What to wear? part II
I decided not to wear my Desert Uniform on the plane ride home. I packed the four sets of uniforms and realized that I would not wear them again....
When I got to the airport, there was another officer on the same flight as I; El Paso to Atlanta. He was wearing his DCU's for the flight.
As we boarded the plane and headed to coach, he took his assigned seat across the aisle from me, he in DCU's, I in my sweater and khakis, in preparation to go out to dinner that evening from the airport.
After we took our seats, a gentleman from First Class came back and told the other officer that he had a seat available in First Class for him. He was giving up his seat for the flight to the returning vet. Very thoughtful of the guy. They shook hands and mutually thanked the other for the service.
When in uniform, I had been stopped often in the airports and thanked for my service. That small gesture means a lot.
Once here at Ft. Drum, I decided to wear my DCU's one more time. The day that I returned to work I wore them again. The company commander drove to my office specifically to see me and welcome me back. "Sir," he said, "as the first commander in your line of command, let me be the first to officially welcome you back and thank you for your service and sacrifice while serving our country. Welcome home." Although I know that the "official" greeting is required and expected, I still appreciated it.
He also commented on my uniform. I am expected to wear it for the next week as part of the reintegration process. This signifies me as one returning and is supposed to help expedite the paperwork drill of getting me back into the unit and back to work. It goes without saying that the uniform does set me apart. When I first saw green uniforms among the desert patterns, they were out of place. Now the colors are reversed. I am the minority among all the green uniforms on post.
Next week I will be normal....
When I got to the airport, there was another officer on the same flight as I; El Paso to Atlanta. He was wearing his DCU's for the flight.
As we boarded the plane and headed to coach, he took his assigned seat across the aisle from me, he in DCU's, I in my sweater and khakis, in preparation to go out to dinner that evening from the airport.
After we took our seats, a gentleman from First Class came back and told the other officer that he had a seat available in First Class for him. He was giving up his seat for the flight to the returning vet. Very thoughtful of the guy. They shook hands and mutually thanked the other for the service.
When in uniform, I had been stopped often in the airports and thanked for my service. That small gesture means a lot.
Once here at Ft. Drum, I decided to wear my DCU's one more time. The day that I returned to work I wore them again. The company commander drove to my office specifically to see me and welcome me back. "Sir," he said, "as the first commander in your line of command, let me be the first to officially welcome you back and thank you for your service and sacrifice while serving our country. Welcome home." Although I know that the "official" greeting is required and expected, I still appreciated it.
He also commented on my uniform. I am expected to wear it for the next week as part of the reintegration process. This signifies me as one returning and is supposed to help expedite the paperwork drill of getting me back into the unit and back to work. It goes without saying that the uniform does set me apart. When I first saw green uniforms among the desert patterns, they were out of place. Now the colors are reversed. I am the minority among all the green uniforms on post.
Next week I will be normal....
posted by greenzone at
10:43 AM
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