Shoe Lacing Style Regulation

[Airman De Ruiter]

I've always been taught that there is a certain way to lace my shoes/boots in uniform and I've always gotten in some sort of trouble for not doing it the "right" way, but I have yet to see an actual regulation addressing this? I prefer my own little way of lacing boots and I do it that way when wearing civvies and I'd like to do it uniform.

[a2capt]

Don't give them any ideas on things to cover in a CAPM 39-1 revision ;-)

If "trouble" is anything more than peer pressure, ribbing, etc. from a few cadets.. and even then..

Nothing in this organization.

[Airman De Ruiter]

No, trouble as in losing points on inspection.

[SarDragon]

Well, I was taught, at varying times and places, a fairly standardized method.

The lace comes up through the bottom set of holes. Criss-cross upward, with the lace coming from the right crossing over the lace coming from the left. Each end comes up through the hole as you progress up the tongue..

If anyone tells you it should be any different, unless it's something that does not remotely resmble the method above, just do it. It's probably been established for uniformity, so be uniform. It's not like you need to relace your shoes every week.

There is nothing written on a national basis defining precisely how to lace shoes.

BTW, once I got past USN boot camp, no one ever closely examined my laces in an inspection. Nor did that occur in CAP as a cadet.

[PHall]

No, trouble as in losing points on inspection.

You ask them to show you in the regs where it says how you lace your shoes.
If you ask them nicely and tell them it's so you can refer to it in the future  they should have no problem with your request.

[Airman De Ruiter]

Well, I know that it's fairly easy to conceal tiny things like that, but I'm kind of a stickler for regs so if I have to I'll lace it "military-style", but if I don't absolutely have to, I'm going to lace it my way.

[SarDragon]

Lace them the way you're told. It builds character. CAP is not the place to be practicing being an individualist, or a loose cannon.

[SarDragon]

No, trouble as in losing points on inspection.

You ask them to show you in the regs where it says how you lace your shoes.
If you ask them nicely and tell them it's so you can refer to it in the future  they should have no problem with your request.

[Airman De Ruiter]

All right, fair enough.

[Майор Хаткевич]

Well, I know that it's fairly easy to conceal tiny things like that, but I'm kind of a stickler for regs so if I have to I'll lace it "military-style", but if I don't absolutely have to, I'm going to lace it my way.

What is "military-style" lacing?

My Bates boots look like they did when they came in the mail. I did zero work on the laces.

[Airman De Ruiter]

Too much work to describe on my phone.  The bottom crossbar is over the top of the eyelets, left-over-right, laces coming in from outside of the eyelet as oppose to going out from the inside.

[68w20]

Too much work to describe on my phone.  The bottom crossbar is over the top of the eyelets, left-over-right, laces coming in from outside of the eyelet as oppose to going out from the inside.

You're over-thinking this. 

[abdsp51]

There is no right or wrong way to lace your shoes/boots.  If your squadron has a preferred method then nothing wrong with that they just need to make sure they tell you.

[Airman De Ruiter]

Too much work to describe on my phone.  The bottom crossbar is over the top of the eyelets, left-over-right, laces coming in from outside of the eyelet as oppose to going out from the inside.

You're over-thinking this.

USAFAUX asked.

[SarDragon]

Too much work to describe on my phone.  The bottom crossbar is over the top of the eyelets, left-over-right, laces coming in from outside of the eyelet as oppose to going out from the inside.

That's exactly backwards from the method I posted, except from the starting point.

Ask the folks in your unit how they want it, and do it that way. Like 68w10 said, you're seriously over thinking this.

[lordmonar]

I've always been taught that there is a certain way to lace my shoes/boots in uniform and I've always gotten in some sort of trouble for not doing it the "right" way, but I have yet to see an actual regulation addressing this? I prefer my own little way of lacing boots and I do it that way when wearing civvies and I'd like to do it uniform.

Here is a little lesson you can learn from an old USAF MSgt.  You do it the way your boss tells you to do it.

I am beggining to see a trend here with you on CT.......Be an Airman for a while before you try to be a leader.
If your leadership says left over right and bars on the botttom and X on top......do it that way instead of looking for regs and quotes to support your own personal preference.

When you have been around the block awhile....maybe you can have it your way....but until then....relax and be a follower for awhile.

[/surmon]

[PA Guy]

I agree with Lordmonar. Based on what you have posted you show all the signs of becoming a barracks lawyer. Don't become that guy settle down and listen for awhile. FWIW.

[Airman De Ruiter]

All right, sounds like a plan.

[Treadhead]

I've always been taught that there is a certain way to lace my shoes/boots in uniform and I've always gotten in some sort of trouble for not doing it the "right" way, but I have yet to see an actual regulation addressing this? I prefer my own little way of lacing boots and I do it that way when wearing civvies and I'd like to do it uniform.

Here is a little lesson you can learn from an old USAF MSgt.  You do it the way your boss tells you to do it.

I am beggining to see a trend here with you on CT.......Be an Airman for a while before you try to be a leader.
If your leadership says left over right and bars on the botttom and X on top......do it that way instead of looking for regs and quotes to support your own personal preference.

When you have been around the block awhile....maybe you can have it your way....but until then....relax and be a follower for awhile.

[/surmon]

Excellent advice, Master Sergeant.  I could not have said it any better myself.

[The CyBorg is destroyed]

Here is a little lesson you can learn from an old USAF MSgt.

Watch out for those SNCO's.

Like Bill Cosby used to say on the Saturday morning Fat Albert show, "if you're not careful you just might learn somethin' before you're done."

[Storm Chaser]

Back in the day (late '80s, early '90s) when I was a cadet, we had a specific way to lace our shoes and boots in order for all of us to be uniformed and standardized during drill competitions and when performing Honor Guard/Color Guard duties. Heck, uniformity was so important then that we would all go to the same barber and get the same haircut style before a drill competition.

That being said, there's nothing in CAPM 39-1 regarding that (and there shouldn't be). Frankly, although the commander could establish a policy on this regard, I don't really see the need unless it was for some sort of competition where everyone would need to look exactly the same. Uniforms issues are already complicated and highly debated; we don't need to make it worse.

[Patterson]

It depends on the boots being worn as to whether there is a "standard and prescribed" method to lacing. If you are the proud owner of "Quick or Speed Lace" boots, there certainly is a prescribed manner.  If the boots were new, they should have come with an instructional card. (I am referring to Boots manufactured for the Armed Forces, not those off the rack at Walmart).

Please correct me if I am mistaken, but isn't the OP an AFJROTC Cadet?  Surely
he knows this stuff....

[Rick-DEL]

I think OP is a cadet in AFJROTC, Sea Scouts, and the Young Marines. He also belongs to the BSA, YMCA, Youth Model Government, and the TSA (as in the Trolls Society of America).

Sorry, couldn't resist.... 

[Airman De Ruiter]

I'm an AFJROTC Cadet, USNSCC Cadet, and, as has been specifically pointed out, not technically a CAP Cadet, but treated as such. I wear the uniform and participate in most CP activities. I'm not trolling, I was asking what the lacing style was for CAP. I don't see how that can be misconstrued as trolling.

[Майор Хаткевич]

I'm an AFJROTC Cadet, USNSCC Cadet, and, as has been specifically pointed out, not technically a CAP Cadet, but treated as such. I wear the uniform and participate in most CP activities. I'm not trolling, I was asking what the lacing style was for CAP. I don't see how that can be misconstrued as trolling.

If you are not a member, then you are not allowed to wear an AF style uniform to a meeting. ..

[Cool Mace]

I'm an AFJROTC Cadet, USNSCC Cadet, and, as has been specifically pointed out, not technically a CAP Cadet, but treated as such. I wear the uniform and participate in most CP activities. I'm not trolling, I was asking what the lacing style was for CAP. I don't see how that can be misconstrued as trolling.

If you are not a member, then you are not allowed to wear an AF style uniform to a meeting. ..

I'm still not sure how that was overlooked...
Nice catch.

If the seniors in the squadron you're joining are allowing this, then they are wrong.

[Treadhead]

Almost 30 years in uniform, and i never really gave much thought to lacing my boots.  Could I have been doing it wrong all this time?  If so is it going to affect my retirement?

Hell.  Now that the cat's out of the bag, I'll probably be subject to an article 32 investigation.

[Storm Chaser]

I'm an AFJROTC Cadet, USNSCC Cadet, and, as has been specifically pointed out, not technically a CAP Cadet, but treated as such. I wear the uniform and participate in most CP activities. I'm not trolling, I was asking what the lacing style was for CAP. I don't see how that can be misconstrued as trolling.

Are you serious? You're "not technically a CAP Cadet..." but you "wear the uniform and participate in most CP activities." [sic] I thought you were a self-proclaim "reg nazi"? Don't you know that you're not allowed to wear a CAP uniform and participate in CAP activities if you're not a CAP member according to our regs? You know what; you ARE a troll. Since you joined CAP Talk, you have been instigating others with your comments and overall attitude. Your user name reads "Airman", but you're not an Airman. Your signature line used to read "C/Capt", but you're not a C/Capt. Now you're confirming that you're not even a CAP member, and you want us to believe that you're "not trolling"? Get real!

[a2capt]

Next thing you know, he's going to come back and say "I didn't say I wear the CAP uniform" ..

This would imply that leadership somewhere in NVWG is not only aware of this situation .. but .. permitting it.
It's as if people are being actively thrown under the black vans enroute to investigate.

[Cool Mace]

The only time I ever cared how they were tied was while at NCC.
The whole DT did it the same way for inspection. After that, no one gave it a second thought.

[Airman De Ruiter]

I'm an AFJROTC Cadet, USNSCC Cadet, and, as has been specifically pointed out, not technically a CAP Cadet, but treated as such. I wear the uniform and participate in most CP activities. I'm not trolling, I was asking what the lacing style was for CAP. I don't see how that can be misconstrued as trolling.

Are you serious? You're "not technically a CAP Cadet..." but you "wear the uniform and participate in most CP activities." [sic] I thought you were a self-proclaim "reg nazi"? Don't you know that you're not allowed to wear a CAP uniform and participate in CAP activities if you're not a CAP member according to our regs? You know what; you ARE a troll. Since you joined CAP Talk, you have been instigating others with your comments and overall attitude. Your user name reads "Airman", but you're not an Airman. Your signature line used to read "C/Capt", but you're not a C/Capt. Now you're confirming that you're not even a CAP member, and you want us to believe that you're "not trolling"? Get real!

I haven't meant to cause any problems and I apologize for the ones that came about. I am a C/Amn in AFJROTC so that's why I use "Airman De Ruiter" for a lot of things. And when I was doing the C/Capt Obvious joke I didn't mean for anyone to actually think I was a C/Capt, especially after makin it clear that I was new to CAP, I was "borrowing" the the joke from CAP memes.

[NCRblues]

especially after makin it clear that I was new to cap

Except that you are not even in the program yet, as you can not prove you are a citizen or legal resident. I highly doubt you have been a NJROTC member either, I also highly doubt your involvement in AFROTC as well.

[Airman De Ruiter]

I don't really see why. By the way, just to clarify, I'm in AFJROTC, not AFROTC. I plan on going the enlisted route. Anyway, I was an NS1, a C/SR, and my SNSI was a Cmdr Welp. I completed my ASII and am currently an ASIII-C/Amn. Citizenship may be a requirement, but it's not like they check. They request a SSN, but there's not much they do if they don't get one.

We are also getting super off-topic. I would like to finish this conversation in PM's, but in the interest of not getting this thread locked, to my surprise today, I was given a uniform way of lacing up today. So, that's the way the cookie crumbles. I'll take MSgt's advice in just following orders.

[Luis R. Ramos]

I don't really see why.

You have lied on this board, at least twice you have been caught by several members. When you lie, it casts doubt on everything else you state as the truth.

Lets see what the lies were:

1. The C/Captain joke.
2. Being a CAP member.

Any other regular wants to add to the lies this poster has been caught doing?

There is a story that is well worth repeating.

A sheep herder was bored, and to have some fun, yelled "Wolf! Wolf!" The entire village came out. When they arrived, the sheep herder was laughing. On two other days, he repeated the ruse. On the fourth day, a real wolf started killing his sheep. He yelled "wolf" several times, but not a single person helped him. He lost his sheep because of his earlier tricks.

Airman, Not yet a cadet, you have yelled "Wolf!" on this board at least two times.

(Thanks, Colonel and SJ)

Flyer

[SJFedor]

Airman Cadet, you have yelled "Wolf!" on this board at least two times.

Corrected for ya 

[ColonelJack]

Airman Cadet Not yet a cadet, you have yelled "Wolf!" on this board at least two times.

Corrected for ya 

FTFY ... 

[Storm Chaser]

Airman Cadet Mr. (as far as CAP is concerned), you have yelled "Wolf!" on this board at least two times.

Corrected for ya 

Corrected your correction... With all due respect, of course.

UPDATE: Didn't see the previous post before I hit the reply button. 

[Eclipse]

Citizenship may be a requirement, but it's not like they check. They request a SSN, but there's not much they do if they don't get one.

So I guess "ethics" and "integrity" aren't part of the AFJROTC anymore?

As to shoe lacing.  There's no "standard".  Do it anyway you want, but make sure you don't insinuate to anyone within or outside your
unit that there is a "uniform" way to do it.

[ol'fido]

I don't really see why. By the way, just to clarify, I'm in AFJROTC, not AFROTC. I plan on going the enlisted route. Anyway, I was an NS1, a C/SR, and my SNSI was a Cmdr Welp. I completed my ASII and am currently an ASIII-C/Amn. Citizenship may be a requirement, but it's not like they check. They request a SSN, but there's not much they do if they don't get one.

We are also getting super off-topic. I would like to finish this conversation in PM's, but in the interest of not getting this thread locked, to my surprise today, I was given a uniform way of lacing up today. So, that's the way the cookie crumbles. I'll take MSgt's advice in just following orders.

Let me see if I can give you an analogy. This may fly or it may flop, but it is the best I could come up with.

Jim Parsons plays Dr. Sheldon Cooper on the CBS show, "The Big Bang Theory". Mr. Parsons is NOT a theoretical physicist but he plays one on TV. He gives a very convincing performance as a physicist. For all I know, Mr Parsons may have an interest in physics, he may have taken a course on physics in high school or college, he may have learned rudimentary physics as part of his role as Sheldon Cooper. Again, however, he is NOT a physicist.

When you come on this forum, you are interacting with persons on this forum who have been members of CAP not just for years but in some cases decades. They know what the regulations, policies, and traditions of CAP are. They have been doing this a long time. When your posts take on the tone and attitude that they have, it is kind of like Jim Parsons who just plays a physicist on TV trying to debate theoretical physics with the faculty of the physics department of MIT or Caltech. It just don't work!

[Garibaldi]

Not that I really want to stir the pot, but when I was in AFROTC the standard was left over right on both shoes and tucked in laces. *shrug*

[Eclipse]

Not that I really want to stir the pot, but when I was in AFROTC the standard was left over right on both shoes and tucked in laces. *shrug*

Was it in an AFI or JROTC specific manual?

[Garibaldi]

Not that I really want to stir the pot, but when I was in AFROTC the standard was left over right on both shoes and tucked in laces. *shrug*

Was it in an AFI or JROTC specific manual?

Neither. The POCs told us GMCs that this is what we do. I should have said our Det's accepted and unwritten standard. I think someone way back went to field training and brought the standard there back to our Det.

[Eclipse]

OK, then that's a custom, not a standard.  Nothing wrong with that, as long as people understand.

CAP people, especially cadets, don't usually understand the nuance.

[lordmonar]

OK, then that's a custom, not a standard.  Nothing wrong with that, as long as people understand.

CAP people, especially cadets, don't usually understand the nuance.

Hence my comments to the OP way back on page 1.

Do it the way your leadership tells you to do it.....and move on.

[SarDragon]

OK, then that's a custom, not a standard.  Nothing wrong with that, as long as people understand.

CAP people, especially cadets, don't usually understand the nuance.

Why isn't it a standard? It denotes expected performance. The fact that it is not documented makes no difference in the basic definition.

[Airman De Ruiter]

I don't really see why.

You have lied on this board, at least twice you have been caught by several members. When you lie, it casts doubt on everything else you state as the truth.

Lets see what the lies were:

1. The C/Captain joke.
2. Being a CAP member.

Any other regular wants to add to the lies this poster has been caught doing?

There is a story that is well worth repeating.

A sheep herder was bored, and to have some fun, yelled "Wolf! Wolf!" The entire village came out. When they arrived, the sheep herder was laughing. On two other days, he repeated the ruse. On the fourth day, a real wolf started killing his sheep. He yelled "wolf" several times, but not a single person helped him. He lost his sheep because of his earlier tricks.

Airman, Not yet a cadet, you have yelled "Wolf!" on this board at least two times.

(Thanks, Colonel and SJ)

Flyer

I apologize to those who took my sig as an implication of my grade, but I assure you it was solely humourus in intent. As for the membership thing, I could/should have been more clear as to my status, but I didn't really touch on it because it wasn't exactly important for my questions. Once again, I apologize for any confusion, but I'd like to think that my integrity is just fine. Integrity is a big part of AFJROTC and a central part of what I teach my cadets.

[Eclipse]

Integrity is a big part of AFJROTC and a central part of what I teach my cadets.

Citizenship may be a requirement, but it's not like they check. They request a SSN, but there's not much they do if they don't get one.

[Storm Chaser]

OK, then that's a custom, not a standard.  Nothing wrong with that, as long as people understand.

Why isn't it a standard? It denotes expected performance. The fact that it is not documented makes no difference in the basic definition.

Actually, a custom refers to "long established practice" or "a usage or practice common to many". It's related to tradition. A standard refers to "something established by authority, custom, or general consent as a model or example". While it's true that standards are more effective when written down and published, they don't necessarily have to be. Furthermore, standards may be established at the local level, i.e. squadron or flight. You're confusing standard with directive or policy, such as those prescribe by regulations and instructions. Regulations, as well as manuals, may also prescribe standards. At the local level, policy letters or operating instructions may prescribe standards.

When I was a cadet and member of the drill team, the 'standard' was also to lace our shoes and boots with the left lace going over the right one. This standard was not in written format, but it was prescribed by the drill team commander, with full support from the squadron commander, and known to everyone in the drill team.

[Storm Chaser]

Integrity is a big part of AFJROTC and a central part of what I teach my cadets.

Citizenship may be a requirement, but it's not like they check. They request a SSN, but there's not much they do if they don't get one.

Based on different comments made throughout multiple posts, I can only conclude that this "cadet" just doesn't get it. Integrity is not negotiable. While there may be shades of gray when dealing with different situations in CAP and in life in general, there's no shade of gray when it comes to right and wrong. Integrity requires doing the right thing always, even when no one is watching. Not just when it's convenient.

[Airman De Ruiter]

Integrity is a big part of AFJROTC and a central part of what I teach my cadets.

Citizenship may be a requirement, but it's not like they check. They request a SSN, but there's not much they do if they don't get one.

I am a citizen. Citizenship is the requirement, not proof of.

[Майор Хаткевич]

Proof of citizenship IS actually required...good luck with your application without it.

[ColonelJack]

I apologize to those who took my sig as an implication of my grade, but I assure you it was solely humourus in intent. As for the membership thing, I could/should have been more clear as to my status, but I didn't really touch on it because it wasn't exactly important for my questions. Once again, I apologize for any confusion, but I'd like to think that my integrity is just fine. Integrity is a big part of AFJROTC and a central part of what I teach my cadets.

Whoa, hold on a minute here.

You didn't touch on your status because it "wasn't exactly important" for your questions?  This, after telling us you were (paraphrasing here) your unit's "uniform Nazi"?  Huh?  Did I miss something there?

Look, son...if you ain't in CAP, you ain't in a unit, and you ain't got no business being a "uniform Nazi" for anybody!

On the signature line, I got the joke.  I think a lot of us got the joke.  It might not have been a good joke, but we got it.  It's the status thing that really gets me ... here you are, coming in to CAPTalk and telling us that you are your unit's (again paraphrasing) enforcer on uniforms ... when you aren't even a bloody CAP cadet!!!!  You might be all that and a bag of crisps in AFJROTC, NSCC, and everything else you participate in, but if you aren't a dues-paid, card-carrying cadet member of the Civil Air Patrol, you have absolutely NO business saying diddly-squat to a CAP cadet about his or her uniform!

And even if I buy everything else you say...you're a Cadet Airman in AFJROTC, no?  In that case, your job is to make sure YOU are squared away.  Once you've accomplished that - and you have the approval of your element leader, flight leader, etc., to do so - then you can advise other cadet airmen about uniform issues.  (N.B. - if I am in error about your cadet grade, and you do indeed have sufficient stripes to be teaching anything to any other cadets, I retract this particular paragraph.  But not the rest of this post.  That stands as written.)

A very wise man told me, "Learn today ... lead tomorrow."  I pass that advice on to you, Mr. de Ruiter.  I have followed it my entire life.  It's good advice.  (Thanks for the advice, Dad.)

Jack

[SarDragon]

Integrity is a big part of AFJROTC and a central part of what I teach my cadets.

Citizenship may be a requirement, but it's not like they check. They request a SSN, but there's not much they do if they don't get one.

I am a citizen. Citizenship is the requirement, not proof of.

Tell that to an employer or the military recruiter.

From CAPF 15:

A. Citizenship
1. Are you a citizen of the United States? Yes No. 2. Are you an alien admitted for permanent
residence? Yes No (Must possess current alien registration receipt card [Form I-151 or I-551])

The squadron may ask for proof.

You're just digging yourself a deeper hole. Why not let it go, and save us all the angst.

[lordmonar]

Integrity is a big part of AFJROTC and a central part of what I teach my cadets.

Citizenship may be a requirement, but it's not like they check. They request a SSN, but there's not much they do if they don't get one.

I am a citizen. Citizenship is the requirement, not proof of.

Survey Says?   BZZZZZT!

No SSAN.......or Individual Tax Payer ID Number.....no membership in CAP!

[Airman De Ruiter]

Integrity is a big part of AFJROTC and a central part of what I teach my cadets.

Citizenship may be a requirement, but it's not like they check. They request a SSN, but there's not much they do if they don't get one.

I am a citizen. Citizenship is the requirement, not proof of.

Survey Says?   BZZZZZT!

No SSAN.......or Individual Tax Payer ID Number.....no membership in CAP!

Read it again, I was referring to AFJROTC, not CAP.

[JayT]

Integrity is a big part of AFJROTC and a central part of what I teach my cadets.

Citizenship may be a requirement, but it's not like they check. They request a SSN, but there's not much they do if they don't get one.

I am a citizen. Citizenship is the requirement, not proof of.

Survey Says?   BZZZZZT!

No SSAN.......or Individual Tax Payer ID Number.....no membership in CAP!

Read it again, I was referring to AFJROTC, not CAP.

And you still have no credibility.

[SarDragon]

If you aren't a member of CAP, and aren't going to do the proper paperwork to join, why are you still here? You got your original Q answered, and then have done nothing but argue with us about your status in various cadet organizations. Take a break, and come back when you're able to be more mature with your participation here.

[abdsp51]

Mr. DeRuiter please do yourself a favor and lay low for awhile.   Your antics and behavior here have already given you a black eye and you may have potentially given the unit you want to join one as well.  The NV Wg leadership especially within the Cadet Programs domain are well aware of your antics here.    You seriously need to remove the chip on your shoulder and learn when to be humble.

[lordmonar]

Integrity is a big part of AFJROTC and a central part of what I teach my cadets.

Citizenship may be a requirement, but it's not like they check. They request a SSN, but there's not much they do if they don't get one.

I am a citizen. Citizenship is the requirement, not proof of.

Survey Says?   BZZZZZT!

No SSAN.......or Individual Tax Payer ID Number.....no membership in CAP!

Read it again, I was referring to AFJROTC, not CAP.

And the name of this site is CAP Talk.

As for AFJROTC....somewhere deep in the regs there is a requirment to be a citezen or lawful resident of the U.S.
Now a lot of states and cities don't require proof of residency or citizenship to go to school.....and the USAF turns a blind eye to it....because they don't really care.

But CAP does. 

[lordmonar]

Mr. DeRuiter please do yourself a favor and lay low for awhile.   Your antics and behavior here have already given you a black eye and you may have potentially given the unit you want to join one as well.  The NV Wg leadership especially within the Cadet Programs domain are well aware of your antics here.    You seriously need to remove the chip on your shoulder and learn when to be humble.

Speaking as a member of NVWG....involved with CP.........we are aware of his antics.   

[bflynn]

OK, then that's a custom, not a standard.  Nothing wrong with that, as long as people understand.

CAP people, especially cadets, don't usually understand the nuance.

Why isn't it a standard? It denotes expected performance. The fact that it is not documented makes no difference in the basic definition.

In boot camp, we were taught the "standard" way of lacing our shoes.  One day, waiting to go into training with another company, I noticed that every single one of them had their shoes laced differently.  Apparently there are plenty of standards to choose from, it just depends on which one your leadership picks.  Once we were out of boot camp, the topic never came up again.

As was said above - if they ask you to do it a certain way, then do it that way.  Realize that the next leader might change it.  That's the way life goes and paying attention to details will never hurt.

[lordmonar]

In my BMTS days.....when we dropped a duce we had to cut the toilet paper flat and clean then fold it back nice and neat.

I assumed every BMTS trainee had to meet this same "standard"......but it turns out....that other MTIs were teaching their trainees another way of doing it.

Moral of the story is that not every standard is in the reg.