...you can eliminate a layer by wearing just the combat T-shirt underneath the armor. The chest area is thin enough that you don't sweat as badly in the summer, while the sleeves are made of more rugged material. Even better, there's extra padding around the elbow for added comfort.
Great idea, right? Way to go, Army!
Oh, but wait. With a new uniform item comes more uniform guidelines, and there's no theater-wide standard on how to wear the combat T-shirt. That means the sergeants major have to get involved. And that's when things get messed up.Every FOB we go to has a different standard for wearing the combat T-shirt. Some don't care what you do; others say you can't wear them to the DFACs; still others say you can wear them only when you wear the armor. With all the places we go, it gets kind of confusing.
In the end, the decision was made (and I am consciously using the passive tense for this) that we would not wear the combat T-shirt EVER. Not in the summer, not when it's 110 in the shade, never.
Simply put, it's more important to have uniform discipline than comfort when we're on the road (even though the security escort company can wear theirs).
So for all the money the Army spent supplying us with combat T-shirts, apparently the only time we can wear them is in bed. Army Combat Nightshirts.
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As a footnote, the policy for wearing the fleece cap is even better. It took about three or four revisions for the sergeants major to come up with this one.
Before, we could wear the cap with our PTs as well as our normal, ACU pattern duty uniform. Now, wear of the cap is not permitted with ACUs and is not permitted between the hours of 0800 and 1800.
We can, however, wear the cap when it's dark, between 1800 and 0600.
It's a good thing we have such wise policy makers to guide us on such important issues. I'm sure it's stuff like this that's making us such an effective fighting force in the War Against Terror.
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