M14 Forum

CPTKILLER

When I was at Fort Riley after Vietnam, stopping off to pick up something in fatigues off base was quite a big deal. We were told to change clothes & do it right. Move forward to the mid 80's when I got into the Texas Army National Guard & went to Fort Hood often, my world changed.

BDU's were worn often & everywhere. Class A's once or twice a year, Class B's not often, & more than a few pregnant GI's walking around in the division areas. If we had lunch or dinner off base, BDU's no problem, come on in. We did wear covers & the damn beret wasn't in when I got out for the 2nd time.

Now about wearing utilities or BDU's or ACU's on leave from a war zone. I'm all for it. Take what you need & leave what you don't. A Class A or Class B has no place in a war zone.

I had khaki's (Class B's) enroute to Vietnam on R&R and on the way home. They were pretty useless. One of the NCO's I knew has custom Class A's made by a Hong Kong Tailor in Danang except he had 2 kilos of Heroin sewn in them. The MP's were waiting for him at the ramp prior to boarding the plane. We all knew about him after the fact.

The strangest thing that happened to me enroute to Europe in Class A's was that I got my jacket & trousers at s civilian cleaners in my hometown. They had mistskedly substitute the trousers for someone else. I had all the insignia, medals and etc. on but didn't check the trousers. They belonged to someone else more than 4" shorter than me & wouldn't fit. I scrambled & bought some EM Greens, hemmed them by hand, & even sewed the black stripes on them with everything from the PX the evening before I left at Fort McGuire. It worked and pasted muster. Maybe that is why I like to see ACU's for traveling.

CAVman

I remember when I was a young troop in 1966...

The 'Old Guys' THEN Always Talked About The OLD 'Brown Boot Army' !!!

The One Thing That Never Changes Is...There Will Always Be Change!



CAVman in WYoming

M14E2

No covers on the flight line. FOD hazzard.

willriskit

The flight line and shops always had a separate set of rules, but we wore covers in these areas in rotary wing (recip) squadrons back then. Fixed wing jet squadrons prohibited them, but these operated from different facilities. Glad to hear that the Marine Corps is still holding the line on discipline.

coloradosherpa

"Covers are still required and walking around with cammies in civilian land is something only the Army does."

USMC reservists do it all the time.

TheTurtle

I live just outside a Navy base and I see people out in their blue Digi's on a daily basis. I really don't know the point of them though... Who needs camo when your sitting inside a big grey tin can in open ocean.....

willriskit

The Navy uses utilities because it makes concealing pregnancy easier.

berndog

Been out of the Corps since 95

But I do live aprox 3/4 mile away from MCAS Mira Mar.
Got lots of Marines living in same condo complex as me.

Rules still are the rules! Nothing has changed since you old salts were in!

NO cammies aloud off base except in POV to and from work!

No Grocery store! No Bank! Emergency stops are different. Emergency is not getting a six pack at 7/11! Better be out of gas or in a car accident!

Covers are required at all times outside or when not under cover.

Airfield aircrew is a different story. No covers allowed on flight line. We were allowed to go to the smoking area directly infront of the hanger w/o a cover. But if your ass was going to your car in the parking lot or leaving the IMEDIATE area you had to have your cover and it had better be on your dome!

Navy regs are same as Marine regs! Busted a 3rd class PO 3 times in one week at 7/11. Tried to give me a line of BS! Forth time I saw him I called my buddy who is a Master Chief and he was at the 7/11 in about 2 minutes flat! Last time I've seen a sailor around the area w cammies on!

Flight suits, coveralls are not allowed to be worn off base at all! Not even suppossed to drive POV to and from ur house! Flight suits are allowed on base, coveralls are not! Coveralls are allowed only in unit work area!

Rules for slip flops, tank tops, collard shirts, belt, pants and shorts with atleast 3 pockets all still apply but are not enforced! Atleast on the West Coast! Issued sun screen and sun glasses! Haha! When I spent time on the east coast those rules were much more enforced!

Pro_USA1776

First off as an "Army Dude" I take exception to your accusation. If a soldier is out of uniform that is due to the lack of discipline. Discipline I might add that is NCO business, it shouldn't require a senior field grade officer to correct a uniform violation! By the way we don't call them "cammies." I believe the correct term is ACU.

berndog

I wondered this same question when I watched the Commendants Birthday message last year.

BOTH the commandant and the Sgt Major of the Marine Corps were standing outside giving there recorded birthday message and they both werent wearing there covers!

First thing thru my mind was, "where's your f$&@ing cover Marine?"

Larry Gibson

Spend any time around any Army, Air Force, Marine or Naval base and you'll see lot's of personel in civilian land walking around in duty uniforms. It is authorized if they are on business or shopping going to or from home. At some of the more remote bases duty uniforms are authroized for off post wear all the time. Most Army and Marines will have covers on when outside but the Air Force and Navy are pretty lax in that regard.

Deployments to combat zones are made without dress uniforms so the reg was relaxed for troops to travel to and from in duty uniforms. This includes most travel now of all military personnel. Sometimes civilian clothes are required for emergncy travel because of the routes traveled.

Larry Gibson

GoingDeaf

I remember being a newly promoted Staff Sergeant at Quantico back in '81 or '82. Don't remember if it was with the Base OOD or not, but part of the duty was being stationed in front of the main exchange. We were there to ensure the dress code was being followed for those entering the exchange. It was a big shock after being stationed on Oki for four years, to return back to the States and a whole other set of rules.

I also remember going to the SNCO Club at lunch time, having a couple of beers with the meal, and returning to work. It wasn't even frowned upon back then.

Really Old Corps

When I was serving in B/1/14 in the mid sixties I was given a utility cover by a guy who was finishing his active Reserve obligation

This thing must have been passed down through generations of Marines. I believe it was Korean War vintage. It was the old herring bone material with a much thicker brim than our issued covers, and was almost faded to white. It was not frayed and had no holes so it was still regulation.

The CO absolutely hated the thing. One weekend at Pendleton, the range was closed while one gun still had a round in the tube. The gun crew was trying to back it out with a ramrod and swab. The CO grabbed my cover and rammed it down the tube using the excuse that they "needed a cushion". He then got permission to reopen the range. They fired off the round and blew my very salty cover to kingdom come.

There and Back Again

Stop bashing the Army you naysayers!

I see Air Force, Navy, Marines, Coast Guardies... every U.S. military branch travelling in civilian areas with their BDU/fatigue-type uniforms on. I even see plenty of them walking out here in Wally's World without covers worn.


Poor form in my opinion. Yes, I'm an "old school" type so quit your crying.

Butzbach

I have seen Navy and Air Force at Hartsfield in cammies.