"Why does US Army wear flag "backwards"?" Topic

Believe or not camouflage is part of the reasoning behind the digital pattern on the new NWU. Three of the four colors, haze gray, deck gray, and black are used on the exterior of the ship, and the digital pattern is supposed to break up the human profile from folks taking aim with rifles and such at sailors on deck when at close quarters.

Yeah, I know. It sounds thin to me too.

The pattern is also supposed to hide stains and wear. Kind of like Allen's ragbag idea.

Digital cammo pattern aside, the NWU replaces several working uniforms, making the sailor's seabag smaller, and the uniforms appear to be more comfortable and functional than previous ones.

Mark

It doesn't matter, the Powers-that-Be aren't going to authorize wearing the NWU off the piers, just like the coveralls. So now the sailors are going to have to wear blues/whites to the ship (or show up early enough to change onboard).

still better than looking like a prisoner, however. Can you tell I hated the Utility uniform?

As far as the original question about flags goes, the field is on the flag's own right, just like it's always supposed to be displayed. The mental image of the flagpole being the wearer's arm is a good rule of thumb. Now, if only we could get those idiots putting flag decals on their cars to put them on correctly…

Being a dyed in the wool paratrooper, the black beret is merely a leg hat and is treated as such.
Debating the color of ones beret really kind of reminds me of the boxing joke, two men fighting over a belt and a purse. Besides headgear is not the measure of a man.
As for the flag, by uniform regulation AR 670-1, page 264; PDF link
Simply put,
"(2) The full-color U.S. flag cloth replica is worn so that the star field faces forward, or to the flag's own right. When worn in this manner, the flag is facing to the observer's right, and gives the effect of the flag flying in the breeze as the wearer moves forward. The appropriate replica for the right shoulder sleeve is identified as the reverse side flag."

"Now, if only we could get those idiots putting flag decals on their cars to put them on correctly…"

And the idiots who display it inappropriately (for advertising; on ephemeral, consumable, or disposable objects, such as cake frosting or paper napkins) to stop.

Allen

My personal favorite was the proposed Air Force camo pattern that was designed so you could hide effectively in an Iceberg Lettuce Salad.

picture

I don't see the problem with the blue ASU class B (warm-weather working?), but I spent 6 months out of the year in a pure white uniform that was a complete pain to keep clean, and the other 6 in a black uniform that was a pain to keep clean.

I think it looks sharp, and still says 'US Army'.

@Captain Apathy: have you seen the digital tigerstripes they actually went with? They're not much better. link

I hated that overseas cap.Was very unpopular when I was in the 101Abn in the mid 80's. A bunch of us in my unit, 1/501 and 2/502 Inf. went back to to old dark blue beret they wore in the late 70's. The division color guard even wore then for special occasions.Very sharp. I still have mine.
Yes,and we also wore our pants bloused in our Corcorans!

The last unit I was in a few years ago,signal,was awful.I couldn't wear my bloused jump boots anymore…:-(
Damn REMF units…

Bob C.

"If you want to blame something on a president and his political cronies, try the bad call on how many troops it would take to secure Iraq; Shinseki got it right, which Abizaid confirmed years later."

The same old BS revisionist history from the "Mistakes Were Made" era. It doesn't matter how many troops you have if the Terrorists know you don't have the balls to finish it – that the News Media will spread their propaganda and that the Liberals will not only actively support their ultimate goals, but also make sure that every soldier is seen as either a meaningless death, a cripple (physically or emotional), or at best, a pathetic stooge.

The only reason the Sunnis started the insurgency is because they thought that they could win – and it was only because of George Bush that they didn't – yet. But they had everything to gain and the Liberals made sure that they had nothing to lose. Murder a few thousand American soldiers? Just change sides and we'll pay you to march around your neighborhood until we leave. That's the idea of winning that today's Generals have.

Terrorists murder soldiers and civilians – it's the News Media and the Liberals that hold up their bloody heads for everybody to see. Meanwhile the Generals only care about creating an appearance of victory that will last long enough for them to finish their tour.

All we need to finish the story are a couple of more big black shrines to deaths made meaningless by this political cowardice.

Political claptrap Number6, inappropriate here and inaccurate.

Back to a more interesting line of discussion….

I remember those horrible lime-green female class A's. Yikes!

And was it just me, or were the class A shirts akin to wearing a burlap sack? They never stopped being stiff and rough.

Ah, memories…..

Much of what our military does was copied from others.
Our head gear, our uniforms, special forces, airborne units. If it works for someone else why not steal it.

AS for the flag, it makes sense in 'thought' as Americans are never falling back, always moving foward towards the objective and victory. In practice that isnt true lol.

It used to be that the berets were reserved for elite units – airborne, rangers and special forces. Then some nitwit in the Clinton-era Pentagon got the bright idea that it would raise morale if everyone wore a beret. So they took the black ranger beret and gave it to everyone! Oddly, it not only didn't raise morale, but lowered morale in elite units.

The very same happened in France after the Algeria war -though, by giving everyone a beret and a camo uniform, it was more a matter of breaking the esprit de corps, if not morale, of the elite units (all those which had not mutinied in april "61 had been on the verge of joining the putch). Yet the paras and legionaries were given back their *colored* berets as soon as they were needed in Chad…

There's two kinds of people in the world : those who CAN wear a beret and look good, and those who CAN'T. I can't. I admit it. But I still maintain the BDU patrol cap was a far far better item of headgear. It had a brim to shade the eyes (keep rain off my glasses).

I always felt it was the sign of an elite soldfier- one who was smart enough not to jump out of a plane, eat a snake, or stay up 5 days in row. And yes I am joking.

Of course as I've started to expand my Army uniform collection up from 1970 to today, the best item I've seen was woodland cammo materity pants.

No, there are 10 kinds of people in the world: Those who understand binary and those who don't.

;o)

Being a dyed in the wool paratrooper, the black beret is merely a leg hat and is treated as such.

Try a British garrison town where the colour of your beret could get you into all kinds of bother on a friday night :-)

Pulls his Tam O Shanter (a real piece of headgear for a squaddie to wear) over his eyes and goes back to sleep.

And for gawd sake will someone please advise actors who are portraying soldiers (in any army) how to wear the things :-)

And who/how/when/why/where/wearing what to salute… ;o)

The howler I saw once was an actor wearing dress greens, with the tips of the epaulets outside his collar. Oh, how we laughed.

"AS for the flag, it makes sense in 'thought' as Americans are never falling back, always moving foward towards the objective and victory."

Except that the original orientation of the flag was meant to portray the direction a flag on a sailing ship faces – blowing the same direction as the wind.

So what are the Space Marines going to do with theirs?

--------------

"Political claptrap Number6, inappropriate here and inaccurate."

If people don't say stupid things, I won't be feel obliged to correct them. You live in the world you've created – and deserve. The problem is that your children are going to inherit it.