I have a question for some of you grizzled veterans.
I recently rolled into shore duty and a guy in my office is a very serious collector of military gear. One of his favorite collectables is flight jackets. I don't know how many he has, it is safe to say that he has more than one paycheck invested in his collection. At first, I saw them hanging up by the wall of his office, and I thought he just had them on display. He has a lot of other gear in his office as well. This past week, I saw him on his way into work and out at lunch, and he is wearing the jackets.
I have pretty thick skin, but for some reason this really offended me. The jackets that this guy is wearing were issued to aviators who had the right to wear them due to accomplishments that they had made in life. They also have cruise/deployment patches on them to commemorate hard work that was done by the original owner of the jacket. When people see this guy on the street, they don't think that he is just some civilian collector. They associate that jacket with an accomplished Naval Aviator, somthing this person never has been.
Another thing that bothers me is that a lot of flight jackets for sale at auction or e-bay have been stolen from the original owners. Someone tried to steal my father's jacket at one point, and I have been offered a large sum of money for mine at an airport. I would not be surprised if some aviators here have had to replace their jackets due to theft at some point.
I don't believe that this person is doing anything malicious by wearing the jackets. If asked, he will tell you that he bought it on e-bay or wherever he got it. He is also a very nice person.
What's your take? Should I tell the guy that his playing "dress up" is out of line, or just let it go.
I recently rolled into shore duty and a guy in my office is a very serious collector of military gear. One of his favorite collectables is flight jackets. I don't know how many he has, it is safe to say that he has more than one paycheck invested in his collection. At first, I saw them hanging up by the wall of his office, and I thought he just had them on display. He has a lot of other gear in his office as well. This past week, I saw him on his way into work and out at lunch, and he is wearing the jackets.
I have pretty thick skin, but for some reason this really offended me. The jackets that this guy is wearing were issued to aviators who had the right to wear them due to accomplishments that they had made in life. They also have cruise/deployment patches on them to commemorate hard work that was done by the original owner of the jacket. When people see this guy on the street, they don't think that he is just some civilian collector. They associate that jacket with an accomplished Naval Aviator, somthing this person never has been.
Another thing that bothers me is that a lot of flight jackets for sale at auction or e-bay have been stolen from the original owners. Someone tried to steal my father's jacket at one point, and I have been offered a large sum of money for mine at an airport. I would not be surprised if some aviators here have had to replace their jackets due to theft at some point.
I don't believe that this person is doing anything malicious by wearing the jackets. If asked, he will tell you that he bought it on e-bay or wherever he got it. He is also a very nice person.
What's your take? Should I tell the guy that his playing "dress up" is out of line, or just let it go.
