Military News
02-21-2010, 09:20 AM
02-21-2010 09:55 AM
Once upon a time, service members dusted off their service and dress uniforms when they got assigned to the Pentagon.
It was office duty in the headquarters of the U.S. military, and that uniform fit the environment.
That thinking changed after the 2001 terrorist attack on the building. Camouflage fatigues and flight suits reflected the nation’s newfound war footing and symbolized the commitment to fight back, and became a common sight in the building’s 17½ miles of hallways.
Defense Secretary Robert Gates has led that fight for the past three years. But in late December, he decided to reverse the post-9/11 uniform shift, telling his dozen or so military aides that he wanted to see more businesslike attire — service uniforms — in and around his 3rd-floor Pentagon offices. The change took effect after the Christmas holiday.
“This is the headquarters of the United States military, in our nation’s capital,” Pentagon Press Secretary Geoff Morrell said. “The people we do business with — be it across the river [on Capitol Hill] or from around the world — are all dressed in business attire when they come to see us here. And he thinks we should be dressed accordingly.”
Morrell said Gates did not intend his uniform decision, first reported in the New York Times, to be mirrored throughout the Pentagon, and it remains to be seen whether any of the services will follow Gates’ lead.
“If people notice it, and wish to follow suit, that is completely their decision to make,” Morrell said. “He certainly has the prerogative to change it buildingwide and he did not do so.”
Since becoming the nation’s top military officer in October 2007, Joint Chiefs Chairman Adm. Mike Mullen has prohibited his half-dozen or so front-office personnel from wearing camouflage fatigues or flight suits, said his spokesman, Navy Capt. John Kirby. All must wear dress uniforms — not necessarily with the jacket — or Navy khakis. The other 1,200 members of the Joint Staff adhere to their own service’s Pentagon policy.
But in just the past two weeks, Kirby said, Mullen has asked the director of the Joint Staff, Army Lt. Gen. Lloyd Austin, to review uniform policies, “to see whether or not it is advisable or feasible to eliminate the wearing of fatigues.”
The review is ongoing, Kirby said.
A spokesman for Commandant Gen. James Conway said he is unaware of any plans to alter the Corps’ Pentagon dress code, which calls for Marines assigned there to wear seasonal service or dress uniforms on Fridays and Combat Utility Uniforms on other workdays. But Marines seem to understand the unique mission of Pentagon-based troops. Many support the move to a more professional image at the Pentagon.
“We have seen many changes take place in the last four to five years that have helped our fellow Americans to see that Marines are much, much more than just ‘devil dogs,’” said Staff Sgt. Jaime Canales, a faculty adviser at the Staff Noncommissioned Academy at Camp Hansen in Okinawa.
“We are professionals … in our trade, our conduct, our speech and in our lives, on the field and off the field.”
Canales said Pentagon-based Marines should wear the Alpha uniform, which consists of a green coat, green trousers, khaki long-sleeve button-up shirt, khaki tie and black shoes.
Maj. Bryan Andersen, a reservist, agrees that Class As should be worn at the Pentagon, but said that rule also should extend to Marines traveling for temporary additional duty, or TAD.
“I’m surprised that Gen. Conway has not already implemented this. … It’s professional, and it shows Americans that while Marines are the best at killing the enemy, we also look damn good,” said Andersen, who is assigned to the individual mobilization augmentee detachment within U.S. Special Operations Command/Central Command at MacDill Air Force Base, Fla.
Still others are concerned about how a possible change would affect enlisted Marines who are lower on the pay scale. Cammies may be fine for the office, said Cpl. Patrick Heming, who is assigned to Camp H.M. Smith in Hawaii. The need to frequently dry clean other uniforms could be “a huge hit on the wallets of the lower enlisted.”
“Also, any junior Marine knows that no matter what their job description, at any given time they can and will be ‘asked’ to help with a dirty job, such as cleaning the restrooms or loading and unloading extremely heavy objects onto trucks.”
Morrell said Gates understands the symbolism inherent in the post-9/11 move to go to combat dress in the Pentagon, but that he simply felt it was time to get back to a more professional look.
“This building was attacked,” Morrell said.
“That’s not lost on him at all. And we have been at war ever since. He also appreciates the notion that this is a way for some to show solidarity with forces downrange. But I don’t think that he believes that one needs to be dressed in BDUs to connote that they are on a war footing, or that they are doing everything they can here to support the war fighter.
“It’s what you do, more than what you wear or what you say,” Morrell said.
More... (http://www.marinecorpstimes.com/news/2010/02/marine_cammies_022110w/)
[Clicking on more will open up a popup box with the complete news story from the news source. MilitaryWoman.org is not responsible for content.]
Once upon a time, service members dusted off their service and dress uniforms when they got assigned to the Pentagon.
It was office duty in the headquarters of the U.S. military, and that uniform fit the environment.
That thinking changed after the 2001 terrorist attack on the building. Camouflage fatigues and flight suits reflected the nation’s newfound war footing and symbolized the commitment to fight back, and became a common sight in the building’s 17½ miles of hallways.
Defense Secretary Robert Gates has led that fight for the past three years. But in late December, he decided to reverse the post-9/11 uniform shift, telling his dozen or so military aides that he wanted to see more businesslike attire — service uniforms — in and around his 3rd-floor Pentagon offices. The change took effect after the Christmas holiday.
“This is the headquarters of the United States military, in our nation’s capital,” Pentagon Press Secretary Geoff Morrell said. “The people we do business with — be it across the river [on Capitol Hill] or from around the world — are all dressed in business attire when they come to see us here. And he thinks we should be dressed accordingly.”
Morrell said Gates did not intend his uniform decision, first reported in the New York Times, to be mirrored throughout the Pentagon, and it remains to be seen whether any of the services will follow Gates’ lead.
“If people notice it, and wish to follow suit, that is completely their decision to make,” Morrell said. “He certainly has the prerogative to change it buildingwide and he did not do so.”
Since becoming the nation’s top military officer in October 2007, Joint Chiefs Chairman Adm. Mike Mullen has prohibited his half-dozen or so front-office personnel from wearing camouflage fatigues or flight suits, said his spokesman, Navy Capt. John Kirby. All must wear dress uniforms — not necessarily with the jacket — or Navy khakis. The other 1,200 members of the Joint Staff adhere to their own service’s Pentagon policy.
But in just the past two weeks, Kirby said, Mullen has asked the director of the Joint Staff, Army Lt. Gen. Lloyd Austin, to review uniform policies, “to see whether or not it is advisable or feasible to eliminate the wearing of fatigues.”
The review is ongoing, Kirby said.
A spokesman for Commandant Gen. James Conway said he is unaware of any plans to alter the Corps’ Pentagon dress code, which calls for Marines assigned there to wear seasonal service or dress uniforms on Fridays and Combat Utility Uniforms on other workdays. But Marines seem to understand the unique mission of Pentagon-based troops. Many support the move to a more professional image at the Pentagon.
“We have seen many changes take place in the last four to five years that have helped our fellow Americans to see that Marines are much, much more than just ‘devil dogs,’” said Staff Sgt. Jaime Canales, a faculty adviser at the Staff Noncommissioned Academy at Camp Hansen in Okinawa.
“We are professionals … in our trade, our conduct, our speech and in our lives, on the field and off the field.”
Canales said Pentagon-based Marines should wear the Alpha uniform, which consists of a green coat, green trousers, khaki long-sleeve button-up shirt, khaki tie and black shoes.
Maj. Bryan Andersen, a reservist, agrees that Class As should be worn at the Pentagon, but said that rule also should extend to Marines traveling for temporary additional duty, or TAD.
“I’m surprised that Gen. Conway has not already implemented this. … It’s professional, and it shows Americans that while Marines are the best at killing the enemy, we also look damn good,” said Andersen, who is assigned to the individual mobilization augmentee detachment within U.S. Special Operations Command/Central Command at MacDill Air Force Base, Fla.
Still others are concerned about how a possible change would affect enlisted Marines who are lower on the pay scale. Cammies may be fine for the office, said Cpl. Patrick Heming, who is assigned to Camp H.M. Smith in Hawaii. The need to frequently dry clean other uniforms could be “a huge hit on the wallets of the lower enlisted.”
“Also, any junior Marine knows that no matter what their job description, at any given time they can and will be ‘asked’ to help with a dirty job, such as cleaning the restrooms or loading and unloading extremely heavy objects onto trucks.”
Morrell said Gates understands the symbolism inherent in the post-9/11 move to go to combat dress in the Pentagon, but that he simply felt it was time to get back to a more professional look.
“This building was attacked,” Morrell said.
“That’s not lost on him at all. And we have been at war ever since. He also appreciates the notion that this is a way for some to show solidarity with forces downrange. But I don’t think that he believes that one needs to be dressed in BDUs to connote that they are on a war footing, or that they are doing everything they can here to support the war fighter.
“It’s what you do, more than what you wear or what you say,” Morrell said.
More... (http://www.marinecorpstimes.com/news/2010/02/marine_cammies_022110w/)
[Clicking on more will open up a popup box with the complete news story from the news source. MilitaryWoman.org is not responsible for content.]