No More Blueberries

"Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo" (rustyvandura)
08/09/2016 at 22:24 • Filed to: None

One sailor is quoted as saying that the best camouflage this uniform provides is when you fall overboard.

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DISCUSSION (45)

Jordan and the Slowrunner, Boomer Intensifies > Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo
08/09/2016 at 22:30

When I lived in Pensacola, that’s all I ever thought about when I saw those uniforms. Where would they need blue camo if they are working on a ship?

facw > Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo
08/09/2016 at 22:37

Sounds like they are still making sailors wear camo though, which seems silly. Just giving them forest camo instead of ocean camo.

Hot Takes Salesman > Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo
08/09/2016 at 22:40

One sailor Literally everyone who has ever seen the uniforms is quoted as saying

LongbowMkII > Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo
08/09/2016 at 22:42

I have an idea. Let's have the navy wear navy blue uniforms while on duty.

Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo > LongbowMkII
08/09/2016 at 22:45

Or dungarees and blue woven work shirts that are comfortable and protect them from the sun. Can I get a bonus for thinking of that?

lone_liberal > Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo
08/09/2016 at 22:48

Thank god we wore dungarees and blue work shirts when I was in. Why the fuck does a sailor need camouflage?

wafflesnfalafel > Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo
08/09/2016 at 22:57

I think they look cooler than the Army fatigues - but they are exactly right, certainly less functional...

Sam > Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo
08/09/2016 at 22:57

Part of uniforms is to look cool, though. The original psychological warfare.

Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo > Sam
08/09/2016 at 23:01

My opinion? I think but blue camo does look cool. But that’s just my opinion. When sailors complain that they have too many uniforms to fit in their sea duffles, then commanders need to listen to that and it sounds like they have.

Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo > lone_liberal
08/09/2016 at 23:02

Fashion statement. Failed. They could take that dungaree thing and update it for the 21st century and have it looking traditional and project a sharper image at the same time.

Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo > wafflesnfalafel
08/09/2016 at 23:03

Same. 100%

Telumektar > Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo
08/09/2016 at 23:10

Wouldn’t plain grey overalls or “urban camouflage” work better on a ship? I find it silly anyways. Ships being mostly grey/white/black.

Viggen > Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo
08/09/2016 at 23:19

Navy was a lot quicker to drop their bad idea camo than the Army was. Was so glad the day the message came out saying we could wear Multicams or buy the new uniforms in place of the horrible UCP.

Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo > Telumektar
08/09/2016 at 23:20

You’d think.

Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo > Viggen
08/09/2016 at 23:21

By “new uniforms,” do you mean the Blueberries?

lone_liberal > Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo
08/09/2016 at 23:21

When I was in the only ones who wore camo were the SeeBees and the SEALs. You know, the people who were on land and might see combat. Those blue things look like Marine uniforms that were mis-dyed.

Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo > lone_liberal
08/09/2016 at 23:27

I like the looks of them, but it’s fashion over function and dumping them was the right way to go.

Viggen > Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo
08/09/2016 at 23:41

No. I’m Army. So by new uniform I mean the “Scorpions” or OCPs. Army has three variations of the ACU. UCP, which is the shitty digital, Multicam, which is a commercial pattern the Army bought starting in 2010 for troops deploying to Afghanistan after they realized they fucked up big time, and the Scorpions, which are pretty much just Multicams but without vertical blotches to avoid copyright laws and so that the Army didn’t have to pay for a license to produce Multicam.

ttyymmnn > Telumektar
08/09/2016 at 23:47

I remember back when the Marines were in Beirut (around the time of the barracks bombing ), that it seemed so odd that they were wearing jungle camo in the city. Of course, that was before the Desert Wars™ of the 90s, so there was no desert camo. A comedian I heard at the time opined that the Marines should be wearing camouflage with bricks and cars on it.

facw > Sam
08/10/2016 at 00:16

I don’t really think any of the current US camo looks cool though. It mostly looks disheveled to me (busy patterns on crinkly fabric). It looks like it might be more comfortable to wear and maintain, which is obviously important, but it sure doesn’t look sharp.

Frank Grimes > Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo
08/10/2016 at 00:18

i thought this camo was only worn by fat dungeons and dragons nerds not actual military humans.

facw > Telumektar
08/10/2016 at 00:27

Yeah, no need for camo at all beyond a few specialty groups that operate on land. This was the case before the 2010 switch, with most enlisted personnel wearing the Utilities uniform (light blue shirt with dark blue pants), or the Working Khaki uniform (depending on rank, role, etc.). It’s possible those were too much work to keep pressed (they’re on a ship, let them wear comfortable pants with good pockets and a Navy t-shirt), but the move to camo is just weird.

Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo > Viggen
08/10/2016 at 00:56

Active duty Army currently? I wore BDUs until I got out in 1990. I'll look for some sample images of the patterns you're talking about.

xyzabc > Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo
08/10/2016 at 05:43

I may have this wrong, but wouldn’t it be more “mission critical” to camouflage the Ship, not the Sailor?

DirtyBird > Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo
08/10/2016 at 07:26

im ok with this

McMike > lone_liberal
08/10/2016 at 07:53

I always thought the same thing whenever I saw those blue uniforms.

Who are they hiding from?

Viggen > Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo
08/10/2016 at 08:17

Yeah, currently active duty. With the new pattern and the fact we can roll sleeves again, it's almost back to BDUs, minus the black boots.

Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo > Viggen
08/10/2016 at 10:08

Tell me more about your service. Are you an NCO? What’s your MOS?

I think all of the uniforms are an improvement over the BDUs. And they've worked at sizing them to fit the female soldiers better, which is also a good thing.

Viggen > Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo
08/10/2016 at 10:39

Well, I’ve been in for nearly four years now. Deployed to Kandahar Air Field, in RC South of Afghanistan in August 2013 and returned home in April 2014. I’m one of the Army’s red headed step children, I’m in Aviation. I'm a 15U, which would have been a 67U when you were in.

Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo > Viggen
08/10/2016 at 10:58

I enlisted in 1984 as an Attack Helicopter Repairer . I don’t remember the MOS. I had a super-high ASVAB. Then I got a DUI during the deferment and that disqualified me from an aviation MOS, so I became a 52C, Utilities Equipment Repairer , instead. Also requiring a high ASVAB, but I guess they had a lower standard for air conditioner mechanics.

Why do you say red-headed stepchild?

Viggen > Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo
08/10/2016 at 11:10

We’re very relaxed. In general Aviation just act different. I’ve commonly heard “Oh that’s why, you’re aviation” from people in infantry units.

Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo > Viggen
08/10/2016 at 11:17

My wife was A&P on Chinooks and might even have been a 67U. Have you made E-5 yet?

An amusing story: When I attended PLDC in 1989 — made the commandant’s list, BTW — I had a roommate named Blankenship. He was 11B and an E-5 over two. I was E-4 over 4. That punk was talking smack one night and I pulled out a pay chart and determined that I was making more money than he was, so I told him to shut the front door.

Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo > Viggen
08/10/2016 at 11:18

Does the Army put WiFi or network ports for Internet in barracks rooms?

Viggen > Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo
08/10/2016 at 11:20

Haven't made E5. Honestly could care less if I do or not. Have more fun turning wrenches than leading.

Viggen > Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo
08/10/2016 at 11:27

There's both. Wired internet is provided by one company and you can buy wifi from another.

Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo > Viggen
08/10/2016 at 11:29

I was an E5 my sixth and final year and I worked harder and enjoyed my work more that year than in the other five combined. I turned more wrenches that year as well and folks respected me for it. I never had to pull rank, either, except for once and the guy, a friend I am still in touch with all these years later, came soon after and apologized for being stubborn. At 52 and now a public school teacher with a masters degree, my year as a sergeant in the U.S. Army is one of my proudest achievements. (And I look back every so often at my last NCOER and think, what a whiny punk I was!)

Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo > Viggen
08/10/2016 at 11:30

Is it any good? How much do they charge you?

Viggen > Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo
08/10/2016 at 11:34

It’s rather good, surprisingly. There’s a couple different options for speeds. But I think mine’s $70?

Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo > Viggen
08/10/2016 at 11:36

$70/mo?? Damn! They better be giving you 50+ megabits at that price and it better NEVER slow down.

Viggen > Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo
08/10/2016 at 11:58

It is, I think it's like 60-70 mans. Seems to only slow down on Sunday or Monday nights

Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo > Viggen
08/10/2016 at 12:34

What keeps you from setting up your own wifi hotspot?

Viggen > Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo
08/10/2016 at 13:46

I bought a wireless router for the modem they provide.

Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo > Viggen
08/10/2016 at 13:53

So what keeps 4 GIs from sharing one data connection? Or renting out access? That’s what I’d be doing...

Viggen > Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo
08/10/2016 at 15:05

A single E2 living in the barracks makes enough money that he should be able to pay for car insurance, internet, and a phone bill, with enough to last him the rest of the month.

Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo > Viggen
08/10/2016 at 15:44

A married E2 with a child qualifies for food stamps, I have heard.