I think Hozer might be able to attest to this. But our mutual friend used to wear his AWG's while on the boat just to piss the shoe's off for their lack of knowledge on the uniform and its many variants of wear. Granted I never heard of the uniform till I arrived at FASO 2 1/2 years ago as my Chief used wear them. But knowing is half the battle....
Brett's one of the brightest bulbs on this forum ... but I think he's missing the point on this one. The "effort" expended is something akin to what we hear all the time on this forum: ..."if you don't apply, your chances are ZERO". Or, if you don't try to save the uniform, it won't happen. I notice most of the "anti" sentiments seem to be emanating from the VAQ right seaters, past and present. Beware ... Think: brown shoes and leather flight jackets. Jimmy Carter's "hate Naval Aviation" bureacracy killed those, in large part 'cause the "good guys" were getting out in disgust and none of those staying in gave a damn.
Now I finally don't feel crazy for thinking I saw a commander wearing this in the API halls. A few of my classmates noticed it too, but while describing it to others, everyone thought it must have been a marine. Whew...not as crazy as I thought...
I have never met anyone that didn't dig AWGs. If Brett hasn't seen guys wearing it, it is because they are so hard to find. If the Exchange stocked them or even used them on models in their advertising and promotions, they would get around Write an article for Naval Institute Proceedings. The feature in the back called "Nobody Asked Me But..." Call it a collaborative effort and get John's approval to sign it An Airwarrior.com Commentary, or some such thing.
That's definitely the direction we were thinking about going. There was a question about whether or not thins belonged in Proceedings, but it sounds as though that question has been laid to rest.
Late to the AWG show here...been a busy week. Anyways, as I alluded to in the other thread, I'm a big fan and need to get myself a pair and wear them while I still can. While I was in Bahrain we tried to get some of the local tailors to make them, but no joy. I think they're a traditional aviation uniform and it's sad that they're not as well recognized as a symbol of Naval Aviation as the leather jacket or the brown shoes. I love the idea of keeping them as an "optional" uniform (it's not like shoes wear it anyways, so who gives a damn?). A little sense of individuality between the rest of the Navy is a great tradition of Naval Aviation, be it a unique uniform (AWG, flight suits) or something little like the oft-debated cover dip. These are the things that distinguish us as aviation professionals and not just another naval officer. And while big navy is always going to want us to toe the line, sometimes we just have to set ourselves apart. The gentlemen seen here knew it.
Why they are/were called 'Working...' They were/are called "working" because that was the original uniform you flew in (crew of the NC-4 shown below): Note the difference between the JG's jacket (no Capt. Kangaroo pockets) and the others? There's always 10%... L to R: Chief Rhoades, Lieutenant Breese, Lieutenant Junior Grade Hinton, Lieutenant Stone, Lieutenant Commander Read, Missing Ensign Rodd
AWGs You're on the right track with your reasons, but consider your audience and what their agenda might be. In this case it's to save money. You need to refute the money argument which is a reasonable one. Suggest that with AWGs as an alternate uniform, individuals would be willing to pay more out of pocket. Play on your reader's needs and emotions. One need is to increase moral and another would be recruitment, yet another would be the need to boost the confidence of the public. (Anyone who can actually approve uniforms will be an older person.) Remind the reader that the AWGs are a symbol of the ethics and extraordinary sacrifices of those who fought in earlier wars. Such individuals were portrayed in films such as 12 O'Clock High with Gregory Peck and the Flying Tigers with John Wayne; the uniform was a part of the mystique of those larger than life characters. A tall, handsome guy looks even better in a cool jacket--and a less handsome guy can seem handsome. (You really should see these films if you haven't.) The aviators who inspired these characters were role models for decades and when these films came out, no doubt morale increased as did recruitment. (Since the film industry didn't support Viet Nam we don't really have any films from that era to honor those heros.) Is is no accident that politicians such as George H. Bush had their photos taken in AWGs--the uniform inspires the ideal of the honorable, self-sacrificing hero. In today's world of free-floating trepidation and mistrust, a nostalgic uniform might retrieve the idea that as long as there are guys who look like that, the people need not fear.
I haven't had much to contribute to this effort, but it seems like a great idea. I hope that it works.
If anyone has ideas, re-writes, formatting suggestions, feel free to PM me with them. When we get to a point where it looks workable, professional, and concise, I will head up submitting it, unless someone of higher rank would like to "lead the charge". If there are any LCDR, CDR, CAPT, or ADM that would like to help, or put your name behind this to give it more strength than just a couple JOs working with a web forum, feel free to PM me and take the lead. I'm doing my damndest to fly a stable platform, but I only have a small clue how to get to the target.
Trimmed out the fat and edited for grammar. Watch for run-on sentences and comma splices. My thoughts are in italics. I think if this is to be effective, it has to follow the money. The NEX still has to spend money to stock or order greens for people; how much is this? How much strain is there on the supply system compared to coveralls, utilities, and other working uniforms? How much real support in the Aviation community is there for this, or is it a tempest in a teapot? For those more experienced in Naval writing, how long is a point paper and how much detail is one expected to get into? Yeesh. That probably looks like it got worked over by a high school English teacher with a red pen, but oh well.
Not sure how much it costs the NEX to stock them.. They are not stocked normally. Trousers and Jacket are special order. Trousers are not priced unreasonably, but with what the jacket costs, I doubt they are losing money.
To mitigate any NEX costs, couldn't we suggest that they be only made available by independant uniform suppliers (e.g. Abbot's, Johnson's, etc.)?
I don't know much about officer uniforms but it seems with the Navy wants us to look just like the other guy. The whole separating each other from one another is just not part of what the Navy is moving towards. It's this whole being fair kind of bull sh*t thats killing the Navy in whole. I would like to see this uniform get put back into the modern Navy and keep some kind of a tradition going. I am glad to see officers who care about the Navy still fighting for what they want. Keep up the good fight
Here's to this scheme going......nowhere!!! Great ideas, but be honest w/ yourselves. An email from a web forum doesn't mean shit to someone has their email screened for just such nonsense. Lets just go back to trying to avoid anything but bags at all costs.
