Blues on Monday

[Apollo]

Your second point is true--and so what? Who wants to wear blues?

Your first point isn't, they've been aligned with blues Monday/ABU rest of week for the last several years.

Well, as of several years ago it was blues three days a week with ABUs Thursday/Friday. Historically it's been blues all five days. I would say then, if it's been ABUs four days a week for only the last several years of the institutions 57 or so years, his point is probably valid.

[ThreeHoler]

Years ago it was blues Monday-Thursday and BDUs/flight suits on Friday, unless you could get away with flight suits every day.

[ClearedHot]

It's over, sort of.

Policy implementation now delegated to MAJCOM/CCs.

AFSOC ended the policy effective immediately.

[Kilgore Trout]

It's over, sort of.

Policy implementation now delegated to MAJCOM/CCs.

AFSOC ended the policy effective immediately.

AMC to increase it to Monday's AND Tuesday's and alternating Friday's. Memo pending...

(sarcasm before anyone freaks out)

[Guest]

Started and ended with AFSOC (sort of).

Good news, hopefully the other MAJCOM/CCs respond as if someone commented on a deceased insect.

[Champ Kind]

AMC to increase it to Monday's AND Tuesday's and alternating Friday's. Memo pending...

(sarcasm before anyone freaks out)

No shit man.

This is now going to turn into a "yeah, we don't have to, but we in [iNSERT MAJCOM HERE] believe in exceeding standards, so we will continue with the blues on Monday policy to show our dedication and professionalism as Airmen."

Ill gladly eat my words on this if it gets squashed, though.

[Breckey]

The question was actually asked by a Missileer at an all-call here last week. Gen Walsh's exact words were "I have written no such policy." He then went on to mention that if any MAJCOM or base wanted to continue the proud tradition, then that was their prerogative. He did say though that the Air Staff would continue to wear blues because "we're a staff and don't require utility uniforms to do our job"

[Danger41]

It's over, sort of.

Policy implementation now delegated to MAJCOM/CCs.

AFSOC ended the policy effective immediately.

Link?

[Azimuth]

I think I know what AETC's stance on the policy will be.

[backseatdriver]

Link?

I would say ClearedHot is a valid source of info on this topic.

[Spoo]

The question was actually asked by a Missileer at an all-call here last week. Gen Walsh's exact words were "I have written no such policy." He then went on to mention that if any MAJCOM or base wanted to continue the proud tradition, then that was their prerogative. He did say though that the Air Staff would continue to wear blues because "we're a staff and don't require utility uniforms to do our job"

Can you clarify this a bit? What question did said Missileer ask Gen WELSH? As written, your post seems to say that CSAF is referring to the fact that he hasn't written a blues on Monday policy. If that's indeed the case, can we then infer that all policies written by a previous CSAF become null and void immediately following the change of command in which incoming and outgoing CSAFs were both wearing band uniforms?

Edited November 29, 2012 by Spoo

[Techsan]

From Cannon's WG/CC, via GDSS3 (Facebook):

Air Commandos,

On 28 Nov 12 General Welsh rescinded the AF policy directing Wings to wear Class B (blues) on Mondays. Lt Gen Fiel has directed that AFSOC Airmen are NOT required to wear the AF Blue uniform on Mondays.

Effective immediately, Airmen assigned to Cannon AFB and AFSOC may wear appropriate utility uniforms every day of the week. Subordinate commanders on Cannon AFB may specify the appropriate uniform.

Col Elton

[brabus]

God I hope the other MAJCOMs follow suit.

Edited November 29, 2012 by brabus

[Guest]

Link?

LOL

[M2]

If anyone hears that AETC rescinds their Monday Blues policy please post up.

Not that it matters to me, but since my organization is on one of their bases, it will make the military folks here happy! Despite the fact that we don't have a single AD USAF person here, the Army and Navy folks assigned are still required to follow the base policy!

Cheers! M2

[Fuzz]

Link from AF times:

https://www.airforcetimes.com/mobile/news/2012/11/air-force-blues-monday-rule-rescinded-112912w

This just in: Blues Mondays are dead.

Chief of Staff Gen. Mark Welsh rescinded the servicewide requirement that airmen wear their dress blue uniforms on Monday, sources confirm.

Accordingly, both Air Force Space Command and Air Force Special Operations Command have ended Blues Mondays. Other major commands, when contacted by Air Force Times, had not yet heard of the change.

Former Chief of Staff Gen. Norton Schwartz ordered Blues Mondays in September 2008. At the time, Schwartz said the decision came from a leadership summit convened by Schwartz and Secretary Michael Donley.

“Post-9/11, we’ve moved away from our blue uniforms almost altogether and have transformed into an Air Force that wears our utility uniform on a daily basis,” Schwartz said in a memo. “We all agreed that part of our image, culture and professionalism is instilled in our blues.”

That was a reversal of his predecessor’s policy. Gen. T. Michael Moseley, who became chief of staff in late 2005, believed airmen should dress like they fight so he ordered them to wear camouflage uniforms as part of his effort to instill “a war-fighting ethos” in the Air Force Culture.

Schwartz retired in August, when Welsh became the service’s top officer.

[Guest]

[Spoo]

Reminds me of AF pilot retention...

[SuperWSO]

No shit man.

This is now going to turn into a "yeah, we don't have to, but we in [iNSERT MAJCOM HERE] believe in exceeding standards, so we will continue with the blues on Monday policy to show our dedication and professionalism as Airmen."

Ill gladly eat my words on this if it gets squashed, though.

What do you think of a MAJCOM that only wears the minimum number of pieces of flare?

[pitts2112]

I had to laugh at the irony of blues Monday when I first heard about it (14 year break in service, you see). It was a real reversal of previous policy for a somewhat related idea - that the uniform shapes the thinking of the wearer.

I remember in the early 90s when BDUs had become the defacto uniform of the day for most base level people. Gen Fogleman, then TRANSCOM/CC, decreed that the uniform of the day for TRANSCOM and AMC HQ would be BDUs. His reasoning, as I remember it, was that most of the people that worked for them were down range in the desert and wearing utility uniforms, so they should, too, as a kind of equalizing move.

Being stationed at Scott at the time, this made perfect sense. The HQ staffers did stand out as being pretty much the only people on base wearing blues while most of the base-level people were wearing BDUs. This created a feeling on base that the HQ staffers thought of themselves as above the rest of the base population and could do with being brought down a peg or two. Whether they actually felt that way themselves could be another matter, but there was an us vs them attitude on the base at the time.

Already a popular leader, this increased the respect people had for Gen Fogleman even more. What goes around comes around.

[ak47]

FogleMAN. Not the other.

[Scooter14]

GDSS3 (Facebook)

THAT is funny.

[Breckey]

Can you clarify this a bit? What question did said Missileer ask Gen WELSH? As written, your post seems to say that CSAF is referring to the fact that he hasn't written a blues on Monday policy. If that's indeed the case, can we then infer that all policies written by a previous CSAF become null and void immediately following the change of command in which incoming and outgoing CSAFs were both wearing band uniforms?

The missileer asked to the effect of "we're all supposed to be warriors, I don't feel like a warrior on Mondays, what say you Gen Walsh?" Gen Walsh said that the band uniform was "tucked away deep in his basement" (sts i guess?)

[TacAirCoug]

Scaredfuzz, this guy:

...is NOT this guy.

[nsplayr]

Well done Gen. Welsh. And well done to Gen. Fiel for acting exceedingly quickly WRT AFSOC policy. to you sir.