Hiya, been lurking for awhile and recently actually joined the forums.
Been reading this post with interest. as a cadet had a CS95 MTP shirt and well it looked so much smarter and it was commented by the cadet that it was more comfy, however they were told that they are not allowed to wear them and need to purchase the correct shirts.
Parents went out and spent more money on MTP kit.
Have just had the cadet ask me why they are not allowed to wear it, when on the JI’s for a camp it states and I quote “PCS/CS95 Lightweight Jacket”
How can they not be allowed to wear a certain bit of kit that they have to buy at local squadron level, but when it comes to a WING camp they are allowed to?
Ultimately if the regulations say no, then the theory is no. However, it would take a proper chump to try and enforce that on something privately bought and which has no bearing on safety.
(Disclaimer - despite the clear instructions to cascade the email, I’ve not actually seen it anywhere except for on here. However, I believe it does really exist!)
The JIs aren’t referring to the CS95 “style” shirts in MTP, by CS95 they are referring to actual DPM CS95 as these and MTP PCS lightweight jackets are both permitted by AP1358c. Both, S95 DPM and MTP PCS are labelled lightweight or warm weather combat jackets.
The “controversial” item is not a lightweight jacket, it’s labelled as “shirt, barrack, MTP” just colloquially called S95 MTP shirt.
All that said, as @mightywhite has pointed out, the shirts are now allowed in their own right. Our most recent wing routine orders referenced this too.
if you are talking about the difference between the standard PCS shirt and the barrack shirt, the latter isn’t 50% velcro and doesn’t have pockets everywhere. As a result it is more comfortable and you can roll the sleeves up a whole lot easier.
Indeed, is confusing. Labelling what is a shirt a jacket doesn’t help. Then there’s all the strong but conflicting ideas about tucking and sleeves just to muddy things further. At least there seems to have been an outbreak of pragmatism on high!
So just had a look at look at AP 1358C and the following
PCS-MTP Authorised Ensemble. When authorised to wear and except where a specific order of dress has been prescribed through the OC Wg / Wg
Ex O / Sqn Ldr CCF HQAC, only the approved PCS-MTP ensemble, as detailed below, is to be worn…
c. MTP Lightweight Combat Suit (Lightweight Jacket & Trousers). The front rank epaulette is to display blue rank slides as described in para 0225b. ‘In barracks’ the l/w jacket is to be worn tucked into the trousers; due to the limitations of the current design, the sleeves are normally to be worn down. However, where the activity or temperature dictates, sleeves can be rolled up temporarily at the discretion of the individual.
So as the cadet in question has a ‘top’ that states jacket, lightweight and the code also states CS95 MTP LW Jacket (shirt) it CAN be worn.
If it stated Shirt Barracks it cannot.
The cadet will be over the moon as they have 3 of these and in this weather and a field craft weekend coming up, they will be a little cooler
Just need to point a few other people to the label and the AP assuming I am reading this correctly
This also makes it easier for me when I go into uniform (Yes I know the comments in regards to WHY WOULD YOU DO THAT) as I think they look smarter and more comfy myself.
