I was ready to work, my uniforms and boots well turned out within regulation, and I got grief over it for not looking "sharp", while people who violated regulation with abandon were looked at as strac troops. A bloody circus is what it was
And that is why, even though I HATE ACUs, I wouldn't want to go back to BDUs. Weird fabric you aren't supposed to iron and no polish desert boots. Guess you can't starch and spit shine this uniform.
I concur with your comments on BDUs. I never understood why a military duty uniform was supposed to look like a dress suit. Class As, great. Make sure they are pressed and shined and spiffy. BDUs, iron them, brush the boots, and you look professional without wasting a bunch of time and money. Why go through all the extra hassle, esp if you are mechanized? (I'm not a Bradley crewmember, but I've helped work on them a few times.)
I ran across the following quote while I was studying for the board and liked it...
"I'd like to have Two Armies: One for display with lovely guns, tanks, little soldiers, staffs, distinguished and doddering Generals, and dear little Regimental officers who would be deeply concerned over their General's bowel movements or their Colonel's piles, an Army that would be shown for a modest fee on every fairground in the country.
The other would be the Real One, composed entirely of young enthusiasts in camouflage uniforms, who would not be put on display, but from whom impossible efforts would be demanded and to whom all sorts of tricks would be taught. That's the Army in which I should like to fight."
~Jean Larte Guy~