Design a new CAP-distinctive Uniform

[Pumbaa]

Pickee no showee

[Major Rob]

Pickee no showee

Cut and paste the address. Angelfire doesn't like hotlinking.

[The CyBorg is destroyed]

Pickee no showee

Linkee no showee either.

[LtCol057]

I just saw the pic he was referring to.  Trust me, it's a good thing the link doesn't work.   Throwing camoflague into the mix won't help things. I remember having to wear the OD green fatigues as a field uniform.  I also remember the upheaval when we finally got permission to wear the jungle fatigues, then the camoflague BDUs.

[LTC Don]

I just saw the pic he was referring to.  Trust me, it's a good thing the link doesn't work.   Throwing camoflague into the mix won't help things. I remember having to wear the OD green fatigues as a field uniform.  I also remember the upheaval when we finally got permission to wear the jungle fatigues, then the camoflague BDUs.

And, while a challenging time, it was a 'natural' progression of uniform transition.  This current upheaval is the result of pure politics and ego stroking.  Yes, the pic definitely has a healthy dose of sarcasm built in.

Hope all is well at Tar River 


Cheers,

[vento]

Here is the new CAP Distinctive Uniform
http://www.angelfire.com/nd/bluebanana/CAPUniform.jpg

Where's the reflective belt? 

[lordmonar]

It's very obvious that yours is the only sensible proposal. Let's review the issues:

1. uniform is needed for those who do not meet weight standards (and perhaps grooming standards.

That right there is a major problem in our thought process.

We need a unfirom that everyone will wear not just those who don't meet USAF weight and grooming standards.

[davedove]

It's very obvious that yours is the only sensible proposal. Let's review the issues:

1. uniform is needed for those who do not meet weight standards (and perhaps grooming standards.

That right there is a major problem in our thought process.

We need a unfirom that everyone will wear not just those who don't meet USAF weight and grooming standards.

Right, instead of thinking of it as a uniform for the "fat and fuzzies", consider it a uniform that the entire membership can wear.

[RogueLeader]

It's very obvious that yours is the only sensible proposal. Let's review the issues:

1. uniform is needed for those who do not meet weight standards (and perhaps grooming standards.

That right there is a major problem in our thought process.

We need a unfirom that everyone will wear not just those who don't meet USAF weight and grooming standards.

One everybody CAN wear or WILL wear?

[lordmonar]

It's very obvious that yours is the only sensible proposal. Let's review the issues:

1. uniform is needed for those who do not meet weight standards (and perhaps grooming standards.

That right there is a major problem in our thought process.

We need a unfirom that everyone will wear not just those who don't meet USAF weight and grooming standards.

One everybody CAN wear or WILL wear?

WILL!

[wuzafuzz]

It's very obvious that yours is the only sensible proposal. Let's review the issues:

1. uniform is needed for those who do not meet weight standards (and perhaps grooming standards.

That right there is a major problem in our thought process.

We need a unfirom that everyone will wear not just those who don't meet USAF weight and grooming standards.

One everybody CAN wear or WILL wear?

WILL!

Just don't make it a guayabara shirt or a Mr Furley jumpsuit.  I CAN'T wear those!

[Gunner C]

Most of us WON'T wear one.  Buy-in by the entire membership is key.

[High Speed Low Drag]

I like the "LAPD Blue" color jacket.  I think the unifrom done by kd8 lloks great.   Having said that, here is a copy of a post that I did on another thread before I knew this one was in existance.  Some  of what I said below is not acurate for this thread.

KUDOS to the committee!!!  I need a uniform that looks good and I loved the CSU.  I am very disappointed that it was ripped from us. I am proud of my awards and my qualifications and would strongly oppose any proposal that would strip the "military-style" away from what we are wearing.  From reading the board, I've seen a lot of suggestions and thoughts thrown out, but I haven't seen the codified guidelines.  Here are my thoughts for guidelines:

*** Note this would be for the non-USAF uniform only.  Those that want to wear the USAF-style should still do so. *****

1 – The uniform should be extremely cost-effective.  SMs are already paying a lot up-front in costs, we should try to keep this cost down.  One of the ways to do this is to use as much "off-the-rack" as possible, with possible multiple suppliers.

2 – The uniform should be CAP distinctive, but military-style. 

3 – The uniform should be flexible.  There should be one "base set" of service uniforms – just like everything builds on the basic light blue shirt / dark blue pants for USAF.  For us, multiple uniform combos should spawn from the basic white/grays.

Now for some thoughts to the committee. 

I would really like to explore the black trousers ** LAPD Blue ** idea.  With all the gray on the white shirt, gray slacks "wash-out" the person wearing the uniform even more.  The black trousers would serve to add contrast to the ensemble.  Also, with the Army doing away with the black trousers and going all blue (see below), black will be distinctive.   

Tried to put pic in, couldn't figure out how to do it.

And since anyone wearing epaulette sleeves on the Army uniform will have stripe down the trousers, we will avoid further conflict.

I would like to see the Army black windbreaker become the designated jacket for the combo, with the requisite gray epaulette sleeves.  Ditto the commando sweater.

I agree with a cap/hat.  If we use the black trousers, then the US Navy's new black flight cap with the CAP SM eagle will go nicely with it .  (Again, off the rack = lower costs).

Service Coat – Now that will be the hard one.  I definitely think we should incorporate one, since the corporate service coat died.  Wide open for ideas about that.  *** I like the coat kd8 did in this thread

[Pumbaa]

Black pants, white shirt, black tie....

Hmmmm.. Oh yeah I wore that when I was working as a busboy in a restaurant when I was 16...

Bus driver, bus boy... there will be no winning here...

[billford1]

Black trousers with the aviator shirt instead of gray sounds great. Throw in the windbreaker. No hat thanks.

[Ned]

Not to be too much of a wet blanket here, but part of the problem we face every time we go down the path of designing a single  professional CAP uniform that looks good on all of our senior members is the fact that it is simply impossible to come up with such a thing.

Really.  I submit that no other organization in the world has such a diverse set of members, missions, and working conditions that we have here in CAP.

We're talking about a professional-looking uniform that can work for members:

• 18 to 100 years of age.
  
• 85 to 385 pounds.
  
• with the widest possible range of disabilities from canes to wheelchairs.
  
• Widely varying facial and head hair.
  
• in climatic areas ranging from Alaska to Puerto Rico (which drives outergarments and footwear).
  
• and occaisonal formal events.
  

Even assuming we have other CAP-specific uniforms for field work and flying, it remains a daunting challenge.

I can't think of another uniformed organization in the world that has such variety, unless you count crew uniforms at McDonalds which I suspect will not pass the "professional appearance" test.

There is a lot of good faith effort going on here, but it is as ultimately futile as inventing a perpetual motion machine.

The AF has about the same number of uniform combinations that we do, and so does every other military service.  And they don't have anything approaching the diversity in membership that we do.

But feel free to prove me wrong . . . . .

[jacob]

Comprehensive list there, Ned    And yes, I agree it is impossible to design a uniform that will look good on everyone.  But we can sure do a better job than the current situation!

[PhotogPilot]

Here is the new CAP Distinctive Uniform
http://www.angelfire.com/nd/bluebanana/CAPUniform.jpg

Where's the reflective belt? 

I'm sorry, that just won't do.

There's no boonie hat.

[The CyBorg is destroyed]

Ned is right in many ways.  We simply cannot design a uniform that is going to please everyone, regardless of body shape or hirsuteness.

I hope we can at least come up with some sort of compromise, one that all our membership and the Air Force can at least be OK with.

Sorry for the dual post - my bad.

[Strick]

we should look at wearing buisness  clothes or polos at this point