A while back I posed the question - are military personnel 'allowed' to go to bars and restaurants in their BDU's. I sent an email asking my ex (Air Force) to add his two-cents. Being oh-so-punctual, he just got around to it. The comments on that entry are closed 'cause it is old, so I thought I would post his comments here.
Things go full circle I guess. Things go full circle I guess. [inside joke] Seems all folks wore uniforms and such to bars in the ole' WWII movies. When you think about it though, they never wore the GIs fatigues or the flight suits unless they were in "the Club" on base. It was always the crisp looking, shirt and tie sort of uniforms off-base. This reflected that when not actually doing a "dirty" or messy job; people in the military dressed as the rest of society did, in short, more formally; ties, hats and all that. The flight suit of today's military is the standard office wear for flying personnel when not flying. Occasionally you'll see a flyer wearing "blues" as we'd put it. We are not supposed to be dallying around TOO much in them or the Battle Dress Uniform, (otherwise known as BDU's; they are the camo shirt/trouser combo.) The military is not fond of its personnel imbibing alcohol in public, so sitting in a bar setting is not okay. Going to a restaurant in BDUs or flight suit IS okay as long as the establishment might have others in similar work clothes. That's my two-cents worth.I also asked my massage therapist who is a military brat, served in Desert Storm, and has a son just back from the Middle East. She agreed, the only time you are supposed to be wearing your UTes (utility uniform) is when you are working, outside of that it is street clothes or business uniform (i.e. the blues referenced above).
It isn't that I am trying to be a tight-a**, just wondering when/if the standards changed. And why.
Posted by Vox at April 16, 2005 12:07 PM | military