Posted on 10/05/2006 12:20:43 PM PDT by 68skylark
West Point, N.Y. IT would be shallow to say that I fell in love with the soldier I married because of his uniform, but it would also be partly true. It’s Cupid’s oldest trick: dress a man for war and love walks in.
Every girl who’s had her head turned by a uniform has her favorite, and for me there is nothing quite like the command of camouflage. A fitted, heavily starched long jacket and bloused trousers in a dark green, black and brown woodland pattern over polished black boots, the Battle Dress Uniform, to me, is the American soldier.
But the B.D.U. is being phased out. Soldiers have been ordered to purchase two sets of the newer Army Combat Uniforms by next May, and soon, like the brown leather boots of the early cold war, the Vietnam-era pickle suit and the chocolate chip Desert Storm camo, the B.D.U. will be history. And I will miss it.
My husband and I are, in the eyes of many, an oddly matched Mr. and Mrs., an Army intelligence officer and a pop-culture-obsessed writer. To paraphrase an old recruiting slogan, ours is not just a marriage, it’s an adventure, a two-person cultural exchange program. Because of him, I can identify a Blackhawk, Apache or Chinook helicopter by the sound of the blades slicing the air overhead. Because of me, he exfoliates.
In the beginning, I favored the B.D.U. because it acutely highlighted the differences between us as individuals, but over time, it has also come to underscore the contrast in our roles.
Spouses don’t experience firsthand the bombs-and-bullets Army — we see only the ceremonial ribbons-and-medals Army, the workaday pack-and-move-every-few-years Army — and my husband’s B.D.U.’s were my connection to the viscera of soldierdom. They were honest....
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
This seems like a really charming op-ed piece, and it's nice of our good friends at the NY Times to print it.
You want to pick up chicks? - wear the dress blues with all the fruit salad.
"This one was for flying door gunner in the Space Shuttle..."
I've always been partial to the 1980's-style Army "woodland" pattern . . . reminds me of Ronald Reagan and the Cold War (funny, but true). But I'm beginning to dig that new Marine "digital" kit.
Men in camo are hot.
[I look forward to the local hunting season just for the purpose of gawking].....;D
haha yessss i agree my guy loves the new acu's cuz they are "so comfortable" but personally i think he is just sexy in bdu's... although i guess that isnt what they are going for over there haha
Cute article, however, I must say that I prefer the ACU's - they fit more with my color palette.
Fashion Fatigue is right. Ever since the Donning of the Beret, the Army's been gettin' mighty pretty. I wore the new ACUs for a year before I got out, and while the camoflage isn't bad, per se, overall the new uniform isn't a great field uniform. The velcro wears out fast. The uniform looks funny when it's dirty. Even the colors make it look like it's only good for blending in with gravel parking lots or wads of cash. If I had to sneak around the woods some more, I'd pick the BDU over the ACU any day.
"although i guess that isnt what they are going for over there haha"
That falls under "the law of unintended consequences".....lucky us......>:-)
I knew I liked you for a reason, 'mander...
"only good for blending in with gravel parking lots"
And therein lie an apt description of the urban middle east.
The Army and Air Force are trying to keep up with us U.S. Marines, that's all...
Semper Fidelis!
I still like my tiger strips.
Any cracks about age and I'll flame broil you.
strips = stripes
long day
That's why I became an Orkin Man.
Hey, whadda ya know. A Marine taking the opportunity to run down another branch of the service. How surprising.
LOL !!
Ah yes, I looked excellent as an Airman with my road guard ribbon on, drove the ladies wild. Well, not actually.
fontman,
They HAVE to do that. Its because their paychecks all say:
U.S. Navy.
HEHEHEHe
If I make a crack about your age it's okay, because I'm alomst elderly myself. I got back in after a 15-20 year break in service, and now I think I'm the Army's oldest 1LT!
Awww ... did he hurt your widdle Army feelings?
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