Is it legal for army veterans to wear uniforms?
My two cents and experienceRetired after 21 years Army ( 15 Active, 6 Reserve).Still wear my DCU jacket from Iraq (04-05) in the winter. Wore it for the last 3-4 years, just being too cheap to get a new coat. Had even worn it to my Reserve unit ( during the regular week not drill weekend) and was seen by a 1SG. His comment was “wow, haven't seen that in years”. The DCU uniform has not been an official uniform since at least 2010 if not further back. That 1SG knew me, and would have corrected me had it been illegal to the point that it needed corrected ( he didn't even say anything about the zipper being open , though all pocket flaps were closed).After retirement i went to the Air Force base thats closest to me, and looked at fleeces in Clothing Sales. I asked if the new coats were just for AD or if retirees could get them too. I was essentially told the new brownish ones were restricted on everybody right then as they were just being issued and they had to make sure the active duty guys got theirs. The green ones were perfectly fine for purchase.This was from a store that checks that you are eligible to buy a candy bar, and politely turns you away if not ( ie not a military ID card bearer)There are regulations in place for wear of uniforms by retirees. However, it is more self policed by the retiree/veteran community than by the DoD, which is busy enough policing its own people over everything from sky penises to any of the 1000 categories of alcohol related incidents to murdering Philipino hookers of all genders to worry about the retirees.
What is the standard US Army boot?
There's not really any such thing as a "standard" Army boot anymore. If you're referring to the boots that arre issued during basic training, they're usually Belleville, Altama, or Bates brand. For the Army to issue any piece of equipment, it must be Berry Amendment-compliant, which means it has to be American-made. Imported boots are authorized for optional wear as long as they conform to the footwear guidelines established in Army Regulation 670-1. They must be made of rough cowhide leather, desert tan in color, at least 8" in height, with a vulcanized rubber tread and a one-piece heel cap and toe cap. That is the "standard" boot for daily garrison wear. Soldiers on jump status and/or assigned to a designated airborne unit are authorized to wear the Corcoran dress black jump boots (style number 1500 or 975) when wearing the Army Service Uniform. I prefer Danner boots for daily garrison wear, because they are very comfortable, but they tend to get scuffed up pretty easily and you've got to have a clean pair of garrison boots. For out in the field, I have another pair of Gore-Tex-lined Danners that I don't mind getting dirty, along with an issued pair of Altama hot-weather boots.and Bates cold-weather boots. We just got all our RFI equipment for the upcoming deployment, which this time around includes Belleville hot- and cold-weather boots in coyote tan to match the Multicam uniforms.
What do you wear at home for your 10 day leave after Marine boot?
I loved Candy's answer. Sure, you'll want to wear your uniform some while you are home. You can't wear Cammies as marines are not allowed to wear them off base except in certain circumstances. You will be more comfortable in civvies for the trip home. You'll have all your uniforms and you can wear your dress uniform to show off a bit. If you are wearing green pants, you would also want to wear the green blouse that goes with it off base. Some bases will have the green pants and tan blouse as a UOD but, that's for on base. You can wear the barracks cover or the garrison cap while on leave, it doesn't matter.
Are army soldiers allowed to wear a cap instead of a beret when wearing dress blues?
Yes, the blue dress cap is the appropriate headgear for the dress blue uniform during the day.I served before the ASU replaced the green “pickle suit” and I had and wore the dress blues, so when you say “dress blues” I assume you mean the dress version, not the everyday version of the ASU. As such, wearing a beret or jump boots with that uniform makes it no longer a dress uniform. In spite of my age, I'm pretty sure 670-1 still agrees with me on that.
Why does the military use boots instead of shoes? I don't get it. Boots are hard/stiff/uncomfortable?
I bought a pair of combat boots and hate them. I did some Google searches and it seems I have to "break them in" Well I never have to break in my running shoes. Running shoes are comfortable/soft out of the box. So why doesn't the military have soldiers use running shoes/sneakers instead of boots? The only pro I see is that boots have harder soles which make it less painful to run on rocks.
Is it disrespectful to wear a tactical hat if you're not in the military?
Kind of a strange question, but do veterans find it offensive if you wear a tactical hat with an American flag on it if you're not military? I think they look very cool but I've only seen them in pictures of guys overseas. Also, I'm in ROTC if that helps at all haha. Thanks!
Civil Air Patrol B.D.U. Boots?
You can find used boots in local Army/Navy stores or any kind of surplus store. Vanguard has lots of boots. They are new and usually overpriced, so it would be better to find some used ones. http://www.vanguardmil.com/?main_page=in... I get jump boots, which are all leather and not jungle boots, because they give better support and generally feel better.
How can you identify a special forces soldier when he's not wearing his uniforms?
Well, of course they won’t say will they. One of my military intelligence friends once told me its not what they tell you but what they don’t tell you that you should pay attention to. Having been in the military myself and known quite a few SAS guys, both having met them casually and in the service I have noticed the following give away features.When you ask them which part of the military they are from rather than saying “I am with the XYZ regiment” they will be vague and say “I am soldier” or “I am a marine” they then they change the subject.They often travel in groups of youngish, guys, who obviously spend a lot of time together. They will all be from the military, but strangely they are often from different parts (e.g. “I am a soldier he’s a marine” they then change the subject.)When you ask them details about the type of skydiving they’ve done in the military (I met one group of SAS guys while skydiving) they might tell you about Jumps that, if you know anything about sky-diving, are clearly not the type that a regular soldier would do, but they never say why they would do jumps like that - they just say it was “training”.But the real give away is the general flagrant disregard for what might be termed regular behavior. Often they are great guys, and I can tell you they are definitely the ones I’d like to hang out with at a party. But they are also the ones most likely to decide that the best course of action at 4am is to go to a (closed) whore house and then to break in by climbing in through a second story window (true story) or other similar such “I clearly don’t give a f***” behavior. Clearly this is trivial stuff as compared to their day jobs, which is probably why it makes sense to them. But any objective observer would say that they are slightly bonkers for doing something like that.
What did hippies wear in the winter?
From all the drugs they took they probably didn't know the difference from one season to the other. They just wore more layers, of the same thing. Bell bottom jeans socks with their sandals tie dyed t-shirts and ponchos and of course you had to have on a necklace made out of wooden beads. Everyone had long hair men and women. I guess that helped keep then warm.