Need for a new Army dress uniform (Split from: Return To Old Army Officer Rank Insignia)

[Blackadder1916]

I wasn't in when the army got rid of its rsummer tans, but I've always been curious as to why they did it.

While not universally disliked, they did have a tendency to wilt and wrinkle in the heat especially on those carrying a bit of excess weight.  In the words of the then commander of the army (who was far from slim) to a parliamentary committee - it made him look like "a 10 pound bag of s*** tied in the middle".

 

[aesop081]

I wasn't in when the army got rid of its rummer tans,

I was. While i much prefered the tans, i was glad to have one less uniform to maintain.

 

[Ex-Dragoon]

I graduated Cornwallis in Tans and I was glad to see that ugly uniform go.

 

[pbi]

We have that.  Its called eight years of close combat with a determined foe.

Huzzah, huzzah. War is the ultimate source of all meaningful military tradition.


But, still....a Sam Browne with brown gloves and Oxfords....Hmmmmm.

Cheers

 

[Old Sweat]

But, still....a Sam Browne with brown gloves and Oxfords....Hmmmmm.

Tell me you are joking. The only purpose I could ever discern for my Sam Browne was as an aid to the dry cleaner, who made a fair amount of cash removing mahogany boot polish smudges from my service dress jacket. It was almost as useful as my RCHA riding crop and my RCA stick.

 

[pbi]

Tell me you are joking. The only purpose I could ever discern for my Sam Browne was as an aid to the dry cleaner, who made a fair amount of cash removing mahogany boot polish smudges from my service dress jacket. It was almost as useful as my RCHA riding crop and my RCA stick.

(Chokes on port....)

Oh, ye of little sartorial sense! What is the labour of a drycleaner, and a few pence, compared to that look of utter sharpness? The look that says "Gin and Tonic, please, my good man, and smartly, before I take this RCHA crop to your backside!"


But, seriously though, as much as I hated looking after tans (watch what happens when you wear a maroon sword sash on a rainy parade), I thought they looked sharp. Like blues (patrols): hideous to wear (starched collar always scraped flesh off my neck), but nothing looked sharper.

What price glory?

Cheers

 

[REDinstaller]

The Tans were a great cash cow for dry cleaners. Nothing gets the black from boots out of pant cuffs except dry cleaning. The tans looked all right, but were a total pain to keep absolutely clean.

 

[Old Sweat]

Patrols (aka blues) did look very sharp on parade. We also used to wear them after duty hours when doing orderly officer. I credit mine with perhaps saving my butt when I had to intervene in a domestic dispute involving a fire arm in the married patch, as I was recognizable as an authority figure who was able to negotiate terms of surrender. Having said all that, they were worn fairly rarely. Other than guest nights in the mess and a few parades, I only recall wearing mine at two or three weddings, a few guards of honour and as commander of the firing battery that fired the 100 gun salute on 1 July 1967 in Soest.

It's time to move on and develop our your uniforms in a manner that matters to our troops. I don't think that includes pips and crowns, embossed calling cards and various Victorian era British army uniforms and paraphenalia. If I had my druthers, I'd fix the tac vest before I devoted a smidgen of effort to scurrying about inventing dress uniforms.

 

[George Wallace]

Tans on a hot summer parade square = Woman in white bathing suit exiting the water.

 

[REDinstaller]

And as I remember none of those ladies in Tans were excruciatingly hot. :-X

 

[George Wallace]

The excruciating hot ones always seemed to be streamed into the Air Force Trades at the Recruiting Center, leaving the Army with the rest.

 

[PMedMoe]

Tans on a hot summer parade square = Woman in white bathing suit exiting the water.

Not if one wears the proper undergarments.

The excruciating hot ones always seemed to be streamed into the Air Force Trades at the Recruiting Center, leaving the Army with the rest.

I beg to differ. 

 

[BernDawg]

The Tans were a great cash cow for dry cleaners. Nothing gets the black from boots out of pant cuffs except dry cleaning. The tans looked all right, but were a total pain to keep absolutely clean.

Pre-treat w/rubbing alcohol or vodka and then steam iron with a pressing cloth.  Sucked the polish right out.

I remember the parades in the summer when the tunics got soaked through.... ugh!  Pretty nasty looking when there's an entire Bn wearing 2-tone tan 1A's.  That being said I think the tans were a better looking colour for the most part.

 

[REDinstaller]

Pre-treat w/rubbing alcohol or vodka and then steam iron with a pressing cloth.  Sucked the polish right out.

Gahhhhh. Why waste vodka on my tans, instead of in my bloodstream where it belongs. mmmmm ^-^

 

[BernDawg]

Of course I'm talking about a VERY judicious application, just prior to mixing it w/OJ or Tonic if you prefer... 

 

[REDinstaller]

Thats still spillage in my books, and a reason to take drinks away from friends and consume them yourself. >

 

[vonGarvin]

I beg to differ. 

There are exceptions that prove the rule, of course!  >

 

[REDinstaller]

And there are others that prove the rule is correctly applied. I remember being at CFSCE in 93 and hearing the SSM jack quite a few ladies who had pants 2 sizes too small on. It made life interesting walking behind some of them, just plain painful with others.

 

[PMedMoe]

And there are others that prove the rule is correctly applied. I remember being at CFSCE in 93 and hearing the SSM jack quite a few ladies who had pants 2 sizes too small on. It made life interesting walking behind some of them, just plain painful with others.

Should have had the Sgt from my Med Tech QL3 course.  She checked everyone out when we were trying on uniforms.  Funny how a guy was able to get tight pants, but not the girls.......  ;D

 

[REDinstaller]

Thats just disturbing. :-X