Senior members wearing BDU's - USAF weight standards

[TheSkyHornet]

I find that there are a lot of seniors, especially those in higher up positions (generally older seniors), who are well outside of the height/weight requirements for their age still wearing the Air Force uniform. I think it's because nobody dare tell them they can't. Then again, we've all seen active duty officers who don't meet the height/weight requirements wearing their uniforms because there's no way anyone is going to go up to an O-5 and tell them they aren't in proper uniform.

What I can't stand is seeing seniors who have one BDU sleeve buttoned and the other unbuttoned, collars all jacked up, and their hair isn't cut/styled to regs. It sets a terrible example and looks greatly unprofessional.

I was taught you either wear the uniform properly or you get out of the uniform.

And if I see one more faux hawk.....ugh...

Horsehockey.

If you see a CAP member with a questionable uniform, call them on it. The majority of the times that I did this, it was greeted with, while looking down and patting their upper body "What? Oh, really? Well thanks for pointing that out..." Most times it was corrected by the next time they came to a CAP event. Of course, there are those rare exceptions where the person is a burro. Then they always have a commander...Where are you seeing AD unis out of whack? I have a hard time believing that, with all of the testing, taping, PFTs, and more taping. As to your comment about nobody wanting to call an O5 on their uniform, that is why there are O6s....

Been there. Done that. Not every senior member takes it seriously. That's just the way they are. You say, "the regs say....yadda yadda." They come back with "Well, yeah, but..." Not every unit it there is golden and hardcore to the books. I've addressed it at times, and it goes nowhere.

As for AD, no, it's not excessively common. But it is seen on occasion. If it's someone several grades above me, I wouldn't circumvent their authority and go up the chain on that. You start meddling with authority there, and even if you're correct, it's not going to come down good on you. But that's a non-CAP issue elsewhere.

As for CAP, the truth is, there are some seniors who don't want to hear it, especially not from a newer person. There are plenty of seniors with absolutely zero experience or ties with the military who just don't think it's an issue to be addressed. There are times when it's been brought up to seniors about cadets who continuously wear their uniform improperly or don't groom accordingly and they say not to worry about it.

At the end of the day, address it, and if it doesn't go anywhere after several attempts, just move on and do what you can.

[sarmed1]

When I was a young CAP member I had no problem correcting uniform issues (never rudely mind you) but I found over time that most every senior member has an excuse that they assume is unwaivering, "...my commander told me its ok because of XYZ, I have a medical waiver, in my unit this is an authorized item, we have a supplement that approves it, the wing commander has one too so its ok etc etc."  The only ones who listened were new to the program, former cadets or those with less rank (which were usually new to the program or former cadets)

I dont really correct senior members anymore because of that; it becomes frustrating.  Weight was usually the least of the issues, but it did come up now and again (BITD it was more overweight with rank on their BDU's...... vs wrong uniform)

MK

[TheSkyHornet]

When I was a young CAP member I had no problem correcting uniform issues (never rudely mind you) but I found over time that most every senior member has an excuse that they assume is unwaivering, "...my commander told me its ok because of XYZ, I have a medical waiver, in my unit this is an authorized item, we have a supplement that approves it, the wing commander has one too so its ok etc etc."  The only ones who listened were new to the program, former cadets or those with less rank (which were usually new to the program or former cadets)

I dont really correct senior members anymore because of that; it becomes frustrating.  Weight was usually the least of the issues, but it did come up now and again (BITD it was more overweight with rank on their BDU's...... vs wrong uniform)

MK

That's exactly what I was getting at.

And a major problem I see is that you get some higher-ranking cadets who get really fed up with the squadron because the standards don't get taken seriously.

I'm not trying to talk down my unit at all; not my intent whatsoever. But I'll throw out an example here...
We had a C/Maj who was CC for a brief period. The CC he had replaced was very laid back because he preferred to make friends with the cadets that be a person of responsibility over them. He got bored and walked away from the unit, so C/Maj took his slot, far outranking his prior to begin with. The issue is that the former CC's mother was the Deputy Commander for Cadets. During the C/Maj's stint as CC, he was more strict with the grooming policy and expected cadets to show up wearing the uniform properly. The CDC didn't agree with that and told the CC that he needed to lay off those standards. The CDC's other son had just become a Senior Member at that time and in her absence also tried to lay down the law that she had required of the CC. After some time of putting up with it, he walked away, only to recently come back to the squadron after transferring in a non-CC capacity as C/LtCol. Our unit is closer to home for him, but he has been extremely involved in other units and national activities where he feels that there is a greater appreciation for following textbook policies. So the squadron has grown to slack on grooming, allowing cadets to wear the uniform with haircuts well out of regs (without a doubt), obvious beards/goatees coming in, and unauthorized jewelry. The CDC has been absent for some time due to inactivity, but the relaxed standards still seem to be in place. It's slowly starting to come around as some cadets have addressed their issues with me as I stepped into the cadet programs realm of responsibility, but seniors really aren't pulling a lot of strings on the matter, saying it's up to the cadets to run their own program, and they don't want to piss off parents.

In my position, it's something I've addressed during promotion review boards, but it doesn't go much higher than that when I address it with my boss. I, personally, don't appreciate the appearance of some of our cadets during open-to-the-public events. I don't think it represents that professionalism. But then again, our senior members don't think these are issues requiring correction.

We have had seniors who don't look appropriate. I've addressed it before, but I got shot down very quickly as I'm being that "new member" who wants to come in and change everything.

It might just take me some time to stay with the unit and develop a greater trust from them or something. I don't know at this point. But I know for sure that if I tell a cadet "you need to cut your hair, that's the last time I tell you about it" I'm going to be told right away that I'm never to talk to a cadet like that again. It's how things have been run in this squadron, or so I'm told by some of the more serious cadets themselves, for the last several years.