Air Force calls them uniforms for a reason

  • Published
  • By Chief Master Sgt. Tammy S. S. Elliott
  • 90th Missile Wing command chief
F.E. WARREN AIR FORCE BASE, Wyo. --  Have you ever heard the phrase, "missing the forest for the trees?" 

It's usually made in reference to folks who overlook something obvious, even though it's right in front of their face. 

I think Airmen experience a fundamental example of this on a regular basis. 

We all wear a uniform to work. In our lives, the term uniform is so common-place, it's just a meaningless title for our clothes. The word uniform, as a noun, certainly does mean apparel. However, if you look at it as an adjective, it means same, consistent or without variation. 

My point is, by virtue of the fact we all wear an Air Force uniform, we should expect sameness, consistency and little variation, right? 

It makes sense to me. But if it were true, this would be a pretty short article. 

Somewhere, our uniform standards have become the forest and complacency has become the tree. The very cool thing about rules in the military is they should be very easy to follow and to enforce. 

The less cool thing about human nature is the tendency to exercise free choice in any situation. Uniform guidance may not always be timely or even popular, but it is typically black and white. 

Since I'm aware of a lot of gray out there, I e-mailed the first sergeants and asked them to share the most common violations. Within about a nanosecond, my in-box was full. 

The following are our top ten violations: 

1) Hands in pockets 

2) Wearing the watch cap without an outer garment 

3) Black socks with the ABUs 

4) Wearing unauthorized outer garments or items with
     ABU, BDU and PT gear 

5) Males not wearing v-neck t-shirts with blues or no tie 
     with long sleeve shirts 

6) Females with hair exceeding three inches in bulk and
     nails too long 

7) No rank on light weight blue jackets 

8) Walking short distances without a hat 

9) People outside of an immediate work area with no ABU
     or BDU blouse on 

10) Colored cause bracelets, like "Live strong" or otherwise 

And by the way, males need to know the rules for females and vice versa. I've been astounded over the years by the number of folks who are hesitant to correct the opposite sex on uniform violations because they're unfamiliar with the other gender's rules. 

If you're slapping your knee in agreement thinking, "It's about time someone spoke out, chief," that means you've seen it too! 

To that I say, good eye! But, I have to ask, does it mean you correct these violations? If so, thank you! If not, I'm here to inform you that you are part of the problem. If you aren't familiar with the actual standards, I strongly suggest you familiarize yourself with AFI 36-2903 and the Air Force Personnel Center site, because knowing and enforcing the rules is just as mandatory as adhering to them. At no point do we have the option to pick and choose which rules to follow. 

I've used uniform standards as one example, primarily because the term uniform makes it a double whammy on the compliance front. You will not find tables or annexes entitled, "county option" in any Air Force guidance. As Airmen, your only option is to adhere and enforce.