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 ...
Having spent many years sneaking around God's green, practicing for warfare in hills, woods, jungle and the cold, I found the OIF/OEF gig a little different than envisioned.
You can spend 1k on desert gear, to make sure that you're going to blend, and realize it was wasted money when-
1. You're issued green body armor.
2. Your teammates, who refrained from spending the money on desert gear, are also issued green body armor.
3. You either drive everywhere you're going in noisy humvees, or ride in noisy helicopters.
4. Once you disembark, you're wearing 80lbs of crap that isn't exactly made for stealth.
5. You're only doing night raids anyway.
Strips works. Maybe better than stripes.
(Wife thinks the best looking are Navy dress whites.)
"and now I think I'm the Army's oldest 1LT!"
LOL
No, I just read in either the VFW or Legion magazine about an old warbird who flew Hueys in VN and is flying Blackhawks now. Him and his cronies are all in their 60s.
And another guy I just read about is either 70 or pushing it. Last month's issue.
You are not alone!!
Nope-it just gets tiresome and I wonder why so many Marines seem to feel the need to run down the other services so often.
Heh.
On a band trip in college (c 1983), one of the girls followed a guy around all day long because he looked so good in uniform. We didn't tell her that her heart throb was an Eagle Scout until we got back on the bus that evening.
Not that there's anything wrong with Eagle Scouts, ya know.
Last I heard, she's a professor at a major midwestern university.
Based on what I've seen so far, I like the ACU. I'm an army brat, and remember well the hell that poor SGT Dad experienced keeping the old OD fatigues looking good. These new unifirms are built for fighting, not standing parades on the Polo Field at Fort Bragg.
I wish we'd had something like this when I was in the Navy. The pockets, collar, fit, and ease of maintenance would have made wearing the uniform a pleasure instead of a chore. For the record, the only Navy duds I liked were the Crackerjacks; the Popeye suit (i.e. dress whites) was tacky, sweaty, and impossible to keep clean, and I utterly loathed dungarees. (Prison clothes — that's all they are.)
And of course polishing boots is an utter and complete waste of time, no matter if you're at sea, ashore, or in the air.
Some squids back on the 'Prise got to wear Poopy Suits and ballcaps every day, and I envied them (except when they had to use the head); at least in overalls you look like a technician instead of an inmate at the state lockup.
If I were CNO the standard enlisted Navy uniform (at sea at least) would be something like the ACU, only in gray, of course. Otherwise, the at-sea UOD would be the poopy suit, ballcap, and sneakers. On the pier and ashore it'd be a modified Popeye (made from polycotton instead of G.D. polyester!) and the dixie cup for everyday wear, crackerjacks for dress.
A mess jacket is just peachy too ...
I liked them with potatos, over noodles, over rice, and spread on toast.
But the best was over grits. Now THAT'S some gooooooood eatin'.
Last time I wore my tropical whites, some butt head asked me where my ice cream truck was.
Marines in dress blues.....now that's hot!!!!!!
AAWW Jeez, here we go.....
You guys are making me laugh....LOL
!!!!!!
The bullet catchers are so predictable.
So true.
I was rotary and always wondered why they even bothered to make us buy camo -- if we're on the ground, we were dead men walking, anyway.
My son is in the Marines, his best friend is in the Air Force and I have met some of his buddies in the Army....there is a lot of good natured ribbing with these guys including the jokes regarding Marines are all Braun and no Brains....they all take it in stride.....When I talk to my son about this he has a lot of respect for the other branches because they are all serving this country...
That is soooooooo funny.....great story
I always noticed Marines got airsick more than Army. (Briefly had to fill in on Utility, stateside.)
I think it was the sticks up their ass jamming their stomachs.
Hey, you don't even have to wear dress blues...some chicks dig those Dark Side unis.
Go here for a laugh: http://www.imperialchicks.com
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.