Creases in sleeves

[Treadhead]

For some reason, sleeve creases has been a uniform obsession of mine since I was a cadet.  A C/1LT once gigged me for not having them on my 1550 shirt (back in 1975) and its stuck with me through ROTC, army guard, active, reserve and currently in the SDF.

It bugs me having sleeves and trousers with no creases.  Is this something unique to me?  When you do inspections, is this something you look for?  What say you?

[SarDragon]

What kind of uniforms are we talking about here? Blues? BDUs?

BDUs do not require creases, nor are they recommended, since ironing wears out the fabric more quickly.

Blues - why not crease them in the correct places? If you're talking about "military creases," CAP and the Air Force doesn't do that any more. IMHO, it's just another way to wear out a shirt more quickly. I did them in the Navy, and they were a PITA.

Long sleeve blue shirt guidance; shorts sleeve verbiage is similar:

Blue, worn with tie. Collar of shirt shows 1/4
or 1/2 inch above coat collar; with arms
hanging naturally, sleeves extend to heel of
thumb. It has two pleated pockets and
convertible cuffs; tapered fit is optional.
Military creases are prohibited. Sleeve crease
is centered on epaulet.

Similar guidance for BDUs:

Cotton and nylon twill or rip-stop cotton; single-breasted with four
bellow pockets with flaps; straight-cut bottom sleeve tabs, and side body
panels with or without take-up tabs. Long sleeve camouflage pattern
(woodland green) may be rolled up; if rolled up, sleeve material must
match shirt and will touch or come within 1 inch of forearms when arm
is bent at a 90-degree angle; may be removed in the immediate work
area. When removed, T-shirt (other than athletic or sleeveless style)
will be worn. Military creases are prohibited.

[Storm Chaser]

The requirement in CAPM 39-1 is that uniforms be pressed. When uniforms are pressed, it usually leaves creases. As someone who has been in active duty Air Force and is currently in the Air Force Reserve, I can tell you that creases are expected when wearing Blues (military creases are prohibited both in the USAF and CAP). With BDUs, you'll get different opinions. The Air Force never intended their utility uniforms to be pressed (I believe this is spelled out for ABUs), but many members would take their BDUs to the dry cleaners and get them pressed.

I personally iron mine and make sure it has good creases. It's a personal choice as I believe they look better. It certainly not prohibited by regs, so if you like your BDUs looking sharp, keep doing what you're doing. As far as inspections goes, members should make sure their uniforms are clean and pressed or ironed. While creases are not necessarily required, uniforms should not be wrinkled. 

[Treadhead]

To me, nothing looked more ridiculous than military creases in BDU's. 

But I gotta hand it to CAP.  It taught me how to wear a uniform.  My old cadet squadron was brutal when it came to inspections.  But I do believe that it payed off in the long run.

[Storm Chaser]

To me, nothing looked more ridiculous than military creases in BDU's. 

But I gotta hand it to CAP.  It taught me how to wear a uniform.  My old cadet squadron was brutal when it came to inspections.  But I do believe that it payed off in the long run.

Military creases, which are the creases that go in front of the shirt, are prohibited in CAPM 39-1. Standard creases, those on the sleeves and pants, are permitted.

[Garibaldi]

To me, nothing looked more ridiculous than military creases in BDU's. 

But I gotta hand it to CAP.  It taught me how to wear a uniform.  My old cadet squadron was brutal when it came to inspections.  But I do believe that it payed off in the long run.

Military creases, which are the creases that go in front of the shirt, are prohibited in CAPM 39-1. Standard creases, those on the sleeves and pants, are permitted.

OK, so how about creases on blues shirt sleeves? I have done crease and no crease and either one look OK to me. Back when I wore a wing patch on the short sleeve blues I had a hard time with figuring out (this was when I was a cadet) if I should iron a crease in it, but as a Senior I stop short of any patch and leave it flat. In my working BDUs I don't do creases or shine my boots but in my "Sunday go-to-meeting" BDUs I shine my boots and iron and crease the sleeves, just for show. Yeah, yeah, there are those out there who will say I'm p***ing in the wind, but I believe I should look my best at meetings. Out in the field it's just a waste of time to do more.

[SarDragon]

If I could wear the blue shirt, I would have creases in the sleeves. They are easier to iron that way. My aviator shirts are creased. When I wore shirts with patches, I did not crease the patches. They lasted longer that way.

[Storm Chaser]

According to CAPM 39-1, "sleeve crease is centered on epaulet" for the service uniform blue shirt. That being said, most dry cleaners in Air Force bases put the crease aligned with the upper edge of the epaulet. That provides a more "natural" press on the sleves. That's how Air Force personnel wear it and that's how I wear mine as well. I doubt many people are paying that close attention to where the crease is aligned; the important thing is that it's pressed and looks "sharp".

[Treadhead]

According to CAPM 39-1, "sleeve crease is centered on epaulet" for the service uniform blue shirt. That being said, most dry cleaners in Air Force bases put the crease aligned with the upper edge of the epaulet. That provides a more "natural" press on the sleves. That's how Air Force personnel wear it and that's how I wear mine as well. I doubt many people are paying that close attention to where the crease is aligned; the important thing is that it's pressed and looks "sharp".

That, if I'm not mistaken, was a holdover from when wing patches were worn on the blue shirt.

[SarDragon]

That is correct, which is why I never creased my patches.