Bob Dylan wrote a song titled,The Times they are a Changin'. Always enjoyed that tune and it rings true even today, for the times they are a changin'. I'm not going to talk about Obama and his changes, I try not to get too political in this forum. I'll leave that subject alone; for now anyway. No, I just noticed something on the evening news that is a change. It is a local news show and they were showing the Naval Cadets, because of today's Army Navy football game. A group of cadets,Company 13, to be precise were running the game ball to the stadium were the game will take place. This is a fairly new tradition. The thing that caught my eye was the fact that they were all wearing camouflage trousers ( a sorta blue pattern) and an undershirt with the collar protruding. And there on that collar was the logo of Under Armor ! Now that's a change. Since when did the United States Navy endorse products ? I don't often pay attention to the service academies and their sports programs. Just not much of a sports nut. Now I can't help but wonder if there are other endorsements being made ? I'll have to pay more attention. Somehow it doesn't seem appropriate.
In a related vein another thing I've noticed lately is the wearing of camos' and other working clothes by military members everywhere. During my time in the service you were not allowed to wear anything but your dress uniform or civilian clothing off of the base or ship. I do not like the idea of them wearing what basically amounts to combat gear, in the mall. I see this on the television also. In my day, I know that's cliche, we didn't do that. I still think the public should see it's military members in their dress uniforms when not actually involved in combat or working at their job. I just don't understand the reasoning behind this. Why would you not want your members to look their best and present a more formal appearance in the eyes of the public. Not only that, but I can speak from personal experience, you get treated differently when in uniform. Clothes make the man and it works both ways. All this informality cannot be good for discipline.
The times they are a changin' and in my opinion not for the better. What's next. Let everyone in the military just do their own thing ? Or are we going to start taking bids on uniform suppliers based on endorsement royalties ? Wrangler jeans attempted to do that back in the eighties. They wanted to supply the bell bottom jeans for the Navy and was willing to do that at a reasonable cost. The snag; the U.S.Navy said they could not put that little red tag on the rear pocket. They would not endorse the jeans ! That has obviously changed. The economy must be worse off than I thought. Hey,maybe Blue Cross and Blue Shield could sponsor Medicare, that ought to make it more affordable. When you get to be 65 they tattoo there logo on you ! Now, who wants to provide new suits for the president ? You're gonna like the way you look, I guarantee it !
In a related vein another thing I've noticed lately is the wearing of camos' and other working clothes by military members everywhere. During my time in the service you were not allowed to wear anything but your dress uniform or civilian clothing off of the base or ship. I do not like the idea of them wearing what basically amounts to combat gear, in the mall. I see this on the television also. In my day, I know that's cliche, we didn't do that. I still think the public should see it's military members in their dress uniforms when not actually involved in combat or working at their job. I just don't understand the reasoning behind this. Why would you not want your members to look their best and present a more formal appearance in the eyes of the public. Not only that, but I can speak from personal experience, you get treated differently when in uniform. Clothes make the man and it works both ways. All this informality cannot be good for discipline.
The times they are a changin' and in my opinion not for the better. What's next. Let everyone in the military just do their own thing ? Or are we going to start taking bids on uniform suppliers based on endorsement royalties ? Wrangler jeans attempted to do that back in the eighties. They wanted to supply the bell bottom jeans for the Navy and was willing to do that at a reasonable cost. The snag; the U.S.Navy said they could not put that little red tag on the rear pocket. They would not endorse the jeans ! That has obviously changed. The economy must be worse off than I thought. Hey,maybe Blue Cross and Blue Shield could sponsor Medicare, that ought to make it more affordable. When you get to be 65 they tattoo there logo on you ! Now, who wants to provide new suits for the president ? You're gonna like the way you look, I guarantee it !
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