Nwu Dc Snafu

[GUNMATE1]

Could someone please tell me this. I have been asking and asking up and down my chain of command now since January why can't the DC area wear the Naval Working Uniform. I have never gotten a response that truly explains it. The Army, Airforce, Marines, and the Coast Guard all wear their working uniform equivelent in the DC Area. Now i have been told, "Well we aren't the Army." No kidding, this i am being told by someone who has been in the navy all of about 2 years. I have been in the Navy for over 13 years now seen uniform changes before. Ship regulations change with a new CO, which i totally understand and i have always followed and i have never questioned anything really in the navy until now. You can go down to Norfolk, out to San Diego, down to Jax and see people in this uniform. You can also go to any of the medical clinics here in DC and see people in the NWU. But normal working uniform of the day for the everyday sailor, "OH NO!" Why??? I know the regulation states, can be worn if your going to undoily soil your uniform. Well what does that mean? I can empty a trash can and unduley soil my uniform. So i can wear it right??? Nah, i can do a COMREL project in dc and wear it right??? Nope not gonna happen. So when can someone where this uniform in DC. I purchased it back in January so that i could teach my sailors going out to the fleet how to wear it. Then i was told get it out of the office becuas ei hate looking at it. So i did. But i still fight it. It floors me how people here in DC are so finiky about a uniform. The CNO and MCPON parade around the fleet in the uniform. But we can't wear it in DC. That boggles my mind. I have asked the reporters at Navy times to look into this, not heard anything back. I just want to wear the uniform. Moral at my command is low, why cause we have 3000 civilians and only about 300 military. Junior folks don't believe they are in the Navy. Thats not a leadership problem that is a DC problem. If you want a sailor to feel like a sailor not an office B%^*H let them wear the BDU uniform. it is comfortable and who wouldn't like to walk out to a Duty section or command muster and see 300 Brand new properly worn NWUs standing in formation. MCPON if you read this, i invite you to ask Sailors at the Pentagon and other DC area commands what they think. Don't ask the Chiefs Mess ask the sailors. If we can come up with the new slogan, "America’s Navy: A Global Force For Good" why not let us dress the part. The public won't know who we are for a little while but with word of mouth i am sure upstanding sailors will let them know, and be proud of the uniform. The Navy is one of the greatest organizations i have ever been apart of. I truly want to dress the part. Lift the ban on the NWU in the Naval District Washington Area. PLEASE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Yggdrasil]

I undertand what you're saying - trust me, I do. But maybe you should just let this one go. It sounds like a battle that, frankly, you're not going to win.

[forcedj]

Hold on here. Haven't I seen pictures of CNO and MCPON in the NWU? Are you telling me they set a double standard? Or, were they just not in NDW in the photo perhaps.

Dan

[Yggdrasil]

Originally Posted by forcedj

Hold on here. Haven't I seen pictures of CNO and MCPON in the NWU? Are you telling me they set a double standard? Or, were they just not in NDW in the photo perhaps.

Dan

Doesn't matter. They they may not even be in violation of the "no NWU" rule, since technically, the CNO is above the region commander who made that rule, and the MCPON reports directly to the CNO - technically putting them outside of that region commander's jurisdiction. In either case, it's not like GUNMATE can say, "CNO and MCPON are wearing it too," and expect the powers that be to even care.

The fact that they even told him to take his NWU down of the wall and bring it home shows that they're getting fed up even with people's "subtle hints" that they want to wear it.

[GUNMATE1]

Originally Posted by Yggdrasil

Doesn't matter. They they may not even be in violation of the "no NWU" rule, since technically, the CNO is above the region commander who made that rule, and the MCPON reports directly to the CNO - technically putting them outside of that region commander's jurisdiction. In either case, it's not like GUNMATE can say, "CNO and MCPON are wearing it too," and expect the powers that be to even care.

The fact that they even told him to take his NWU down of the wall and bring it home shows that they're getting fed up even with people's "subtle hints" that they want to wear it.

It was my chief who said take it down. No one else had issues but him really, i had a dept head who likes it and doesnt mind wearing it. Most of the enlisted i have talked to at my command are willing to go out and get it, but its interesting at the first class symposium in DC the NDW CMC never showed up even though he was invited and it was held in DC. We had CMC's from other commands even outside the area, come to the symposium and talk. First classes were there from all over the fleet, DC, VA, HI, FL, CA, and WA. They all are were willing to have thier sailors trained on the wear, but the CMC from NDW never showed up so why should he listen to his sailors. It annoys me that my new CMC even would like to wear it, so i dont know how that is going to work but the CMC fro NDW needs to transfer to a place where he will be forced to buy it.

[jeffersj]

Originally Posted by GUNMATE1

Could someone please tell me this. I have been asking and asking up and down my chain of command now since January why can't the DC area wear the Naval Working Uniform. I have never gotten a response that truly explains it. The Army, Airforce, Marines, and the Coast Guard all wear their working uniform equivelent in the DC Area. Now i have been told, "Well we aren't the Army." No kidding, this i am being told by someone who has been in the navy all of about 2 years. I have been in the Navy for over 13 years now seen uniform changes before. Ship regulations change with a new CO, which i totally understand and i have always followed and i have never questioned anything really in the navy until now. You can go down to Norfolk, out to San Diego, down to Jax and see people in this uniform. You can also go to any of the medical clinics here in DC and see people in the NWU. But normal working uniform of the day for the everyday sailor, "OH NO!" Why??? I know the regulation states, can be worn if your going to undoily soil your uniform. Well what does that mean? I can empty a trash can and unduley soil my uniform. So i can wear it right??? Nah, i can do a COMREL project in dc and wear it right??? Nope not gonna happen. So when can someone where this uniform in DC. I purchased it back in January so that i could teach my sailors going out to the fleet how to wear it. Then i was told get it out of the office becuas ei hate looking at it. So i did. But i still fight it. It floors me how people here in DC are so finiky about a uniform. The CNO and MCPON parade around the fleet in the uniform. But we can't wear it in DC. That boggles my mind. I have asked the reporters at Navy times to look into this, not heard anything back. I just want to wear the uniform. Moral at my command is low, why cause we have 3000 civilians and only about 300 military. Junior folks don't believe they are in the Navy. Thats not a leadership problem that is a DC problem. If you want a sailor to feel like a sailor not an office B%^*H let them wear the BDU uniform. it is comfortable and who wouldn't like to walk out to a Duty section or command muster and see 300 Brand new properly worn NWUs standing in formation. MCPON if you read this, i invite you to ask Sailors at the Pentagon and other DC area commands what they think. Don't ask the Chiefs Mess ask the sailors. If we can come up with the new slogan, "America’s Navy: A Global Force For Good" why not let us dress the part. The public won't know who we are for a little while but with word of mouth i am sure upstanding sailors will let them know, and be proud of the uniform. The Navy is one of the greatest organizations i have ever been apart of. I truly want to dress the part. Lift the ban on the NWU in the Naval District Washington Area. PLEASE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Suggest you pay attention to what Yggdrasil is saying. Nothing wrong with trying to get things changed, but you need to pick your battles.

As to the Army, the only reason they are wearing the ACU's in town is because we are currently engaged in hostilities. From what I understand it's what their rules allow. I've been in the area a long time - rarely did you see a Soldier wearing a working uniform in town before Sept. 2001.

Back before Sept. 11th 2001 I did a little research on the issue of the wearing of camouflage uniforms with regard to the Army, Navy, Marines, and Air Force. Pulling up their respective regs at the time, the Army was the most restrictive, the Navy and Marines allowing them to be worn while commuting and brief authorized stops, both specified in the regs and as deemed necessary by the local commander, and the Air Force the most liberal, with the only place you couldn't wear them was in a bar or resturant.

[BLAHBLAH]

I could understand not wanting some of the staff YN's not allowed to wear the NWU, but they should be allowed to be properly worn in DC. Once a week Air Force and Marines wear their dress up uniform. What is annoying more then the NWU issue is the Flight Suit Fridays. Some of these things look like they just got tossed in a seabag when they left their flying unit and put back on for Fridays. Some of them probably haven't even sat in a Military plane for at least 5 or 6 years also. If an enlisted can't wear NWU in DC, flight suits should not be authorized either.

[pawn65]

Originally Posted by BLAHBLAH

I could understand not wanting some of the staff YN's not allowed to wear the NWU, but they should be allowed to be properly worn in DC. Once a week Air Force and Marines wear their dress up uniform. What is annoying more then the NWU issue is the Flight Suit Fridays. Some of these things look like they just got tossed in a seabag when they left their flying unit and put back on for Fridays. Some of them probably haven't even sat in a Military plane for at least 5 or 6 years also. If an enlisted can't wear NWU in DC, flight suits should not be authorized either.

Still said you guys have to be taught how to wear a uniform. I think thats sad in itself.