eServices announcement about ABUs

[Eclipse]

Also, I'm wondering what you suggest members/cadets should do if they don't own a field jacket, because none are available...

Buy one or pick a different uniform.

[HGjunkie]

I don't understand why people say outerwear is so friggin expensive... I got a Gore-Tex Generation 1 shell for $60 at an Army-Navy store in the Desert of New Mexico....

[titanII]

I don't understand why people say outerwear is so friggin expensive... I got a Gore-Tex Generation 1 shell for $60 at an Army-Navy store in the Desert of New Mexico....

My problem is not that it's expensive- I can afford one- just that I haven't been able to find one anywhere.

[AngelWings]

I don't understand why people say outerwear is so friggin expensive... I got a Gore-Tex Generation 1 shell for $60 at an Army-Navy store in the Desert of New Mexico....

My problem is not that it's expensive- I can afford one- just that I haven't been able to find one anywhere.

Are you looking for a jacket? I have a spare field jacket I'll sell for a low price if you need one.

[Eclipse]

I don't understand why people say outerwear is so friggin expensive... I got a Gore-Tex Generation 1 shell for $60 at an Army-Navy store in the Desert of New Mexico....

My problem is not that it's expensive- I can afford one- just that I haven't been able to find one anywhere.

3500+ hits on ebay (granted not all are usable and there's plenty of liners)
Lots under $20 shipped.

1900+ on Google Shopper (same caveats).

[AngelWings]

Lets look at this realistically. How long is someone going to spend outside in the freezing cold on a meeting night anyway? My squadron just has everyone inside learning things on blues nights, if it is too cold out and people don't have jackets. My squadron is extremely lucky to have been given a huge pile of gore-tex jackets from the local ANG wing, so anybody who doesn't bring them or leave them in their lockers is at fault, and we will not allow people to wear civilian outerwear, either. I doubt anyone is going to get hypothermia from being cold for all of two seconds. With the BDU's, for other squadrons, just have cadets buy a pair of cheap thermals. If it is so cold outside you need to wear multiple layers to stay warm, than something tells me you shouldn't be outside. If you want to train cadets in ES that night, have them wear warm civies.

[HGjunkie]

Shoot, I need to sell my M-60 now that I think about it...

[lordmonar]

Shoot, I need to sell my M-60 now that I think about it...

You need to sell your tank or your belt fed machine gun!?!?

[HGjunkie]

Shoot, I need to sell my M-60 now that I think about it...

You need to sell your tank or your belt fed machine gun!?!?

Totally meant M-65, and had a brain fart. 

[titanII]

Are you looking for a jacket? I have a spare field jacket I'll sell for a low price if you need one.

Thanks for the offer, but there's a chance I might get one for free with the whole "free BDU drive" thing going on. So I'll hold off until then.

[Al Sayre]

Shoot, I need to sell my M-60 now that I think about it...

Dibs on the tank!  Do you take Paypal?

[titanII]

say... is there an M60 mounted on the M60? 

[HGjunkie]

Shoot, I need to sell my M-60 now that I think about it...

Dibs on the tank!  Do you take Paypal?

Sure! You want that priority or UPS overnight? 

[Phillip]

Back to the subject at hand....

DoD policy prevents the transfer, donation, and sale of digitized camouflage pattern uniforms to anyone outside the USAF with very few exceptions. Unfortunately Civil Air Patrol is not one of the exceptions. This prohibition is necessary to protect the unique technologies used in developing the uniform.

This strikes me as a typical "we don't want you to know the real reason, so we'll give you the 'its classified' type answer in the hopes no one will question it" type of answer.

I say this because I can go to USCav and outfit myself with the ABU, if I wanted.  Perhaps it doesn't have all the super-duper sekret squirrel type stuff the "official issue" stuff does, but we don't need that stuff anyway.  If USAF doesn't want us to have the uper-duper sekret squirrel version, fine.  Why prohibit us from obtaining them commercially?  It's because someone at the top (CAP-USAF, NHQ, or both) doesn't want CAP in that uniform and doesn't want their reasoning to be public record.

[SARDOC]

Back to the subject at hand....

DoD policy prevents the transfer, donation, and sale of digitized camouflage pattern uniforms to anyone outside the USAF with very few exceptions. Unfortunately Civil Air Patrol is not one of the exceptions. This prohibition is necessary to protect the unique technologies used in developing the uniform.

This strikes me as a typical "we don't want you to know the real reason, so we'll give you the 'its classified' type answer in the hopes no one will question it" type of answer.

These aren't the droids you're looking for.

[The CyBorg is destroyed]

Why prohibit us from obtaining them commercially?  It's because someone at the top (CAP-USAF, NHQ, or both) doesn't want CAP in that uniform and doesn't want their reasoning to be public record.

More of the "thank you sir may I have another?" (think Kevin Bacon in Animal House) that we've been undergoing ever since the berry boards days...

[RickRutledge]

It will happen when it is supposed to happen. All the debating and talking about it in the world isn't going to speed things up. What we need to focus on is the ability to do our jobs better, making sure we are trained to do our jobs to the best of our ability and working harder to sell our story.

The red-headed stepchild syndrome that I see constantly on this board is very taxing and frankly there's many of us who are sick of it. The ground-pounders and top-brass that I associate with, both active duty and reserve, treat us with respect and appreciation. I'm sure there's always a few bad apples, and realistically it's that way on both sides, but the actions or comments of a few should not determine the attitudes of many. How do we eliminate this? Easy. Encouragement and enforcement. Don't be afraid to encourage the select few that are able to sell our story well, don't be afraid to put those people in front of others to show our strength. Enforcement is what it will take to eliminate the "wanna-be" types and those who choose to not follow the rules, the commanders at ALL LEVELS need to grow a pair and enforce the rules. Plain and simple. Over time, enforcement will "clean up our image" by pushing out those who don't belong here. My two-cents.

[The CyBorg is destroyed]

The red-headed stepchild syndrome that I see constantly on this board is very taxing and frankly there's many of us who are sick of it.

I hope you haven't had to be on the receiving end of it.

the actions or comments of a few should not determine the attitudes of many.

Agreed 1000%.  Now if we can just convince the AF to let bygones be bygones...

I have personally been treated much better by the Army, especially the Army National Guard, personnel that we have worked with than the AF.  It actually wouldn't break my heart for the Army to take us on and make us a volunteer component of Army Aviation, but that's not happening.

[titanII]

It actually wouldn't break my heart for the Army to take us on and make us a volunteer component of Army Aviation

lol and then we'd argue about whether we are going to switch to ACU's, and then to Multicam or stay with UCP   

[The CyBorg is destroyed]

lol and then we'd argue about whether we are going to switch to ACU's, and then to Multicam or stay with UCP   

I don't think there'd be all the messing about and dithering that there has been over ABU's.