Clothes Make The Man

It's funny how a group of people comes to identify themselves with certain objects. The day I checked into Millington (it was a Friday), I was somewhat surprised by all of the officers in flightsuits. Now I really didn't give it much thought as I do have more important things to worry about. As it was my first day in a new command, I was dressed in Summer Whites in keeping with a tradition that seems to be waning in practice. Interestingly enough, one of my first interactions with another flyer brought with it a challenge of why I wasn't in a flightsuit. I didn't know the guy so I just ignored it and went about my business. This however was not the end of it. When one of the senior officer explained to me somewhat excitedly that "On Fridays we get to wear flightsuits", I jokingly replied "oooh, like Hawaiian-shirt day!" He didn't realize I was joking.

Well the fact that some folks like wearing a flightsuit doesn't bother me. Once again, I have more important things to worry about than their fashion sense. But what I do find puzzling is that my choice not to wear a flightsuit every Friday seems to bother people. Not a Friday has gone by where I don't get some comment about "why aren't you in a flightsuit" from a concerned aviator. It's almost as if my choice to not wear a flightsuit somehow challenges their own course of action. (It also shows they don't understand my nonconformist tendencies.)

I realize I am probably in the minority here, but when did the notion of "dressing for success" fall out of favor within the Navy? As professional officers, why do we accept the notion of wearing a set of coveralls to work like the Jiffy Lube tech when we aren't flying? As I recall we used to make fun of the Air Force for doing such things. Admittedly I am an anachronism in many things but I think this is truly an area in which we would be better served by returning to the past.