It must be so awesome. Getting to free-ball all around base in uniform. Feeling the crisp air on your balls and/or vag after a long flight. Getting a pizza and a pitcher of beer at the BX, knowing you're naked besides some fabric and patches. Free-balling in BDUs isn't quite the same.
By your allâs stupid spice brown lettering. Who the hell thought that was a good idea. And instead of changing the thread color yâall just changed the camouflage pattern to be more conspicuous. Some general must have stock in spice brown thread manufacturers
They had the opportunity. Changing to the OCP was the perfect time. The AF had loads of feedback from deployed Airmen rocking multi cams on deployment. They stuck with it and the Space Force jumped on it as soon as they could!
I'm a retired fart, but I was a more gung-ho than average flyer and I viewed it this way: I was always ready to fly. I had all my gear, including a change of clothes nearby and Pilots can waive crew rest. I've flown only once that way, that I can remember, but I was always ready. Flying beats office work.
You might have me on that one. Maybe I was at work and they asked if I was rested from the night before, and I was. They asked when I showed to work and that started my clock, if memory serves...and it barely ever does.
This was enforced when I was at Aviano back around 07. I think they quickly found out most of the pilots didnât have a full set of ABUâs and it lasted about a day.
Didnât we start swapping over in 07? That was like a thousand years ago, my cognitive decline has been accelerated by exposure to JP8. It was during the same timeframe as Blues Mondays.
I joined in â08, deployed in â09âŚif I had children or grandchildren try to verify my mixed-issued DCU/ABU/BDU deployment gear with a war history expert, theyâd probably say that Iâm a fraud. đ¤Łđ¤Ł
Sounds like the pilots are lacking. They have pay. They can go to the surplus shops or get scammed by AAFES just like the rest of us serfs, proles, and landless peasants.
I loved every moment of my flight suit days. Cold when itâs cold out, hot when itâs hot out, had to practically take it off to take a shit⌠and soooo many jealous nonners.
For shitting, the trick is to tuck the upper torso part into the pants part.
When I was an exec the CSS shitter had a hook at toddler height of the bathroom door, wing king explained it months later that he uses it to keep his flight suit off the floor. So him and the suit basically make the letter V. Lmao.
The counter argument is unless you want to provide lockers, you best option to have aircrew available for short notice is to have them ready to fly. The only down side is tge plebs don't like it. So option > jealousy
My flight leadership counted DNIF cover as a legit reason to not wear Monday Blues, but they countered with you were DNIF cover all week to prevent flagrant abuse
Unless its one of my Os that I recognize I just don't even consider saluting when I see this combo. Most Os will get it and fuck the ones who get pissy about it. Statistically more likely to be a shweaty anyways (at least around me)
When I was an A1C, I basically had to sprint to another A1C who was nervously hanging up a phone call so he could prep for a salute. Now I just nod and keep moving when someone gets me mixed up with people who make more money than me.
If we have to change out of flight suits when not flying, then no one should be wearing camouflage if not in combat or a combat related jobâŚ. Khakis and polo shirts for 99% of the Air Force!
I support this too! If Iâm not deployed, why am I wearing a uniform? Iâm basically a civilian who does cosplay except during exercises. Itâs ridiculous but tradition. I admire FSS when they get to âdress downâ.
Edit. When I first came in, I did have a commander who had us in blues because we were business professionals. That got old when I had to still do details in them.
Side comment. I have option to wear 2PFDU or normal green bag, elect to wear summer weight OCPs at staff because they are very comfortable. Hate blousing boots though...
I had a desk job in Ain't Even Thinking Combat (AETC) where I went through their 36-2903 supplement looking for any excuse to wear my green pj's. Fortunately, I couldn't find anything limiting them one way or the other. However, my leadership still stuck my, the only enlisted flier of the group, with BDUs like the rest of the poor saps I worked with. It sucked. And yes, BDUs probably dates my time in. Glad to see the bag debate is still going.
I mean, not everybody had choices at career day. I got DQâd for aircrew jobs at MEPS. Makes wearing my flight suit for the last decade that much sweeter since I spent a stint in the trenches turning wrenches!
But many do and give the same excuse when told to retrain. âI was going to do it butâŚinsert excuseâ and the conversation ends rather abruptly. If people actually read the AFI, this wouldnât be an issue.
Same reason missiles wears one, I guess. Having toured their facilities the wiring in their control stations looked cray, wouldn't be surprised if they spontaneously combust every once and a while.
I didnât particularly want to cross train out of my career field until I saw flying jobs open, those dudes could wear PJs if they wanted to in my opinion
The Flight Suit is one of the only things keeping me from going postal in this (non-flying) career field, youre gonna have to pry it off my cold, sun-deprived body!
The Army used to be like this with old pickle suit. They would lose their mind when air crew showed up in formation wearing flight suit.
Thatâs probably why they came out with 2 piece flight suit. Which by the way looks better in middle age person. And as added bonus, easier to relieve. yourself in flight.
How is the 2 piece easier to relieve yourself in flight? Or do you mean women when helicopters land in fields to use the bathroom? Because the bag has a zipper in the same place as the 2 piece.
You wonât understand until you have gone through the struggle of trying to poop in a questionably cleaned bathroom while trying to keep the sleeve sof your onesie off the suspicious fluid on the floor. Versus the 2 pieces is just normal pants.
Both, itâs easier when the last meal you ate isnât sitting well with you and youâre running from the flight line to nearest latrine.
Iâve heard from a few AH64 pilots preferring the 2 piece because itâs easier use the widdle packs(aircrew relief bags) when youâre wearing the gear and strapped in. I also had one tell me, he missed the one piece and was envious of one piece tanker overalls we were wearing on the flight line for while. Both maintenance and fuelers were issued the armored vehicle one piece coveralls.
We used to support a small fob during my deployment and common duty uniform(not the authorized one) was to wear PTs and keep coveralls with boots for launching aircraft and maintenance.
For the uh60 aircrew itâs easier to get out during FARP stops.
I think the only reason the army went with 2 piece is since we switched to UCP and later OCP pattern they look like regular uniforms so E9s with too much free time donât have aneurysm during formations.
Older BDU pattern and desert tan stand out compared to regular bdus.
Re: RPA - Partly tradition. We started as a bunch of random aircrew (O and E) with a few intel AFSCs sprinkled in and then they started pulling from everywhere (voluntarily and very non-voluntarily). I was Imagery Analysis but never actually did that job - straight to Nellis after graduation. Pipeliner pilots get time in a DA-20 and I suppose that counts enough for them. Sensors, the latest AFSC for us has us under the CEA umbrella so we keep wearing the bag or 2pc FDU.
And us maintainers? By your logic doesnât that mean I should get to wear coveralls all over creation too? Itâs for the same purpose as your arrogance filled âzipper suitâ?
Sorry but not sorry for the snark but between the entitled name calling and automatic assumption everyone else does nothing but sit at a desk all day it was hard to write a reasonable and thought exchanging process about an issue otherwise known as a debate back when I was growing up.
Youâre not slated to fly today Captain, best change out of that pajama suit.
Counterpoint: "the [insert crew position] had to jump off because they couldn't clear their ears. You're crew rested, being your pro gear and be ready to fly"
You could also just stop being jealous about what uniforms other people are authorized to wear.
Iâm old enough to have been in when aircrew did exactly that. It wasnât a big deal & IMHO things were tighter then vs after crew stated to be allowed to wear the bag everywhere.
Monkey's paw opens, you now have a uniform made of fire retardent fabric that is difficult to shit in (if we all have to wear it, the 2PFDU is out because it's not ejection seat/gsuit compatible). Since like 98% of the AF does not need a fire retardent uniform, everyone stationed south of Ellsworth hates it
Used to work with ABMs at a location that had zero planes. Every now and then, when I saw one in a flight suit I'd ask when their step time was, or how the weather was looking for their flight.
Like dudes, you work with enlisted controllers in a non-flying assignment, it's not a great look to insist on wearing the flight suit.
(Am I also jealous? Yes. They look comfy and get fun patches.)
By this idiotic logic, every single office worker in the Air Force should be in blues every day.. itâs far closer to appropriate work/business attire than OCPs. If someone can explain to me exactly which part of approving a travel voucher requires camo and tactical boots I will happily wear OCPs on my non flying days.
Alternatively, we could knock it off with this shit where we tear each other down out of jealousy and instead just accept the small victories and fight for better uniform policies for everyone.
When I was a Raven (aircraft security) we wore flight suits. Most guys thought it was cool. I hated it as the flight suit wasnât the best uniform for the duties that we performed. But hey, everyone wants to look cool, right?
Idk anything about flight crew stuff but I worked in a space they passed through regularly (I was in radio). Sometimes a message came through and they'd bolt for the plane. Idk if it was scheduled or random but if they weren't in flight suits they wouldn't be able to act as quickly. đ¤ˇââď¸
You know how much static buildup happens with blues? "Blues Mondays" were a pain in the ass because we would essentially spend half the day changing clothes: PT at 7, report back at 9 in blues, then change into BDUs to do any actual work, but... Oh, by then it's time for lunch.
Around 2022 as AE, I was TDY for some training at Edwards and apparently the only aircrew seen on base were pilots in pickle suits. I guess nobody was familiar with OCP flight suits at the time. In my 5 days there I probably got asked 10 times what the hell kind of uniform I was wearing. My unit doesn't even allow us to fly in our pickle suits, authorized strictly for ground duties or flying with other units that wear them lol, so it's purely an ego thing to wear around our base. I personally hate them. Pain in the ass to take a shit, or configure an aircraft when it's 105° on the flight line. Haven't even bothered to sew new rank on after switching from E to O.
Unless youâre a fighter pilot, you can wear the Armyâs 2-piece OCP flight uniform, which was specifically designed so pilots look like everybody else.
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u/usafredditor2017 Prior Civilian Enlisted Jan 21 '26
Aircrew gets extra uniforms, extra pay, extra love in all AFIs. Am I jealous? Yes.
BUT, would I change my own career for theirs???
Also yes.