I am fighting an uphill battle against stupidly.  I am an US army
infantry platoon leader in Ramadi Iraq and as you can imagine, it gets
hot.  To deal with this, I want to have my soldiers take certain
uniform modification.  However, as it stands, I am running into a
problem with my BN Sergeant Major.  What I need is any and all US Army
regulations or policies that allow for uniform modification during hot
weather.  If you can get me this ASAP, it will be most helpful.

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Request for Question Clarification by websearcher-ga on 27 May 2005 06:24 PDT

Hi brentwill1:

Thanks for the question. 

The most up-to-date Army regulations regarding hot-weather battle
dress can be found at:

Army Regulation 670?1 - Uniforms and Insignia - Wear and Appearance of
Army  Uniforms and Insignia
Date: 3 February 2005
URL: http://www.army.mil/usapa/epubs/pdf/r670_1.pdf

You want to look at Chapter 3, "Temperate, Hot-Weather, and Enhanced
Hot-Weather Battle Dress Uniforms", which starts on page 13.

The regulations are quite precise and way too long to put in this
answer. However, the one thing that leapt out at me was:

*****************************
3?3. Occasions for wear
a. Soldiers may wear BDUs on duty when prescribed by the commander.
Soldiers may wear BDUs off post unless prohibited by the commander.
*****************************

I don't know whether this BN Sergeant Major you speak of is officially
your "commander" or not. If he/she is, then your problem continues. If
he/she isn't you commander, then maybe you should find out what your
commander prescribes.

Let me know where you'd like me to go from here. If you still are not
satisfied with your uniforms given the weather, I could look for how
to lodge an official complaint to the higher-ups.

Sending you cool thoughts. 

websearcher

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Clarification of Question by brentwill1-ga on 27 May 2005 07:22 PDT

I am sorry.  I guess I need to do a little more explaining.  BDUs are
the uniform we always wear in the field, at least in a woodlen
environment.  Currently I am in  DCUS (Desert Combat Uniform).  What I
am looking for is an army regulation or better yet, muliple army
regulations that allow me to unblose my boats (Not have to tuck your
pants leg into it) and taking off the DCU top.  Those are the
modification I want to make and I am looking for some sort of backup
in making that argument.  I have read this reg, but I can find little
concerning making those motifications to my uniform.  What I need is
the Army policy concerning Uniform modifications to either BDUs or
DCUs during extreme hot weather.   I know I have seen it before and I
know it is out there, I just can't find it in AR 670-1.

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Clarification of Question by brentwill1-ga on 27 May 2005 07:27 PDT

Also, in this Powerpoint presentation (
https://chppm-www.apgea.army.mil/heat/HeatInjuryPrevention2005.PDF )
are some of the things I want to do.  Basically,

Follow clothing recommendations
Heat category 1-2: no restrictions
Heat category 3:  Unblouse trouser legs, unbuckle web belt
Heat category 4-5: 
Unblouse trouser legs, unbuckle web belt 
Remove t-shirt from under BDU top or remove BDU top down to T-shirt
(depends whether biting insects are present)
Remove helmets unless there are specific safety reasons to keep them
on (e.g.: range).
MOPP 4: Add 10°F to WBGT index for easy work, and 20?F to WBGT index
for moderate to hard work.

However, what I need this in offical memo that allows me to make these
changes and is an Army wide policy.  Basically, I need regulations or
policy leters that allow me to follow these recommendations.

---

Request for Question Clarification by websearcher-ga on 27 May 2005 08:03 PDT

Hi brentwill1:

I'm sorry, I cannot find anything more than various shade of the
*recommendations* for unblousing that you've already found. Hopefully
someone else might be able to find regulations for you.

websearcher

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Request for Question Clarification by pafalafa-ga on 27 May 2005 09:43 PDT

brentwill1-ga,

Hmmm...it gets hot in Iraq.  Hard to believe this comes as a suprise
to your Sergeant Major (whose name wouldn't happen to be Frank Burns
now, would it).

Anyway, let me wish you well in your uphill battle (and in all other
things), and if all else fails, let me suggest you find yourself a
nearby CNN reporter to tell your tale to.

As for the regulations, I believe this is the one comes closest to
what you're looking for:


http://www.tradoc.army.mil/tpubs/regs/r350-29/r350-29.htm
TRADOC Regulation 350-29
Headquarters, United States Army
Training And Doctrine Command
Fort Monroe, Virginia 23651-1047

16 July 2003
Training
PREVENTION OF HEAT AND COLD CASUALTIES


however, it applies to training rather than to combat situations, so I
don't think it quite gets you there.


I would have thought that the medical memorandums would have the force
of regulations, however, and these clearly dictate the unblouse and
t-shirt options.

A fairly full list of regs, policies, memos, etc can be found here:


http://chppm-www.apgea.army.mil/heat/#_TBFMAR


Hope these are of help, and again, all the best.


pafalafa-ga

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Clarification of Question by brentwill1-ga on 28 May 2005 04:16 PDT

Thank you for your answers.  It doesn't really get me there, however. 
I am not in TRADOC and the medical regulation, while helpful, doesn't
provide me with the ammo needed to go against an out of control
sergeant Major.  If anyone could provide more information, please send
it to me.  Or you could answer the question of why most NCOs after the
rank of E-8 loss all common sense and ability to think.  That has to
be worth at least 10 dollars.   Anyway, thank you very much for your
answers and thank you again.

Ah yes. "Fighting an uphill battle against stupidity" describes it
well. Been there done that. Regardless how this clothing debate turns
out, remember that you're all in our thoughts. Pass it on.

tutuzdad-ga

Hi brentwill1,

Yes, you are in our thoughts and prayers.  

Don't know if this helps or not:

http://armyadvice.org/ryanseals/archive/2005/05/14/2707.aspx

Yes, according to Ryan, it's really heating up in the sandbox, and
it's only the beginning. From what I've seen, temperatures have been
around 100 degrees in and around Baghdad, and I've heard they can
exceed 130 degrees (tell me if you've heard higher).

One thing that I've heard soldiers really appreciate having when it
gets hot over there is Under Armour -- a type of material, or
clothing, that is designed with extreme heat in mind and can really
make living and working in Iraq or elsewhere more comfortable when it
gets hot. It helps them stay much more cool and dry than they would in
traditional cotton clothes.

A site I like to order the gear from for Ryan is GoldmanBros.com. They
delivered quickly and have a really large selection. You can order
T-shirts in Army brown (loose shirts or tight), as well as underwear
(boxers, briefs and boxer briefs). There's also a full assortment of
?heat gear? for ?extreme heat.? They also have socks, gloves, and bags
-- the bags seem kind of weird.

These things are more pricey than your regular Fruit of the Loom
stuff, but I think they can make a difference in a soldier's comfort
and are worth it. Maybe a couple of shirts will make him more
comfortable on those really hot days. I haven't bought any of the
?extreme heat? stuff, but I've heard good things about the regular,
loose Army shirts and underwear.

One piece of advice: Goldman Bros. will ship items free to APO
addresses. However, I'd advise against this. My package arrived in
plastic-bag type packaging and with a label on it saying what was
inside. I don't think it would stand up to a trip overseas, but maybe
they package it differently if you are sending it to an APO address
(doubt it, though). Best to ship it to yourself, then over to Iraq. On
certain orders you get free shipping to your house, anyway. I also
might advise against putting what's in the box on the customs form --
not everyone is a thief, but hey, it's hot, and these things are
expensive and probably in demand. You can usually put ?Bonafide gift
for soldier? on the customs form, and it's fine.

Hope this helps, if you're interested!

-- Christy

Definitely good stuff. I loved my UA under garments. Personally I
preferred the loose gear shirts since they were more like normal
shirts -- the heatgear shirts were basically like wearing stretchy
spandex, and for me at least they wouldn't always stay tucked in (the
loosegear shirts were longer). Both were much better than standard
brown cotton shirts, though.

# re: New definition of "hot" 5/20/2005 5:39 AM Donna Joplin 
When Jim was home on leave, he found some sleeveless under armour at
Wal-Mart. He was so excited he left the tag at home for me, so I could
send him more of the same if he needs it.

========

Bless you and stay safe,
tlspiegel

Sergeant Majors?
Back in my day, when we wore "fatigues" (ODT? olive drab twill?) Sgt
Majors were untouchable from above and could be the enlisted mens'
advocate; they couldn't climb any higher.  But that was before they
established the position of Sergeant Major of the Army.  I expect now
that they are still bucking for promotion, especially those on duty in
Iraq ...  Sorry.

Hey, it's cheating, but now I remember that at NCO training they put
rings cut from a no. 10 can (Gallon?) inside their bloused pants for
the "perfect" blousing.  Maybe something like that with the pants
tucked up instead of tucked into the boots would pass inspection??  
No?

I feel for you and all of you out there.

Good luck and take care!