It would appear that not only are the regulations put in place to ensure an image of uniformity and parity with our parent service are held in contempt, but also those who think we should actually follow them.
I apologise to all of you for giving the correct answer to somebody’s question, rather than “oh it doesn’t matter a shirt is a shirt”, and getting said person pulled up by the SWO for wasting their money on a shirt they cannot wear.
well it isn’t as if we are issued them so the uniform has to come from somewhere…
if anyone is counting i am in the camp of a shirt is a shirt.
is it the right pattern? yes
is the approve “cut” of shirt? yes.
see, your first mistake is to believe that the parent service feels, or works, the same way you do. it doesn’t.
your second mistake is to fail to notice that as almost no one in the ACO is issued with MTP/DPM, and that therefore almost everyone has to source their own either by bying what they can or begging what they can, there is an accepted and longstanding culture of being rather less fussy about exactly what everyone wears compared to blue uniform.
your third mistake is to fail to note that DPM/MTP is worn in situations/environments where the parent service takes the view that what works for the individual and keeps them effective matters more than exact uniformity or adherance to this or that regulation. that means that if Airman X finds the issue baselayer uncomfortable, no one cares if he wears a civvy equivilant that works for him, or if Officer Y working at the radar at Mount Alice prefers Yeti gaiters to the issued ones (no issued gaiter has ever fitted around my calves, so no one cared in 16 years that i wore civvy gaiters…). no one cares if Airman A runs hot and prefers to work in a t-shirt and windproof, while Airwoman Z working right next to him prefers to work in softie jacket and a full set of Gore-Tex.
you did at least get one thing right - the contempt thing,
Spot on. There are the few occasions when one has to toe the corporate line but when in the field, on the range, out on the pan or even on SSGF duties, individual preferences apply and no-one tends to get all bent out of shape over it.
In this respect, some elements within the ACO still have a lot to learn.
i’ve noted, since the roll out of MTP, that on exercise there are always some who are wearing DPM trousers - they have, for most people, a more comfortable cut than the MTP trousers, and if you’re going to have a wet crotch for a week the more comfortable the cut the better!
i’ve seen the old DPM RM Arctic windproof smock still being work, as well as the endless number of people wearing Buffalo S6 instead of the softie.
you’re right, no one cares about uniformity or the dress regs off the parade square - the not unreasonable view is that if you trust someone enough to give them a rifle or a GMLRS, you probably ought to trust them to decide for themselves what clothes work best for them in the weeing rain!
When the ACO gets issued with what is ever the current pattern for any uniform can anyone get rightly bent out of shape, about this sort of thing. Even ‘blues’ aren’t uniform. I’ve got shirts procured at different times which are all Wedgwood but of differing hues and new working blue are invariably of differing dark blue and different buttons.
WRT to cammo (whichever version) we have always had to rely on what we can get from whatever source. There will always be people who have more money than sense and get extremely excited about having the most current version and these are the ones who need to chill out. For the majority does it fit and look reasonable is the only thing to worry about. Would I spend loadsamoney on something that seems to change every time some pen-pusher(s) in the MoD decide it’s time to change or change the contractor who can’t meet the spec the last one did. Erm no. If they designed and developed it properly at the start, made a number of variants in different materials and pocket etc configurations, then you wouldn’t need to change it and could have it in different colours for different theatres of operation.
Many manufacturing companies design, develop and change products and go through a rigourous process of making variants and put them in for testing (including customer/user tests/trials) so that when it is launched they can make claims about it that they can be quite certain about, as to not do so, can mean loss of business and in some cases no business left. I’ve been in supermarkets and tasted new products and been asked for feedback, that is used to evaluate whether to go with it or not. The MOD process seems to be lots of overpaid senior officers sitting around a table making decisions and then agreeing with the one who has the highest rank, whether it’s good or not.
Nothing wrong with giving the correct answer. But getting all wound up about a shirt is ridiculous.
Find me a SWO in the RAF who gives a monkey’s toss what pattern of shirt you’re wearing and I’ll give you a biscuit.
Find me a pace-stick-endowed warrant officer in the ACO who doesn’t think the wearing of a CS95-pattern shirt is a travesty and I’ll give you the same (I don’t count).
The above two sentences neatly outline one of my biggest bugbears with the ACO. Lack of perspective. 
I’m starting to sound like Glass Half Empty.
send me a biscuit… the SWO at Odiham would and does care!!
Not convinced there kitkat…
ex QCS and MAcr - he cares 
Ex-QCS and MAcr?
QCS is made up of RAF Regiment personnel, not one-winged wonders!
The only time I’ve experienced strict adherence to the dress regs is when I was at the Regiment Depot when it was at Catterick. There, one did keep an eye on the daily dress states because if you didn’t, certain individuals would rip you a new and very large you-know-what.
Apart from that, I’ve found most people are relatively relaxed so long as you don’t dress outrageously.
gunner, I know what QCS is - this guy is an ex-rock/qcs that re-traded and is now MAcr… now the SWO…
Then I would suggest that he’s the exception in this matter, rather than the rule.
SWOs at Brize and Benson certainly had the same opinion in 2012…
To be fair, there are regular SNCOs who have actually gone around demanding to see the shirt sleeves of personnel in No 2 dress to ensure that they’re wearing long-sleeved shirts under their jumpers, instead of wearing a short-sleeved one because all the LS ones are in the wash (or because it’ll be warm later so they’ll take off their jumper and tie).
Being a complete throbber knows not the regular/reserve/CF divide.
Here I am mate! Although, I might be in the minority.