Army sleeves
Chief Tango sends us a link to the Washington Post in which they analyze the Army’s decision to roll up sleeves on their combat uniforms entitled Guns out: Why the Army moved to allow rolled sleeves for soldiers. I don’t understand why it’s such a huge issue. Either do it, or don’t.
The practice was banned for years. Then there was a pilot program. The results were studied closely. And on Tuesday, the Army made its big decision: Rolled sleeves on camouflage uniforms are now completely acceptable.
The move gives a stiff-arm to recent history, in which the Army was the only Pentagon service that did not allow rolled sleeves, even in the hot summer months at places such as Fort Hood, Tex., and Fort Benning, Ga.
“The results were studied closely” – probably more closely than our participation in the war against terror.
The decision comes less than a year after Milley took over as Army chief and Dailey took over as his top enlisted adviser. Although it has no effect on operations, it’s the kind of cultural change that can endear senior leaders to their troops.
Yeah, the troops will forgive their leaders for collapsing to pressure from the politicians to cut their housing allowances, doing away with commissaries, jacking up their healthcare costs, changing their retirement options, not giving them a cost of living allowance for the past four years, but now they can roll up their stupid sleeves. Yay!
Category: Big Army
And now they TAH ladies will be swooning over the picture of the SMA 🙂
Does it make the organization a better war fighter? Um….No.
But, it’s an indicator that the current leadership isn’t bound by poor decisions of the recent past. Which is in itself a breath of fresh air.
This is just another ploy to meet drawdown numbers.
Sleeves up. Illegal tats visible. Soldier booted.
That was easy.
What would the rolled up sleeve show that summer PTs wouldn’t?
It’s dark. No one can see them then…
Is this the best use of staff and DOD time?
What’s up with their skulls? One leans left and the other right? It’s like a carnival mirror pic.
It’s probably camera lens distortion, or they slept on one side when they were babies.
Why not a green tee shirt or a short sleeve shirt in the sumner and go regular in the fall.
The sleeves in the photo look like crap.
The old slant pocket fatigues looked pretty sharp with sleeves rolled, especially when mamasan starched the hell out of them
That was back in the rare auld times when the Army looked decent by simply wearing Army uniforms without blowing billions of dollars on fashion focus groups.
If you ask me, the Army looked sharp in WWII. They started going downhill, albeit slowly, from there. It all went completely to hell and really picked up steam when they started giving berets to everybody. I’m not saying the current Army blues can’t look good–my cousin got married this past spring, her husband is a PFC, and that kid was squared away in his dress blues. But compared to the greens he would’ve worn in 1944, the blues just don’t cut it.
I agree 1000%. The new blues are awful and they got rid of one of the most distinctive and instantly recognizable features of Army uniforms, the SSI. Dumb.
Whenever I look at photos of GI’s from WWII I’m struck by how classy the uniforms are. The officers “pinks and greens” were particularly well designed (though I agree that the Doolittle Commission got it right after the war when they recommended doing away with different uniforms for officers and enlisted.)
Going back to the WWII uniform, slightly modified to make a universal uniform for officer and enlisted, would be a huge improvement over the current blues.
OK.
Priorities, folks. Way to establish them, “leaders.”
I wonder if they spent as much time worrying about the impact on resources of accommodating transgender troopers as they did on concerns over the impact of SHORT FUCKING SLEEVES on resources?
Really? This was an issue? It gets hot, troops lose hydration while sweating into a uniform that for no good reason is required to be worn full sleeves down the arms….sometimes I’m not certain that physiology or basic biology ever enters into certain considerations…the Brits somehow managed to fight an entire desert war in short pants and short sleeved uniforms, defeating the Afrika Korps in the process…but hey let’s make sure we study short sleeves so our he-she troopers won’t be negatively affected….what?
The Marine Corps also agonized over sleeves up/sleeves down a couple of years ago. A huge amount of man hours and resources were consumed (aka wasted) in the process of analyzing this momentous issue. It was ridiculous.
One would think that the general officers and senior enlisted leadership would have much more important things to worry about these days.
If it’s hot, roll ’em up. If it’s cold, roll ’em down.
Can you say “bureaucracy?”
These sleeves are going up and down faster than a cheap canvas window shade. Do it or don’t but quick screwing around when we have troops in harms way at the moment and I believe Army leadership should be concerned more with ROE and battlefield issues than fucking and dicking around over uniform sleeves. While in the field in Vietnam, we wore them however it felt best and no one ever said shit too us about it. Let ’em wear them how they want depending on the weather and leave the troops alone! Probably someone’s scared of a tattoo they might see which will without doubt bring that sore ass subject up again.
http://terminallance.com/2016/06/24/terminal-lance-rolled-up-ii/
I was fortunate to be spared the worst of the sleeves down nonsense, as it was just being introduced when I was getting ready to retire. I can only imagine how miserable it would have been to be in long sleeves at Fort Benning or Fort Bragg in the middle of summer.
BTW, Vietnam Vets question: Is there any truth to the rumor I’ve heard that the particular way that Army sleeves were rolled (with the outside of the sleeve showing vs. the inside) was called the “Westmoreland Roll?” What’s interesting is that as near as I can tell, no other service and no other country rolls sleeves like that, it’s purely a US Army thing dating back to Vietnam.
The USAF rolls it our way as well.
It is/was called the NBC roll to my knowledge.
Somewhat agree. Prior to BDUs we rolled OD green fatigue sleeves up normally. BDUs came with the new sleeve roll requirements, partly because there was camo showing/out, and partly because you could go to sleeves down with just two tugs (ie NBC roll). All that was well after Gen. Westmoreland.
That’s right, I forgot about the USAF rolling them that way as well.
The ACU was designed to be worn sleeves down (remember the pen pockets that warranted an ALARACT stating you could carry pens in them).
Plus, most units is was in required sleeves down in the field or combat, which meant that we had them down most of the time anyway.
En there was the issue of my huge guns, which made sleeves up uncomfortable…
And the Army goes rolling along…..
Glad I am out.
This is so STOOPID!
Use some effing common sense. WAVES and sailors had short sleeves in the summer. Light blues were a two-piece dress with short sleeves. Completely washable, easy to take care of and nice looking.
Hot weather – wear short-sleeved shirts
Cold weather – wear long-sleeved shirts
I saw plenty of in-country images from Vietnam of soldiers/Marines with sleeves completely removed from shirts.
What’s the problem? Don’t these people have anything better to do?
Never mind, I think I already know the answer to that.
Test failed.
Results. Too many asshats in positions of command and/or authority that have far too many things to do rather than train for war.
The military leadership herd is in desperate need of culling.
http://www.duffelblog.com/2016/06/army-replaces-benefits-with-rolled-sleeves/
As soon as the ALARACT said “commander’s discretion” sergeants major everywhere sent out memos “NO sleeve rolling authorized”
like, I don’t know, maybe the ARNG CSM……
Yeah, saw that too. Another result of the ARNG inferiority complex. Theoretically, it is supposed to apply to every ARNG soldier in the T-10 program, but, in reality, it will only effect the guys working in Arlington Hall, and the rest of the force will go with their local guidelines, just like every other act of stupidity that comes out of that building.
How did I survive the 80’s and 90’s without agonizing over this? Thank God I was a youngster then and had my PSG and 1SG there to handle these important decisions. Now will come the 10 year rush to update 670-1.
I’m glad that this resulted in just a sleeve policy instead of a new, short sleeve camouflaged uniform that would have to be purchased.