued even for those specialized sailors, which led to the panel's conclusion that all sailors needed their own.

While Fleet Forces cannot change what is issued to a sailor in the sea bag - that falls under the domain of the Navy Uniform Board - a command can issue its own gear to sailors.

"This is a piece of organizational gear that every sailor should have at their disposal should a fire break out," said Lt. Cmdr. Brian Badura, a Fleet Forces spokesman.

A Navy official said the fire-resistant coveralls will come out of a command's budget and, at least for now, sailors will not incur a cost.

A second working group is using the first group's findings to review whether all Navy uniforms, particularly the standard "aquaflage" uniform, should be flame-resistant.

The Navy does not require flame-resistant working uniforms for general sailors on board. Officials say the standard uniforms are safe because major shipboard fires are rare and fire gear is available.

While we seem to be tripping over our own red tape - good to see positive progress.

A couple of notes though; how long, really, does that second working group really need to work? Just get a good coverall for at sea use - and get on with it. Need money? Our Diversity Bullies seem to be flush with it. Ditch NWU completely.

Read the last part of the quote above; aircraft fires are rare and fire gear is available at airfields - but that doesn't stop the aviation community from wearing their nomex flightsuit every time they fly. Ponder.

Hat tip Herb.

NWU - Can we at Least Have a NPLOR?

I don't know what is worse; that it has taken so long just to do this simple test - or that we knowingly AGAIN put our Sailors in unnecessary danger for such mindless reasons.

You don't need me to tell you that on a warship, a fire, attack, or mishap does not wait for you to change clothes. It does not only endanger those who have the right NECC.




ICYMI last month from NavyTimes:

The video released Thursday — which had been requested a week earlier by Navy Times — shows the Oct. 15 flame-resistance test, which compared the blue-and-gray NWUs with other services’ combat uniforms. Strips of each fabric were hung and exposed to flame for 12 seconds. Testers then measured the results.

The video first shows the flame-resistant organizational gear used by the Marine Corps. It behaved as rated — the fire went out immediately once the flame was removed and the fabric didn’t melt.

The NWU is the second fabric tested. It’s exposed to flame at the 19-second mark in the video. Twelve seconds later, the external flame is removed; the fabric is already engulfed in flames.

"Burn Robustly Until Completely Consumed"

That is a phrase that no one wants associated with our Sailors .... but if you are wearing NWU's and think that it is in a different world than the old CNTs ... well ... you need to read the following P4.

R 120737Z DEC 12
FM COMUSFLTFORCOM NORFOLK VA
TO COMPACFLT PEARL HARBOR HI
ALFLTFORCOM
ALPACFLT
INFO CNO WASHINGTON DC
COMUSFLTFORCOM NORFOLK VA
CHINFO WASHINGTON DC
BT
UNCLAS PERSONAL FOR COMMANDERS, COMMANDING OFFICERS, OFFICERS IN CHARGE AND COMMAND MASTER CHIEFS SECINFO/-/-// MSGID/GENADMIN,USMTF,2012/COMUSFLTFORCOM NORFOLK VA// SUBJ/NAVY WORKING UNIFORM// REF/A/MSGID:MEMO/VCNO/10MAY1996// GENTEXT/REMARKS/1.  IN 1996, NAVY LEADERSHIP REMOVED FLAME RESISTANT REQUIREMENTS FROM NAVY WORKING UNIFORMS (NWU).

CONSISTENT WITH THIS DECISION, COMMANDS HAVE SINCE THAT TIME BEEN REQUIRED TO PURCHASE FLAME RESISTANT ORGANIZATIONAL CLOTHING FOR SAILOR USE.  THERE HAS BEEN NO CHANGE IN THIS REQUIREMENT.  THEREFORE, THE NWU TYPE I WAS APPROPRIATELY DESIGNED WITHOUT FLAME RESISTANT QUALITIES.
2.  ON 15 OCTOBER 2012, AN IMPROMPTU TEST CONDUCTED BY THE NAVY CLOTHING TEXTILE RESEARCH FACILITY IN NATICK, MA REINFORCED THE FACT THAT THE NWU TYPE I IS NOT FLAME RESISTANT AND FURTHER FOUND THAT WHEN SUBJECTED TO FLAME IT WILL BURN ROBUSTLY UNTIL COMPLETELY CONSUMED.
3.  AS THE CNO'S EXECUTIVE AGENT FOR DAMAGE CONTROL MODERNIZATION AND IMPROVEMENT, I NEED YOU TO ENSURE THE
FOLLOWING:
    A.  SAILORS ARE AWARE THAT TYPE I NWU'S LACK THIS FLAME RESISTANT QUALITY.
    B.  SAILORS HAVE BEEN PROPERLY ISSUED FLAME RESISTANT ORGANIZATIONAL CLOTHING IN KEEPING WITH DUTIES ASSIGNED:
E.G., ENGINE ROOM PERSONNEL, PERSONNEL INVOLVED IN FLIGHT RELATED DUTIES, DAMAGE CONTROL PERSONNEL, FIRE FIGHTERS, WELDING, COMBAT MISSIONS SUBJECT TO IMPROVISED EXPLOSIVE DEVISES (IED) ATTACKS, ETC.).
4.  INFORMED BY THIS IMPROMPTU TEST AND IN COORDINATION WITH THE UNIFORM BOARD, ADM HANEY AND I WILL CONTINUE TO REVIEW THE REQUIREMENTS FOR -- AND FLAME RESISTANT QUALITIES OF -- WORKING UNIFORMS, INCLUDING THE TYPE I NWUS.  WE WILL EXPLORE LONG-TERM SOLUTIONS THAT AFFORD OUR SAILORS THE RIGHT PROTECTIVE CLOTHING, ALIGNED WITH THE TASKS THEY ARE REQUIRED TO PERFORM IN VARIOUS OPERATING ENVIRONMENTS.
5.  ADM BILL GORTNEY SENDS.//
BT
#0008
NNNN

This is a good and responsible message, but I do not think this goes far enough. 

A warship can, at any time, become a place of explosions, flame, steam, and heat. Just ask the crew of the USS COLE - Sailors don't have time to say, "one second, let me change uniforms" when by either mechanical error, human error, or enemy attack they find themselves in a position where they are covered head to foot with something that, ahem,

... WHEN SUBJECTED TO FLAME IT WILL BURN ROBUSTLY UNTIL COMPLETELY CONSUMED.

Make sure that everyone gets this message, and incorporates good follow-on questions up their Chain of Command.

IMAO this is just another reason NWU needs to go on the ash heap of uniform history.

Hat tip oneofthegoodones.

---

UPDATE: OK, here is the video.

I'm sorry, I really appreciate the effort - but maybe I'm missing something. It took us 16 years to realize that something we are ordering our Sailors to wear on warships burns and melts in to flesh, which is unacceptable .... yet we are telling everyone to carry-on and wear it anyway when there are much better options available right now?

Does anyone appreciate DC101 WRT flash and fire? This can only be an answer that makes sense if you are not battleminded and trying hard not so say, "We made a mistake that is deadly. We were wrong."

OK, I guess if the Flag Officers will not make the right call, then it is up to the Commanding Officers to make the call - and if they don't, the CMDCM's to ask the hard questions. If I may be so bold as to suggest an opener from behind the closed door; 

"Sir, the Navy discovered a month ago that this uniform burns on its own and will melt in to our flesh. Why are your Sailors beign ordered to wear this fire hazard on your ship while underway?" 

That's a start.

Find Super SWO!

We have come very close to destroying the Navy Brand as a marketing person would understand it. Look at the video below, and if you know what I mean you will only see one person who in one second says, "Navy."

Skipper - I need to buy you a beer.



The other guys? Who knew the Battlestar Galactica convention was going on?

Hat tip Coops.

Gen. Dempsey takes Salamander's advice

Shall I quote myself? What a silly question.

From my 26 May 2011 post about his next position as CJCS,

...good luck General Dempsey, congratulations!

Before you leave as Army Chief of Staff - could you get rid of Shinseki's "everyone-gets-a-trophy" stoopid berets? Now get to work.

Wait for it .... wait for it ....

BEHOLD!

The U.S. Army said Monday that it was abandoning the beret, after a failed 10-year experiment.

The black beret, which proved deeply unpopular with American soldiers, will be replaced by a patrol cap for everyday wear, U.S. Army spokesman Col. Tom Collins said.

The move came after outgoing Army chief of staff, Gen. Martin Dempsey, asked the Army's sergeant major "to go out and talk to soldiers across the force and see what was on their minds," Collins told AFP.

"One of the things that soldiers consistently brought up was the desire to wear the patrol cap as part of their duty uniform," he said.

Not totally gone ...

The beret will still be part of the Army's dress uniform, but will no longer be worn in the field as soldiers complained that it was impractical, he said.

... but I'll take it.

What is my scorecard? Multi-cam adoption: check. Beret gone: check.

Now, if I were only as successful with the Navy ....

Sagging, Bunching, Bulging, Protruding

No, this is not a post about Skippy's opinion of American women - but about NAVADMIN 025/11.

The part about new uniform regulations WRT cell phones made me laugh.

B. USE OF PORTABLE COMMUNICATION DEVICES. EFFECTIVE 60 DAYS FROM THE RELEASE OF THIS MESSAGE, COMMUNICATION DEVICES (E.G. CELL PHONES, BLACKBERRIES, PAGERS, ETC.) ARE AUTHORIZED FOR USE AND WEAR WHILE IN UNIFORM (TO INCLUDE WALKING) IN THE MANNER PRESCRIBED AS FOLLOWS:
(1) COMMUNICATION DEVICES SHALL BE CONSERVATIVE IN COLOR AND DESIGN AND SHALL NOT DISTRACT FROM THE APPEARANCE OF THE UNIFORM.
(2) ONLY ONE COMMUNICATION DEVICE IS AUTHORIZED FOR WEAR AND CAN ONLY BE WORN ON THE BELT OF WORKING AND SERVICE UNIFORMS AFT OF THE ELBOW.
(3) WEARING OF COMMUNICATION DEVICES ON SERVICE DRESS UNIFORMS IS NOT AUTHORIZED.
(4) COMMUNICATION DEVICES WILL NOT BE VISIBLE FROM THE FRONT AND WORN IN SUCH A MANNER AS TO IMPEDE THE NORMAL WEAR AND APPEARANCE OF THE UNIFORM (E.G. SAGGING, BUNCHING, BULGING, PROTRUDING ETC.).

I want to meet the person who can wear a smart phone that way and EVER sit down. Aft of the elbow? Really?

I've never worn such (I consider them on par with pocket protectors) and never liked them in uniform period, but seriously - who can wear them like that?

Fair policy, I guess. But .... making me take my bluetooth ear piece off when entering base is silly. That is no less distracting than Mrs. Salamander in the right seat commenting on my driving every 5 seconds. Now, if MA2 Aquaflage could stop that - then on-base safety would be drastically improved.

Ummm, I'm in trouble again, aren't I?