Strict NWU wear rules confound sailors

[unhappycamper]

Within 24 hours of posting a short news story on the restrictions and soliciting feedback, Navy Times received more than 40 e-mails from sailors and officers expressing outrage over the decision to tighten rules for wearing the NWU.


Strict NWU wear rules confound sailors
By Mark D. Faram - Staff writer
Posted : Tuesday Jan 6, 2009 10:28:29 EST

Sailors are lashing out at Navy leadership over the service’s restrictive new wear policy for the Navy Working Uniform, the blue-and-gray camouflage that will begin hitting Navy exchanges later this month.

Under the new rules, sailors and officers driving to and from work will not be allowed to get out of their cars wearing the uniform except for a road or medical emergency. Sailors cannot wear the new uniform during any other stops, such as pumping gas, picking up items at a convenience store or dropping off children at day care.

That represents a significant tightening of the regs beyond the current rules for the uniforms being replaced — utilities for sailors and wash khakis for chiefs and officers. Those kinds of “brief stops” are allowed under the current regs.

Navy Times received more than 150 e-mails from enlisted sailors and officers complaining about the new policy after posting details online. Many called the policy “ridiculous” and wondered why sailors won’t be allowed to wear the highly touted uniform — especially since previous Navy leaders had said the rules for wear would be looser, not stricter, than those for current uniforms.

“This is beyond ridiculous,” wrote Fire Controlman 2nd Class (SW/AW) Jason McKeever, aboard the aircraft carrier Abraham Lincoln. “The fact that every other service authorizes their service members to wear their working uniforms to places like grocery stores or the mall just shows how out of touch the Navy officials are.”


Rest of article at: http://www.navytimes.com/news/2009/01/navy_cammies_rules_010609w/%2e

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

1. I agree with the sailors

Besides, seeing a person in uniform heightens awareness of them being around.