Switching to ABU's

[Sergeant#40]

When are we supposed to be switching to ABU's?

[NIN]

When are we supposed to be switching to ABU's?

The first of Never

[Garibaldi]

Didn't Mike or some admin lock ABU out of the system?

[a2capt]

I do have to say, the question is simply not going to go away, not unless they send out slips of paper with every renewal, every initial, right there on top of the uniform pamphlet, 'We will never be switching', and even then..

Because the whole thing was utterly stupid IMHO, to begin with. I also bet the AF will be using that stuff 10 years from now, and we'll still be sniveling about the lack of trickle down supply.

[The14th]

Hopefully never. Those things are god awful ugly.

[Garibaldi]

The only reason I can see that folks want to switch to them is this: It just shows that we have a link to our parent organization.  There is no purpose, no reason, no logic to us switching over. Even though 95% of the US military does not use BDUs on a regular basis, they are still used by various LEOs and other organizations. There was no real reason for the AF to switch either. There was no tactical or strategic advantage to using that uniform. They don't need to hide; where there is an airplane, there usually is a bunch of airmen running around servicing it. Admin folks don't need to blend in to their environment (although they sometimes do). I can't see any reason the AF NEEDED to change over to a digital pattern, and there is absolutely NO REASON we NEED to. The main proponents of the change are the cadets (83%) who think they are tak-ti-kewl, and the remaining 17% are divided among seniors who either think the same way or are sick of paying for cheaper knock-offs that don't last. At first, I wanted them to the point I went and got a set and put CAP insignia on it and found a pair of boots for cheap when I heard the "news" that the new uniform would be forthcoming SOON. Two years later it's still on the table (under the table and  buried under someone's shoes, really) and I have sold them and invested in more BDUs.

Are we going to change? Not in my lifetime, probably.

Should we change? No.

Why not? There is no advantage to changing over. We don't need to hide. More confusion from the general public on who we are. Expense. The military is researching another multi-service uniform. And because the DoD doesn't want us to (last I heard).

Is the issue going to die? No, because the rumor mill is always churning. And cadets love to show off how much they know by telling others we are getting them soon because their best friend's brother's mother's sister's cousin's boyfriend has a friend who knows someone at the Pentagon who saw Ferris pass out at 31 Flavor's last night who says it's just waiting a signature.

Should we lock out threads with ABU in them? Yes, but someone would figure out a way to spoof the system and still ask.

[NIN]

<snip> their brother's mother's sister's cousin's boyfriend has a friend who knows someone at the Pentagon who saw Ferris pass out at 31 Flavor's lats night who says it's just waiting a signature.

Whoa.

I guess its pretty serious.

Like you, I have a set of ABUs. When I un-retired last year, I didn't want to get a whole set of BDUs stitched up just to switcheroo, so I held off.  (my luck is like that, so I knew that the minute I did that, I'd get hosed)

Also, I had fairly solid intel on the staffing process so I just parked my ABUs on a hangar for the "final word."

Which, sadly, never came.

Good thing? I only spent about $30 on three pair of trousers and a shirt on ebay.  You can literally get good ABUs cheap.

[AlphaSigOU]

Simple, two-letter response:

NO!!!

[Garibaldi]

Simple, two-letter response:

NO!!!

Here, drink this. It's a nice, tall glass of NOPE.

[FlyTiger77]

I just checked and the "Search" button is still functioning...

[Private Investigator]

To bypass the "ABU" filter just type in "@&V". 

[coudano]

When are we supposed to be switching to ABU's?

you can get them approximately 5 days after you step off the bus in san antonio

[SunDog]

Heck, someone bit my head off when I asked why cadets wore woodland camo. I mean, it's OK with me, but it just seemed weird they would need camo. Didn't know the freebie history. And hadn't seen a SM  wearing them, or had, and forgot.  The BDUs are ugly enough - like an unmade bed, but made more sense (to me) because I figured we weren't actually trying to hide, right?

[Fubar]

It just shows that we have a link to our parent organization.

I see the term "parent organization" thrown around quite a bit on this board and I've never thought of the Air Force as a paternal. We were assigned to the Air Force, they weren't the driving force behind our organization's creation. They certainly didn't ask to be our overseers and they continually demonstrate by their budgeting and our re-assignments down the chain of command just how important they think we are. They hold us to the strict letter of the law regarding uniform wear while turning a blind eye to other organizations who wear what they want.

More like legal guardian than parent.

[lordmonar]

Okay.

We don't need camo.

We need a uniform that marks us as part of the USAF team.

If the USAF decided they were going to wear lime green fatigues (LGFs) I would want CAP in LGFs.

It is that simple.   Why is that so hard to understand?  What is wrong with wanting to look like the USAF?

[Storm Chaser]

Okay.

We don't need camo.

We need a uniform that marks us as part of the USAF team.

If the USAF decided they were going to wear lime green fatigues (LGFs) I would want CAP in LGFs.

It is that simple.   Why is that so hard to understand?  What is wrong with wanting to look like the USAF?

That only half of us are allowed to look like the USAF.

[lordmonar]

Okay.

We don't need camo.

We need a uniform that marks us as part of the USAF team.

If the USAF decided they were going to wear lime green fatigues (LGFs) I would want CAP in LGFs.

It is that simple.   Why is that so hard to understand?  What is wrong with wanting to look like the USAF?

That only half of us are allowed to look like the USAF.

Not if I had my way.  But that is another thread.

The question was why do I want ABUs.....not what is the best uniform policy for CAP.

[Eclipse]

The best poilcy for CAP is to have a uniform.

Period.

Affinity before mission accomplishes neither.

[The14th]

Okay.

We don't need camo.

We need a uniform that marks us as part of the USAF team.

If the USAF decided they were going to wear lime green fatigues (LGFs) I would want CAP in LGFs.

It is that simple.   Why is that so hard to understand?  What is wrong with wanting to look like the USAF?

Because CAP isn't the Air Force, nor the military. We are a CIVILIAN Auxiliary. We should be grateful that the AF even allows us to wear the blues or even the BDUs.

Thinking we "need" ABUs to "mark us as part of the USAF team" just screams of poseritis. Especially when a majority of the time, CAP and AF are completely separate from each other.

Anyone who cares about what we wear or don't wear clearly doesn't understand the mission.

[PHall]

Okay.

We don't need camo.

We need a uniform that marks us as part of the USAF team.

If the USAF decided they were going to wear lime green fatigues (LGFs) I would want CAP in LGFs.

It is that simple.   Why is that so hard to understand?  What is wrong with wanting to look like the USAF?

Because CAP isn't the Air Force, nor the military. We are a CIVILIAN Auxiliary. We should be grateful that the AF even allows us to wear the blues or even the BDUs.

Thinking we "need" ABUs to "mark us as part of the USAF team" just screams of poseritis. Especially when a majority of the time, CAP and AF are completely separate from each other.

Anyone who cares about what we wear or don't wear clearly doesn't understand the mission.

And which mission would that be? There are three.