Chewing gum in uniform?

[Fly Boy]

One of my pet peeves, chewing gum in uniform. If I catch anyone chewing it during a meeting or activity, I ask them to spit it out until they do. Problem solved.

[DakRadz]

Actually most of the time when I'm chewing gun people don't know

...chewing a gun...

Wait, what?

:clap:
Outstanding catch, sir.
HGjunkie, this is what he was talking about. Chief made a mis-typo

[HGjunkie]

Dangit, didn't see Chief's typo. 

[DakRadz]

Dangit, didn't see Chief's typo. 

Just to indulge SarDragon (with both his tick-tock and his grammar powers)- did you catch your typo?

[HGjunkie]

Yes.   :angel:

[Krapenhoeffer]

Seriously? Anything that makes breath smell less horrid is a good thing.

Obviously, you're not going to be chewing gum while at a meeting or during any away from squadron activity that requires Blues.

However, if it's a FTX, Rocket Launch, Cyber Patriot, or mission, I'll have a big thing-o-gum (and/or breath-mints) that I will hand out.

Professional appearance includes professional breath.

[Eclipse]

This:


or



Not this:

[Krapenhoeffer]

I brush my teeth after meals, I swear!

However, that doesn't change the fact that after the Sacred Caffeinated [Bitter] Elixir, my breath stinks.

Same goes for Cadets after they sneak in Mountain Dew.

[The CyBorg is destroyed]

During WW2 it was the characteristic of US troops that made the biggest impression.  German, Italian and even Russian troops always seem to bring it up in interviews conducted 60 years later - that American troops were always chewing gum.

I read a story from an RAF nurse attached to an RCAF bomber station in England that "the Yanks were always coming up to us saying, 'any gum, chum?'  We got so bloody sick of it that we started passing them Feen-A-Mint gum!"

But seriously, folks...and speaking as a non-gum chewer...

If someone is chewing a small piece of gum unobtrusively, I don't have a problem with it though I think it doesn't look good in formation.

However, I would draw a line at someone chewing a big honkin' wad of Bubble Yum noisily, popping bubbles that sound like pistol shots, or blowing bubbles the size of something Montgolfier would have thought of.

[raivo]

I wouldn't do it in CAP; people do it on the RM, but generally only in their workcenter. And even then, if I worked on an ops floor or somewhere high-visibility like that, I probably wouldn't. I would certainly not do it around my squadron commander, and not out in public (ie, the BX parking lot) either.

In CAP, whenever you have occasion to wear the uniform, you're in a situation where you'd be "on parade"; for that reason, I'd say don't do it.

[Krapenhoeffer]

Bubblegum =/= Wrigley's Spearmint.

If you're discrete about it, I don't mind.

Starbucks mints? For shame...

[USAFgirl]

I think it is just very unprofessional.
I do not chew gum in uniform and I do not believe that anyone should.

[HGjunkie]

From what i've gathered from this thread, it falls under commanding discretion wether or not gum chewing is allowed or not, so long as you don't give an unprofessional appearance.

It won't give me heartburn if someone is chewing at an activity other than squadron meetings (in fact I couldn't care less), but there is no chewing gum in my Sq. during meetings.

[JWilson]

Hopefully your commander isn't this strict:

http://movieclips.com/watch/blazing-saddles-1974/boy-is-he-strict/

Well there was this one time...

In all seriousness there are studies that show chewing to increase mental capacity, and as someone afflicted with ADD i find it to be a good way to get rid of "overflow activity" (the reason some people bounce their legs when they sit) it helps me focus on a task and as long as you don't chew obnoxiously or have a half-dozen pieces in your mouth I really see no problem with gum chewing, with the exception of standing in formation of course.

[JWilson]

Seriously? Anything that makes breath smell less horrid is a good thing.

Obviously, you're not going to be chewing gum while at a meeting or during any away from squadron activity that requires Blues.

However, if it's a FTX, Rocket Launch, Cyber Patriot, or mission, I'll have a big thing-o-gum (and/or breath-mints) that I will hand out.

Professional appearance includes professional breath.

I agree completely

[DakRadz]

During WW2 it was the characteristic of US troops that made the biggest impression.  German, Italian and even Russian troops always seem to bring it up in interviews conducted 60 years later - that American troops were always chewing gum.

I read a story from an RAF nurse attached to an RCAF bomber station in England that "the Yanks were always coming up to us saying, 'any gum, chum?'  We got so bloody sick of it that we started passing them Feen-A-Mint gum!"

And how many people took the time to Google this and realized that Feen-A-Mint gum is a laxative?

Dirty Brits.

(Yes, I necroed it. One free pass per quarter?)

[jeders]

During WW2 it was the characteristic of US troops that made the biggest impression.  German, Italian and even Russian troops always seem to bring it up in interviews conducted 60 years later - that American troops were always chewing gum.

I read a story from an RAF nurse attached to an RCAF bomber station in England that "the Yanks were always coming up to us saying, 'any gum, chum?'  We got so bloody sick of it that we started passing them Feen-A-Mint gum!"

And how many people took the time to Google this and realized that Feen-A-Mint gum is a laxative?

Dirty Brits.

(Yes, I necroed it. One free pass per quarter?)

Oct to Dec of the same year, not really necroposting. That said, I do hope that the Yanks got wise on that one fast. That could have some real issues with readiness. 

[AngelWings]

Even though I'm only a C/ab, because I can't run fast but I can run very long, I know the ins and outs of uniform regs. Simple answer is yes. You are allowed to. The miltary does worse IE smoke cigarettes. It only is a problem for those who believe we have enough time on earth to worry about meeting very small, stupid, and rather useless regulations. If it ain't in formation(poses a health risk, and it ain't part of the 3 things you can do at attention), during a military or public event(considering that it isn't before or after the important parts), or during rigourous exercise, it's 100% ok. People find it a big problem, but for what? Does it accomplish that much? If you're in CAP, your probably not stupid, so you know what you should and shouldn't do. People also advocate that you cannot use the BDU pockets to hold stuff, so they show how much coomon sense they have. Chewing gum is better than stressing out over regulations that exsist because of someones definition of professionalism. It ain't hurting anybody, professionalism is acheived by service, not by excesive regulations that show that you are dehumanized and have no common sense in the first place, and you are doing better than any smartas* because you ain't stressed out.

[manfredvonrichthofen]

Even though I'm only a C/ab, because I can't run fast but I can run very long, I know the ins and outs of uniform regs. Simple answer is yes. You are allowed to. The miltary does worse IE smoke cigarettes. It only is a problem for those who believe we have enough time on earth to worry about meeting very small, stupid, and rather useless regulations.

You know what? You are right, you are only a C/AMB, but you are wrong about knowing the ins and outs of uniforms Regs. Yes the military smokes, but they do it within regulation, you can smoke, but you are not allowed to smoke in uniform while walking. The thing you are wrong about is that you must abide by every very small, stupid, and rather useless Regulations. YOU CANNOT TAKE REGULATIONS AND PICK THEM APART OBEYING ONLY WHAT YOU WANT. Being that you are a new cadet I would for the time being listen to what those who have been around longer, and asking questions.

[DakRadz]

Even though I'm only a C/ab......... Chewing gum is better than stressing out over regulations that exsist because of someones definition of professionalism. It ain't hurting anybody, professionalism is acheived by service, not by excesive regulations that show that you are dehumanized and have no common sense in the first place, and you are doing better than any smartas* because you ain't stressed out.

Gum chewing is not specifically addressed by the regs, per KB.

You must still keep a professional appearance.

If your commander says no gum, that's not something to argue about- it isn't that unreasonable.


So because the military wants to look sharp (and that's wear our uniform standards are based), they are dehumanized and have no common sense? You might want to check out the number of vets and patriots on this board.