ABU

[DDeCotto]

Flag or no flag...I know the wing patch yes but what about the flag?

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[arajca]

No flag

[DDeCotto]

No flag

Thks

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[PHall]

Per the 39-1, the last day you can wear the flag on BDU's and BBDU's is 31 Dec 2016.
Per the wear instructions released for the wear of the ABU the flag is not authorized for wear.

[JC004]

Welcome to the world of Vietnam-then-Canadian-then-Marine-then-Army-Inspired Digital "Slate Blue" Tiger Stripe<sup>TM**

**Please note that while created by Tiger Stripe Products, the company has disowned this design and seems pretty annoyed altogether.</sup>

Now to be clear...wing patch is optional, unless wing commander makes it mandatory.  And of course the flag question has been properly answered. 

Do everyone a favor, including the Air Force, and wear minimal patches.  That was their intention anyway.

Get a fleece for warmth.  It's a nice add-on that should have been done with the BDU.  The APECS parka is nice...the material is better than ECWCS parka version II, although I think that I'm going to miss the hidden map pockets and giant side-entry pockets that accommodate pretty much anything but a tent or sleeping bag.

Remember that Emergency Services patches are not authorized above the nametape.  A bunch of people have had to un-sew these.

Get a belt that's on the bigger side.  I have 36 pants, but a 46 belt.  I don't have 10 inches hanging off (I haven't measured to see where it's distributed), but it goes enough beyond the front left belt loop to stay in it. 

Utilize eBay for components if possible, but make sure you're getting the right things.  Belts on eBay aren't cheaper than AAFES, but t-shirt packs can be. 

[Airplane girl]

But I thought we were supposed to wear the flag patch on the ABUs 

http://auxnewsnow.com/2016/05/its-official-flag-patch-to-return-on-abus/

[PHall]

But I thought we were supposed to wear the flag patch on the ABUs 

http://auxnewsnow.com/2016/05/its-official-flag-patch-to-return-on-abus/

Right above your name tape so everyone knows you're an American!

[JC004]

Stop that.

[NIN]

Stop that.

Killjoy.

[LATORRECA]

But I thought we were supposed to wear the flag patch on the ABUs 

http://auxnewsnow.com/2016/05/its-official-flag-patch-to-return-on-abus/

Right above your name tape so everyone knows you're an American!

  Brutal. Super funny..

[stillamarine]

But I thought we were supposed to wear the flag patch on the ABUs 

http://auxnewsnow.com/2016/05/its-official-flag-patch-to-return-on-abus/

Right above your name tape so everyone knows you're an American!

Could go back to the U.S. Civil Air Patrol tapes so no one gets confused.............

[Capt Thompson]

Blood type still goes on the sleeve, next to the Punisher skull right?

[A.Member]

Blood type still goes on the sleeve, next to the Punisher skull right?

Nope, both are centered on your plate carrier.

[THRAWN]

Blood type still goes on the sleeve, next to the Punisher skull right?

Nope, both are centered on your plate carrier.

Drat. Wasn't there a waiver to put them centered, above the name tape and between the cat eyes on the back of your patrol cap? Or was that only for the black patrol cap?

[indiaXray]

I know you guys are joking, but in reality, sewing stuff on is old fashioned, time consuming, or expensive.  Haven't the nebulous 'they' heard of velcro or rank slides?  I would love the convenience of being able to slap on a new patch, slip on a new rank and get back to business.  Alas, it is a fantasy.

[THRAWN]

I know you guys are joking, but in reality, sewing stuff on is old fashioned, time consuming, or expensive.  Haven't the nebulous 'they' heard of velcro or rank slides?  I would love the convenience of being able to slap on a new patch, slip on a new rank and get back to business.  Alas, it is a fantasy.

Heard of it, wore it on the ACU and loathed it. Sewing is neither time consuming if you know how, nor all that expensive. Aside from that, just the minor point that there is no hook and loop junk on the ABU...

[TheSkyHornet]

The problem Velcro has is that you get easy wear and tear of the "loop side" fabric every time you take a patch off.

If you have to wear/wash a uniform once or twice, or even more, times a week, it really wears down the fabric quickly because the hooks are tearing the loops out every time you pull the patch, whether to completely remove it or adjust it several times to get it perfect. The fabric becomes stringy and hair-like, and nothing sticks after long. So new fabric needs to be sewn on (or a new blouse purchased).

Velcro is exceptionally convenient. But it's not long-lasting.

The button pockets are far better than Velcro pockets, though. The Velcro, again, is more convenient, but it makes so much noise opening and closing, and, as said before, it wears out the fabric.

I do like the center insignia patch that the ACUs have, whereas all of the other branches still go with collar insignia on their blouses. One patch, one insignia to worry about. And when you folded up the collar and Velcro'd it for field operations, you still had visible rank on your chest.

[THRAWN]

The problem Velcro has is that you get easy wear and tear of the "loop side" fabric every time you take a patch off.

If you have to wear/wash a uniform once or twice, or even more, times a week, it really wears down the fabric quickly because the hooks are tearing the loops out every time you pull the patch, whether to completely remove it or adjust it several times to get it perfect. The fabric becomes stringy and hair-like, and nothing sticks after long. So new fabric needs to be sewn on (or a new blouse purchased).

Velcro is exceptionally convenient. But it's not long-lasting.

The button pockets are far better than Velcro pockets, though. The Velcro, again, is more convenient, but it makes so much noise opening and closing, and, as said before, it wears out the fabric.

I do like the center insignia patch that the ACUs have, whereas all of the other branches still go with collar insignia on their blouses. One patch, one insignia to worry about. And when you folded up the collar and Velcro'd it for field operations, you still had visible rank on your chest.

Never had that issue with BDUs.

[TheSkyHornet]

The problem Velcro has is that you get easy wear and tear of the "loop side" fabric every time you take a patch off.

If you have to wear/wash a uniform once or twice, or even more, times a week, it really wears down the fabric quickly because the hooks are tearing the loops out every time you pull the patch, whether to completely remove it or adjust it several times to get it perfect. The fabric becomes stringy and hair-like, and nothing sticks after long. So new fabric needs to be sewn on (or a new blouse purchased).

Velcro is exceptionally convenient. But it's not long-lasting.

The button pockets are far better than Velcro pockets, though. The Velcro, again, is more convenient, but it makes so much noise opening and closing, and, as said before, it wears out the fabric.

I do like the center insignia patch that the ACUs have, whereas all of the other branches still go with collar insignia on their blouses. One patch, one insignia to worry about. And when you folded up the collar and Velcro'd it for field operations, you still had visible rank on your chest.

Never had that issue with BDUs.

Were the BDUs ever closed up top? I actually don't know; never wore them before CAP. That's the only reason I know of that the ACUs had a chest insignia---because of the exposure of rank when wearing certain articles, like LBVs. Some of the newer vests blocked it up anyway though when you went full battle rattle.

Either way, the sew on rank lasts longer. At this point, the ABU is an Air Force uniform. It is what it is.

[RogueLeader]

I know you guys are joking, but in reality, sewing stuff on is old fashioned, time consuming, or expensive.  Haven't the nebulous 'they' heard of velcro or rank slides?  I would love the convenience of being able to slap on a new patch, slip on a new rank and get back to business.  Alas, it is a fantasy.

In addition to all the others commenting, the additional cost of the velcro insignia compared to sew-on, it is about a wash with adding the cost of sewing.  Also, if you want the color of the velcro piece to stay the same color as the rest of the uniform (moot point in CAP as the tapes/grade don't match the camo pattern) you have a set for each uniform and never take them off, even to wash.  the other issues that I had with the velcro is that the edges of the tapes were catching on my shoulders when I would lean over and reach down.  There's also the infamous patch swapping when you passed someone else too closely.  Lastly, there is a reason that the Army went back to letting soldiers sew stuff on their uniforms- many, many, many, (1 . . .2 . . .3 many) many (4, thats about right) soldiers complained and asked to be allowed to sew tapes, badges, grade on their uniforms.  I know of guys that did it before it was authorized.

I'm glad we retained sew on.