I just kinda take for granted the fact that I know how to wear my ABUs. We get tons of memos about gortex, fleece, watch caps etc so I've never had to refer to the AFI. But today we started our bag drag drills and there was some issue taken over the color socks we should wear. I have searched high and low through just about every AFI supplement on epubs and can find NOTHING about ABUs. Crazy, yes or no?
My socks are not the issued dark green (those are just terrible). Instead I have some brownish-green Smartwool socks that are great and they match my ABUs perfectly. No one has checked my bag yet and I'm not overly concerned, but I'd like to bust out some regs if a certain NCOIC tries to be a smart mouth.
Come on carolinapooh, I know you can come through for me. LOL!
BDUs have nothing to do with the lack of a reg for ABUs - my point being there's a huge debate going on within the Pentagon on the usefulness of the pattern in a desert climate. You can stand outside the wire in Iraq and Afghanistan and SEE THE COPS on the perimeter from about a hundred yards - with the naked eye.
Scandalous.
BDUs are long, long gone and I'm well aware they'll never, ever be back - but there's still no permanent reg for ABUs, which is completely UNLIKE the Air Force, or the DoD, for that matter. There ARE published updates from AFPC and the uniform boards, which is where I got my information, not about.com. Looking up military information on about.com is like saying Wikipedia's a reliable reference.
I was really just shooting from the hip with the about.com reference, lol. I hear what you're saying...but the usefullness of ABU's anywhere should be in question, really. They don't let you hide in the woods, or the sand, or much of anywhere, really. But, they are a utility uniform that is different from everyone else's. Which really (for whatever reason) was the original "mission" I guess. I don't know why they don't just have us in the same uniform the Army wears...we're barely separated from them anyway. Any many Air Wings really aren't separated from them.
Have you seen the new Navy cammies? Black and shades of gray...again, where is that useful?
I don't see what all the darn fuss is about. There will almost always be more than one AOR, so one uniform will never fit them all.
I do agree that there either needs to be AFI updates or something...it's not going to get easier to fix the longer it takes to decide what they want to do.
About.com....that's hilarious! I'd love to see the look on everyone's face if I were to bring in a print out of that web page in my defense!
Carolina, that's a great suggestion. I'll call AFPC. When I mentioned the need for the memos to the NCOIC he looked at me like I had lost his mind. This is someone who quotes the reg on everything, yet he seems quite okay with the fact that we have no reference. I hope your suspicions about the change of uniform don't come true, especially since I finally broke down and paid $180 for that darn Gortex!
I've actually talked to the Navy about their uniforms (which I think look sharp, BTW) and they said that onboard ship they're actually quite useful, that it's hard to see and count folks on the deck in the new uniforms.
And yes - I bought a Gortex as well, and that would REALLY tick me off...
I am going to try to get my name tapes from this site. I just want to make sure I am getting the right ones. Also, do I want velcro with the name hook or the other one (which I guess is just sewn on the ABU?):
I am going to try to get my name tapes from this site. I just want to make sure I am getting the right ones. Also, do I want velcro with the name hook or the other one (which I guess is just sewn on the ABU?):
What is NFPA? Does it matter which one I get? The set I already have says 50% cotton and 50% nylon... is that the only difference?
I am so darn cheap, saving 60% would make my week
Also, I called the office to make airline reservations from home to COT and asked about travel from COT to PDS and they told me that I should wait till I am down at COT to make the reservations.
Can one make their TMO appointment down at Maxwell to have their household property shipped to their PDS? All my stuff is with my parents, and they will be here to show the moving people where my stuff is and sign on my behalf.
TMO needs to be contacted BEFORE you go to COT. You can call them tomorrow.
You need to make airline reservations from Alabama to your base before you go to COT - you're not going to have the time to get it done beforehand. Also, the longer you wait, the more the ticket is going to cost you.
AFI 36-2903, which is found in its entirety on the Randolph AFB AFPC site, has not been rewritten to cover the wear of the ABU. You're looking on a link outside the Air Force at a private uniform supplier.
What you're seeing - I believe - is a uniform we're not authorized to wear - it's the all-cotton one required for firemen and (I think) EOD, who can't wear the synthetic fibers because they'll melt if they burn. So if you've bought the other ABUs, you're fine. If you've bought any of these, you'll have to return them, because we can't wear them.
TMO needs to be contacted BEFORE you go to COT. You can call them tomorrow.
You need to make airline reservations from Alabama to your base before you go to COT - you're not going to have the time to get it done beforehand. Also, the longer you wait, the more the ticket is going to cost you.
AFI 36-2903, which is found in its entirety on the Randolph AFB AFPC site, has not been rewritten to cover the wear of the ABU. You're looking on a link outside the Air Force at a private uniform supplier.
What you're seeing - I believe - is a uniform we're not authorized to wear - it's the all-cotton one required for firemen and (I think) EOD, who can't wear the synthetic fibers because they'll melt if they burn. So if you've bought the other ABUs, you're fine. If you've bought any of these, you'll have to return them, because we can't wear them.
I agree get your tickets asap. I didn't even think about the uniforms being all cotton. All cotton ABUs would be a pain to keep from getting wrinkled, but otherwise no one is going to go around checking that your uniforms are made of the right material (outside of probably COT that is). I might buy a couple a pair of those all cotton ABUs just for bag drag purposes. They are cheap and would never get used anyways.
I agree get your tickets asap. I didn't even think about the uniforms being all cotton. All cotton ABUs would be a pain to keep from getting wrinkled, but otherwise no one is going to go around checking that your uniforms are made of the right material (outside of probably COT that is). I might buy a couple a pair of those all cotton ABUs just for bag drag purposes. They are cheap and would never get used anyways.
Actually you can look at them and tell they're not correct (remember how the summerweight BDUs looked very different from the winterweight ones? - the ABUs are even more so). In AAFES they won't sell them to you unless you're a fireman - they have to order them for you.
Actually you can look at them and tell they're not correct (remember how the summerweight BDUs looked very different from the winterweight ones? - the ABUs are even more so). In AAFES they won't sell them to you unless you're a fireman - they have to order them for you.
I still stick in my bag for bag drag, but I pretty sure what I can and can't away with.
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carolinapooh, BSN, RN
3,577 Posts
BDUs have nothing to do with the lack of a reg for ABUs - my point being there's a huge debate going on within the Pentagon on the usefulness of the pattern in a desert climate. You can stand outside the wire in Iraq and Afghanistan and SEE THE COPS on the perimeter from about a hundred yards - with the naked eye.
Scandalous.
BDUs are long, long gone and I'm well aware they'll never, ever be back - but there's still no permanent reg for ABUs, which is completely UNLIKE the Air Force, or the DoD, for that matter. There ARE published updates from AFPC and the uniform boards, which is where I got my information, not about.com. Looking up military information on about.com is like saying Wikipedia's a reliable reference.