Texas Soldiers Fight for Right to Bare Arms

[mahatmakanejeeves]

It's the A-Hed, of course. Hat tip, the Newseum, which has the front page of The Wall Street Journal. on display every morning.

Texas Soldiers Fight for Right to Bare Arms

Army’s Fort Hood will decide whether to let soldiers roll up their sleeves in summer heat; some object to look as unprofessional



Sergeant Major of the Army Daniel A. Dailey, left, Specialist Cortne K. Mitchell, center, and Army Chief of Staff Gen. Mark Milley show the sleeve-up, sleeve-down option being tried this month at Fort Hood in Texas. Photo: Staff Sgt. Johnathan Hoover

By Paul Sonne
[e-mail]
@paulsonne

June 27, 2016 3:48 p.m. ET

Army Specialist Cortne Mitchell, originally from Staten Island, N.Y., moved to Texas for his assignment at Fort Hood and learned the meaning of hot. ... Spc. Mitchell and his fellow petroleum-supply specialists labor in summer temperatures that can hover around 100 degrees. Humidity can reach 90%.

Maybe it was the heat. Maybe it was the humidity. But the transplanted New Yorker and his colleagues had a vision: If they could only roll up their sleeves. ... “It has always been a conversation amongst me and my buddies,” Spc. Mitchell said. “How nice it would be.”

When top Army officials visited Fort Hood this month, Spc. Mitchell saw his chance. He raised his hand at a question-and-answer session and suggested a summer uniform. ... “What do you want, shorts?” Spc. Mitchell recalled the official saying.

No, he said, but what about rolling up sleeves? Army Chief of Staff Gen. Mark Milley met with Spc. Mitchell and agreed. The service declared Fort Hood would begin a 10-day trial “to evaluate the practicality of sleeve-rolling across the Army.” ... Spc. Mitchell rolled up and rejoiced.

The controversy rages:

‘Camo Out’ is going to ruin rolled sleeves for everybody

Capt. Russell P. Galeti Jr., Special to Army Times 6:09 p.m. EDT June 23, 2016

Full disclosure: at a yard sale this weekend, I picked up two pairs of camouflage pants. Mine were the kind with insect repellant imbedded and flame retardant abilities, at least when they were new. There's no telling now, as they've been washed many times.

I see that Spc. Mitchell and his fellow soldiers were petroleum-supply specialists, so maybe having the sleeves all the way down provides a degree of protection against burns. It couldn't be much protection if fuel soaked into the uniforms.

[Major Nikon]

1. I was counting on something completely different

[anoNY42]

2. Back in my basic training days

we would all shout "heat cat 5" and unblouse our pants...