Ummm Uniform Changes

[Courtney Massengale]

Not to take this in a different direction, but goesh has a great point.

One of the things that surprised me the most after my first deployment is how people reacted when you would tell them about "un-horrible" things.

There really is an expectation that war is horrible, therefore YOU should be miserable, depressed, suicidal and hate every last second that you're deployed.

Not to downplay the ugly, horrible, bad parts of it, but anyone who has been in combat knows that there are amazing moments where you get to see people at their best. You get to build relationships that last a lifetime. Some of the funniest things happen under the worst conditions. And there is down time where you’re doing silly things to make the best out of a bad situation.

Goesh is right – this is only an issue because the American people don’t expect anything human – even at the individual level – to come out of armed conflict.

What a sad state of affairs.

[Tom Odom]

Home and happy about it! That's a good thing!

Soldier Who Fought in Pink Boxers Home for 4th of July

FORT WORTH, Texas — The soldier who was photographed fighting the Taliban in his pink boxer shorts said Saturday he was glad to be back home in Texas after his yearlong deployment to Afghanistan — especially for the Fourth of July.

Specialist Zachary Boyd said he initially thought he'd get in trouble after an Associated Press photo first transmitted in May showed him with other soldiers behind sandbags wearing his "I love NY" boxers — plus flip-flops, a helmet and a bulletproof vest.

The Fort Worth soldier jumped up from a nap when his unit came under fire and didn't want to waste time putting on his uniform.

[Entropy]

Tom,

I read in the paper this morning that his boxers will be displayed at the museum in Ft. Riley!

[Tom Odom]

Tom,

I read in the paper this morning that his boxers will be displayed at the museum in Ft. Riley!

Now that is classic! The Little Apple--Manhattan, KS is just down the road

Best
Tom

[Uboat509]

I wonder just how many CSM's were forced to bite their tongues over this? Considering that in some locations lack of a reflective belt is a capitol offense, pink boxers must have caused at least one aneurysm somewhere.

SFC W

[Ron Humphrey]

I wonder just how many CSM's were forced to bite their tongues over this? Considering that in some locations lack of a reflective belt is a capitol offense, pink boxers must have caused at least one aneurysm somewhere.

SFC W

After all pink is fairly "reflective"

And more importantly CSM's should be known for being much more function than form oriented

[Van]

... CSM's were forced to bite their tongues ... pink boxers must have caused at least one aneurysm somewhere.

Please let it be. Nothing is more useless than a CSM who thinks that sort of peacetime, garrison fertilizer is more important than clean weapons and crew drills.

The Army should make this a mandatory stop for the SGM's Academy. Anyone who get's upset about the "uniform violation", gets cut.

[Steve Blair]

Tom,

I read in the paper this morning that his boxers will be displayed at the museum in Ft. Riley!

Which one? The Cav Museum or (wait for it...) the Big Red One Museum?

In all seriousness, there is/was a First Infantry Division museum on Ft. Riley. There was some talk of changing it into something of a generic fort museum, but I don't think that ever happened.

[goesh]

Well, IMO he ought to be allowed to auction them off and keep the cash for himself as a bonus of some kind

[Schmedlap]

I don't understand any of this. In one of my units, I had one of the most by-the-book, linear-thinking, hard-headed CSMs in the Army (now that is really saying something). Yet he did not care at all when every Soldier in our company jumped into action with whatever they were wearing - boxers, shorts, tank-top, etc - when our patrol base was hit by suicide bombers, mortars, RPGs, and machine gun fire. As much as a stickler as he was for details that were unimportant or stupid, I never knew him to care all that much about whether Soldiers were wearing boxers, briefs, boxer-briefs, about the color of any of those garments, or whether Soldiers were going commando. Now if a Soldier did not take the extra 5 seconds to throw on his interceptor and helmet, then that might have rubbed his ulcer the wrong way.

The only thing unique about this situation, imo, is that it was printed in a newspaper. It's kind of an amusing photo that captures the absurdity and insanity that often becomes the norm in combat. Other than that, I don't understand why this is getting so much attention or why anyone would think that a CSM would care.

[Uboat509]

Other than that, I don't understand why this is getting so much attention or why anyone would think that a CSM would care.

Because I have known many who would. It is no accident that many of them inhabited the FOBs.

SFC W

[Tom Odom]

Because I have known many who would. It is no accident that many of them inhabited the FOBs.

SFC W

and still do...

[Ken White]

If they're doing stupid stuff and staying in the rear -- and many have always done so while many more do their jobs and get out -- then someone above them is tolerating the stupidity and the laziness.

That's what happens when you have a promotion system that rewards risk avoidance and times in service.

[Schmedlap]

Because I have known many who would.

Damn. Never again will I gripe about any CSM that I've had.

[Uboat509]

If they're doing stupid stuff and staying in the rear -- and many have always done so while many more do their jobs and get out -- then someone above them is tolerating the stupidity and the laziness.

The problem is that there are too many leaders who cannot distinguish between the ability to parrot regs and policy letters and actual competence.

SFC W

[Ken White]

The problem is that there are too many leaders who cannot distinguish between the ability to parrot regs and policy letters and actual competence.

It's always been true, far as I know. Some used to get that high on their BS quotient; in the last 50 years or so, they didn't even have to get that much exercise. All they had to do with centralized promotion was just not get in trouble and wait...

You see that 'Kill company' Thread? Or read the article it refers to? One of the big screwups there was a new LT -- that happens, they slip through and first combat, they can't hack it. Very few of 'em slip through but a few are bound to.

The other was a SSG. No excuse for him. He'd been around long enough to be a known quantity (and he was), bad enough he shouldn't have been where he was, not bad enough to court martial. No doubt some people wanted to nail him with killer EERs but were deterred from doing that in an Army that pays more attention to 'Army Values and Consideration of Others' than to tactical and technical competence much less leadership capability, an Army where Platoon Sergeants are ordered to send incompetent Specialists to a promotion board...

The 'system' forced his promotion to a rank he couldn't handle, then he directs the murders of people and gets an entire Brigade that did a good -- if over enthusiastic -- job tarred as a bad unit. The processes of up or out and TIG / TIS counting the most for promotion are criminal. Really.

That's what leads to too many in high places with badly skewed ideas of what's important. What's not important are nitpicking uniforms, haircuts and similar stupidity. What's important is competent soldiers who know all the little things involved in their jobs. That's what senior NCOs are for.

Commanders who tolerate the martinets and hangers back are part of the problem. So are other senior NCOs who tolerate less than good performance from their peers. No idiot gets in the wrong place all by himself...