SGM Woes

The Sergeants Major around here must be going crazy.  The soldiers in 4th ID have a mishmash of uniforms to wear.  We have our new ACUs, the old DCUs, and when it was raining a month or so ago, the only rain gear most of the soldiers had was the BDU Gore-Tex.  I didn't even have that, all I had was the BDU poncho.  My flak vest is the ACU material, but a lot of soldiers have the DCU cover.  I have the DCU camelback and DCU pouches attached to my ACU vest.  And to top it off (and make some SGMs madder than wet hens) protective eyewear is required, and for most of us, that means the Oakleys, or WileyXs we were issued.  The idea of soldiers wearing sunglasses, cool surfer dude sunglasses with a big "O" or a big "X" on the side at that, on duty, is enough to get most SGMs riled up.  But to actually have them issued by the Army, and to actually have the Army tell the soldiers that they are mandatory wear, whoohee!  The picture to the right is me in the laser-protective eyewear I also wear, instead of my Oakleys, just to tick off one more SGM who has to look at one more "different" uniform.  Right now, there is very little that is uniform about our uniforms. 

Comments

[sgtted]

The Sergeants Major need a wartime role. Making sure that the gear is serviceable and properly worn should be it as a rule; soldier safety and protection. They should have a supply of sunglasses to pass out if they are mandatory for wear. But them being Fashion Police in a war zone isn't cutting it. It just beats morale down and makes the Joes think that the SGM don't care about much more than enforcing garrison standards in the field.

"Weapon clean and operating? check, Gear good to go and worn properly? check. Joes getting good chow and contact with his family? check. Ok troop move out and get some today."

Thats what SGMs should be doing.

[MKL]

So what do you think about the ACUs? Prefer them over the DCUs?

[shannon]

My head hurts from trying to wrap my head around how many ways this is all just so wrong...

I'm never having kids. Even if I did everything right, I couldn't stop them from hanging out with nitwits (or the children of nitwits who write letters like that.)

I speak from experience. My mom raised me right, and I can say that in retrospect. But knowing what I was like and who I hung out with at 19, I'd have been at that party. But at least my mom would have killed herself before writing a letter like that.

[shannon]

Nuts, added the comment to the wrong post. That was supposed to be on the How to raise a bad kid post...

[Diggs]

I like the ACUs, but the zipper needs to be aligned properly or the SAPI plates makes it dig into my chest. Otherwise, I really like all the pockets. Some of my soldiers have worn numerous holes into their ACUs due to equipment rubbing in the same place all the time, and because these are lighter material, but that's simply a matter of getting more in stock so we can DX faster. Overall, I'm supportive.

[Diggs]

Shannon, I never partied at that place, but I did party in the woods nearby. I would have been embarrased and ridiculed if I was 19 years old and my parents had written in to the local paper protesting my detainment. And yes, I did do some of the same stupid stuff these kids did, but my parents would have, and did, support every effort by the cops to re-align my dumbass, rather than take the cops to task on the Letters to the Editors page.