Uniforms for meetings

[Chief2009]

What uniforms do you wear for meetings?

My squadron wears BDU's during our cadet meetings and blues on the one composite meeting.

Personally, I want to wear blues more often. In my opinion, it looks more professional. I understand wearing BDU's on testing night for PT, it makes sense. But for everyday squadron work (classes), I would prefer blues.

Just my opinion, trying to gauge reactions

DN

[Eclipse]

There's a lot of discussion about that here and no consensus.

Your experience is not atypical, though, especially for cadets.

[jimmydeanno]

Our squadron follows this schedule:

WEEK 1: PT & Testing, PT Clothes
WEEK 2: Aerospace, BDUs
WEEK 3: Emergency Services, BDUs
WEEK 4: CD & Leadership, Blues
WEEK 5: TBD

EDIT: Note this is the cadet schedule, however, the seniors follow the same pattern.  However, on PT nights, seniors wear the polo combo, including myself as DCC.

[Hawk200]

No uniform is any more professional than any other. A uniform might be more appropriate or more suitable, but not more professional.

Being the DCC for my unit, I hated wearing blues because I'm super picky about them, both on myself and someone else. We (meaning myself and cadets) only wear them once a month. Rest of the time, BDUs. I pretty much took a vote from my cadets, and their interests matched my own (and no, I didn't tell them beforehand).

Different units vary. Some you would never see in BDUs, others never in blues. All depends on the command environment, the local area, and the missions you cover.

[ol'fido]

I am going to wear my BDUs when I can get into the garage and figure out which box they are in. I HATE!!!!!!!! moving.

[Stonewall]

Nothing I can't stand more than cadets NOT being in the same uniform.  That's why I require BDUs be the uniform for grduation from T-Flight.

Across the board, IMHO, you can do more with BDUs than blues.  You can fly, launch rockets, air shows, ES, march in parades, tour military bases, etc.

My squadron, without my guidance, wears BDUs 3 meetings per month and blues once.

[MIKE]

If you go off the requirements of the Minimum Basic Service Uniform as per CAPM 39-1, it seems like the intent is for cadets to be in service uniforms for your typical cadet activities as outlined in CAPR 52-16. i.e. Not just once a month or less.  ...And even for seniors it's this, or the aviator shirt.  Not even the golf shirt.

[Stonewall]

If you go off the requirements of the Minimum Basic Service Uniform as per CAPM 39-1, it seems like the intent is for cadets to be in service uniforms for your typical cadet activities as outlined in CAPR 52-16. i.e. Not just once a month or less.  ...And even for seniors it's this, or the aviator shirt.  Not even the golf shirt.

Yep, minimum "required" uniform for cadets is short-sleeve blues (no tie).  That's great.  Hopefully CAP sends the cadet the free uniform.  Until then, we'll use BDUs as our primary uniform.

[MIKE]

^ Until you get an IG complaint for making the cadet purchase an optional uniform and accessories.

[Stonewall]

^ Until you get an IG complaint for making the cadet purchase an optional uniform and accessories.

I'll take the chance.  Plus, we don't make anyone purchase BDUs.  If they can't afford a set, we'll get a set for them.  Did it last week.  Luckily my wife wears small/shorts.

[swamprat86]

When I was at the unit, we did blues once a month except during the summer.  We didn't have AC and blues got to be a little too uncomfortable without the option of modifying the wear like with BDU's.

Our reasoning for wearing blues only once a month was the same as others mentioned but also the care of the uniform was a little more than BDU's.  BDU's hold up to cadet abuse better than blues and don't get dirty as quickly (or you can't see it as well).  Also because of the other BDU-oriented activities that we did, most had more than one set of BDU's but only one set of blues.

[wuzafuzz]

We are pretty informal on meeting nights, only designating a uniform for formal occasions (on the senior member side).  Most of our meetings there are a few polo shirt combos and a lot of street clothes.   Our cadets have a schedule that alternates BDU's (most common), PT clothes, or blues.

[SilverEagle2]

^^^^^ Unfortunate.

Seniors are the example and should be in a uniform when at a meeting. We are a uniformed organization, and should be in uniform when attending a meeting of that uniformed organization.

My 2 cents.

[jpizzo127]

The best and first thing I did when I took over my senior squadron was to slowly make uniforms mandatory. Though it's still difficult to enforce, at most squadron meetings, I've got 75% of my Seniors in uniform.

We are trying to get this to 100%.

One of the reasons I almost left CAP when I first joined was the lack of any professional appearance. The meetings were a rag tag looking group of people, and certainly not what I expected from the USAF/AUX. But over time, with gentle persuasion, and setting an example (I remember days being the only guy in uniform!), we've almost doubled our squadron's membership over the past 2 years.

And an informal poll of seniors indicates most want to be part of some type of uniformed group. (The one's that do not, usually wash out of CAP anyway, in my experience.)

[ZigZag911]

While I personally prefer blues, BDUs are more practical for most cadet or ES activities.

[Always Ready]

WIWAC (two years and two squadrons ago), ours went something like this:
Week One: Leadership, Testing - Blues
Week Two: PT -PTUs
Week Three: ES, Testing - BDUs
Week Four: AE, Moral Leadership - Blues
*Depending on the DCC and C/CC the schedule differed and often we wore BDUs more than Blues.
**The vast majority of the SMs followed the same UOD (+ corporate equivalents) as the cadets. If not they showed up with the uniform to best do their job.
This type of schedule works well, because you are wearing the uniform appropriate to what you are doing.

Here, very few of us SMs ever wear uniforms. Most wear the polo (including the DCC). I typically wear whatever the UOD (or the corporate equivalent) for the Cadets is, except on PT nights in which I wear BDUs, or the BBDU if I didn't shave that day. I personally don't see the need to wear a PT uniform as a SM unless they are actually participating (not just supervising or watching) in the PT. There is no set UOD for SMs.

Here, the Cadets are on some weird bi-monthly schedule...out of my control and it's very confusing (I'm the AEO so I don't have much of a say in anything)...
Week 1: PT -PTU
Weeks 2-7: BDUs, unless you are going to promotion board in which case you have to wear Blues
Week 8: Promotion Ceremony and Inspection (all night) - Blues (and some in Service Dress)
*My main complaints with this type of schedule is that:
  1. Not all of the Cadets are in the same uniform at the same time. *major pet peeve* On promotion board nights, half of the cadets could be in Blues (some in Service Dress, some not) and the other half are in BDUs.
  2. It's not the same every two months...it changes depending on when they do PT, etc. *another pet peeve*
  3. Not to mention the mandatory monthly briefings/classes/training does not get completed every month...

Sorry for the long post. I would like Blues to be worn more as most of the activities we do are not something that you need BDUs or PTUs for. Whatever you do, keep it simple stupid because there will always be someone who will screw it up.

[wuzafuzz]

^^^^^ Unfortunate.

Seniors are the example and should be in a uniform when at a meeting. We are a uniformed organization, and should be in uniform when attending a meeting of that uniformed organization.

My 2 cents.

I used to think that too.  Then I re-joined CAP and was surprised my new squadron had so few people in uniform at meetings.  However, the squadron is very active, with plenty of focus on our missions.  We conduct ourselves professionally, we get things done and done right.  We have over 100 members.  We wear our uniforms properly during non-meeting activities. 

Honestly, I just don't see the point in wearing uniforms to many of our business meetings.  Uniforms don't contribute to the accuracy of training or the conduct of routine squadron business.  Why do we wear uniforms anyway?  For the most part they are to identify us to other people.  In a group of people who already know each other, in a private setting, not a big issue.

FWIW, I spent plenty of years wearing uniforms.  I'm not sheepish about wearing them, but don't wear them for the simple sake of wearing them.

[RogueLeader]

Wear them because CAPM 39-1 directs us to.  Simple as that.  It's been posted many times.  While it is not the first line, its in the first page of text.

[Gunner C]

Wear them because CAPM 39-1 directs us to.  Simple as that.  It's been posted many times.  While it is not the first line, its in the first page of text.

:clap:

[SilverEagle2]

Agreed 100%  :clap: :clap: