boots on sarex or live mission

[shoresfinest]

just had a sarex about a month ago....gtl approved due to the nature of the mission

[Eclipse]

Approved what?  GTL's don't have special powers to change uniform regs "due to the nature of the mission".

[davidsinn]

just had a sarex about a month ago....gtl approved due to the nature of the mission

I can't think of a single reason to not wear regulation boots. What was so special that your GTL and you violated 39-1?

[a2capt]

Nature of the mission. LOL. Some of the things that come through keyboards these days..

[davidsinn]

Nature of the mission. LOL. Some of the things that come through keyboards these days..

If he says weather, I'll come unglued. It get's far, far colder here then it ever could get in NJ. It usually snows more here too.

Lot's of walking? BS. I've spent many a day on flightline in regulation boots. If your feet hurt get insoles or better yet, proper boots.

[Spaceman3750]

Nature of the mission. LOL. Some of the things that come through keyboards these days..

If he says weather, I'll come unglued. It get's far, far colder here then it ever could get in NJ. It usually snows more here too.

Truer Words...

I can't figure out how to embed it like others have... Apparently it does it automatically... Cool!

[Turbine 33]

This questions seems to be simple to me. Sounds like you want to wear your sage boots to "show off" you know what's up with the AF and that you're in afjrotc. a classic case of "I want people to know I know about the real AF."

A Airman would adhere to regulations regardless of disagreement.

[manfredvonrichthofen]

The simplest answer I can think of is this:

CAPM39-1 states that black boots must be worn the the BDU uniform. So, get a second pair of boots for field work. They aren't that expensive, mine cost me about $30 at Walmart. Yes even Walmart carries good field boots, so good in fact I have two pair of the same boots. They are Bhrama and they look nice and are very comfortable, not to mention they shine really easily.

Besides, I have worn plenty of suede boots, and I went through more of them wearing the ACU than I want through wearing BDUs and black boots, and I wore BDUs a lot longer than ACUs. The black boots are very water resistant almost proof if you use kiwi the right way. Where as suede allows so much water and filth in them that if you let them soak up really nasty water, they will literally grow mushrooms.

[bflynn]

The official, regulation bound answer is that black boots are the only authorized footwear.

If you wear green boots, does it help you accomplish the mission better?

If so, then your leadership is making a decision between getting the mission done better and following the rules.  Which one they pick says a lot about them...

Personally, I don't care, but you don't work for me.

Sounds like you want to wear your sage boots to "show off"

The assumption that people are showing off is a dangerous one.  It causes resentment and impacts unit cohesiveness.  It is unfortunate that so many people jump to conclusions like this.

From my experience, there is far less of a problem with people "showing off" than there is caused by accusations of showing off.

[davidsinn]

The official, regulation bound answer is that black boots are the only authorized footwear.

If you wear green boots, does it help you accomplish the mission better?

If so, then your leadership is making a decision between getting the mission done better and following the rules.  Which one they pick says a lot about them...

Personally, I don't care, but you don't work for me.

Sounds like you want to wear your sage boots to "show off"

The assumption that people are showing off is a dangerous one.  It causes resentment and impacts unit cohesiveness.  It is unfortunate that so many people jump to conclusions like this.

From my experience, there is far less of a problem with people "showing off" than there is caused by accusations of showing off.

There is not a single way a green boot could accomplish the mission better than a black boot. Not one. As a matter of fact it has already been pointed out that black boots are better in some ways.

[bflynn]

I'd disagree that there's never a situation.  This comes from my actual experience in the distant past when I was in ROTC many years ago.

My black boots were shined, high glossed and looked sharp.  I worked hard on them and they looked good, almost better than my dress shoes.  The command highly desired that we have highly shined boots at all times.

I also had a green pair of "jump boots" that I wore personally when I went hiking or just generally working outside.  I liked them because they were lighter than the black official army boot and they worked for me.

When we went to the field, I was told to wear the green boots for field exercises because if I wore my black ones, I'd be too careful with them.  I'd avoid doing what had to be done out of caring for my boots.  This was in spite fo the fact that the only boot authorized for the uniform was the black boot.

Could I get another pair of black ones?  Sure, today I could without thinking about it.  But then, as a starving college student, $40 was a whole lot of money and I didn't have it.

So in that situation - which was better, the green field boots I had, my dress boots or not going?

Sometimes you just have to accept people as they are, as long as they get the job done for you.

[EMT-83]

So in that situation - which was better, the green field boots I had, my dress boots or not going?

Let's see, you refused to wear the proper uniform because you didn't want to get your boots dirty.

I would go with option number three.

[Eclipse]

So in that situation - which was better, the green field boots I had, my dress boots or not going?

Either wear the correct boots, or don't go.

[bflynn]

So in that situation - which was better, the green field boots I had, my dress boots or not going?

Let's see, you refused to wear the proper uniform because you didn't want to get your boots dirty.

I would go with option number three.

No.  I was ordered to wear my jump boots.  Gasp! you say?  I had great leaders who cared about me, who cared about the mission and not the minutia of the rules.  In the end, the mission was more important than an arbitrary rule.

BTW, you did catch this was Army ROTC and not CAP cadets, right?

So you'd leave someone behind who didn't have the right boots on.  How would you feel if your mission failed because you needed one more person to reach that injured pilot? 

Handle it a better way.

[Eclipse]

Why not just wear tennis shoes, or galoshes, then?

The reg about which boots to wear is "arbitrary", but your deciding to not obey regulations, because of personal convenience, isn't?

"Field expedience" does not include decisions made at 0900 because you can't be bothered to clean your boots at the end of the day.

[SarDragon]

I'd disagree that there's never a situation.  This comes from my actual experience in the distant past when I was in ROTC many years ago.

My black boots were shined, high glossed and looked sharp.  I worked hard on them and they looked good, almost better than my dress shoes.  The command highly desired that we have highly shined boots at all times.

I also had a green pair of "jump boots" that I wore personally when I went hiking or just generally working outside.  I liked them because they were lighter than the black official army boot and they worked for me.

When we went to the field, I was told to wear the green boots for field exercises because if I wore my black ones, I'd be too careful with them.  I'd avoid doing what had to be done out of caring for my boots.  This was in spite fo the fact that the only boot authorized for the uniform was the black boot.

Could I get another pair of black ones?  Sure, today I could without thinking about it.  But then, as a starving college student, $40 was a whole lot of money and I didn't have it.

So in that situation - which was better, the green field boots I had, my dress boots or not going?

Sometimes you just have to accept people as they are, as long as they get the job done for you.

This isn't ROTC. CAP is a different arena, with different rules. Follow the rules, or go home.

[bflynn]

This isn't ROTC. CAP is a different arena, with different rules. Follow the rules, or go home.

Yes, of course it is.  But that isn't what the story was about, someone made an assertion that green boots could never be better than black boots.  I gave a story that explained why it could be.

It's important to value rules over people.

[Eclipse]

It's important to value rules over people.

Not what this is about, not what your example is about, and not a good analogy.  I guess all the other guys who had to clean their boots,
or just wore their field boots were "misguided" because they followed the regs.

Not everything on this board is about "the bigger picture", where a lone voice in the darkness cries up like Spartacus to get us to all see the light.
Most of it is just about people knowing and following the rules.  People want to be part of a paramilitary organization, then they want to just do their own thing and are surprised when there are consequences.

[ThatOneGuy]

As several people on here have already stated, if it is not in CAPM 39-1, then you cannot wear it. Even if it is related to a mission. As much as a boonie hat would protect you more from the sun than a PC, I wear the PC. Why? Because that it is what is authorized, simple as that. It's called a UNIFORM for a reason you know...
Just my opinion of course.

[bflynn]

Not what this is about, not what your example is about, and not a good analogy. 

I'm sorry if you disagree with me, but that's what it was about to me.  You don't get to define my thoughts.