Your Uniform

[dsteele]

For those who miss the 100% cotton uniform, I have good news. It's still available, although most Scout Shops don't keep them in stock.

 

There are actually 3 fabric choices available in the current field uniform.

 

The most common is the 65% poly 35% cotton. I really hate the pants.

 

Both shirt and pants are available in the 100% cotton some of us remember. I have a couple of them. They're not easy to iron and the color fades, but it's a hearty uniform and I like it in the field.

 

Most of my uniforms are the 65% poly/35% wool. They're pricier, but they look sharp and hold their creases nicely. It's my uniform of choice. You're supposed to have them dry cleaned, but I've been tossing them in the washing machine and dryer with no problem.

 

DS

 

I used to have a pair of old Boy Scout spats and wore them when I was a kid in southwestern Michigan. They did a good job of getting me through thorns.

 

 

DS

[scoutldr]

I have a 100% cotton shirt I found on Ebay....didn't know it was cotton until it arrived. I like the look and feel, and have been reintroduced to the fine art of ironing, since my wife refuses to touch it!

[Eamonn]

My Uniform :

No Hat - Don't like em.

Shirt - Golf Shirt, with a pocket. Don't really care what the color is. Red is fine

Pants - Some kind of easy care pants like Dockers, would be fine. I have very skinny legs, so you can keep the shorts.

Belt - Don't care if it's there or not.

Socks - Any dark color is fine.

Neckerchief - rarely wear one, but if we have it as an option that is ok.

Have to admit that I get a little upset, everytime I open my Scout Sock drawer, and see nearly $200.00 in socks looking up at me. Of all the uniform items the Socks seem to be way over- priced.

My Wife tells me that if I buy anymore Scout Shirts, that my life will come to a premature end. I'm not sure how many.

And even though I don't like hats, I do have way too many, including two Campaign hats.

Have just looked over some of the comments on the Baseball Cap.

I don't know a good one from a bad one, but OJ, my 14 year old thinks that the BSA Ball cap, stinks.

He isn't that mad about my choice of uniform, and tells me that the one we have now is better then what I said.

Boy, I must be growing old, to think that I asked a 14 year old - I really must be slipping !!!

Who Knows one of these days I may even hear what he is saying. What is all that stuff about Active Listening ??(This message has been edited by Eamonn)

[SmT206]

Maybe I am out of touch with reality, but some of these uniform ideas seem to promote a "no uniform" uniform. Maybe my 38 years of military experience has warped my thinking, but a uniform should make a statement. It should be a source of pride and discipline. Some of the ideas I have seen here certainly have lost this concept. I think that the current official uniform conveys this message. I admit that I am not a fan of the current cap due to the design, but at least it is distinctive. A uniform without a belt, NOT!!

 

Remember that scouting is supposed to promote teamwork. All teams have uniforms.

[Eamonn]

Not sure if SmT206, was pointing the finger at me, however if the cap fits, I will wear it. (Much as I dislike them.)

I still belong to the group that follows the rules,and at this time do everything possible to get others to follow, what I hope is my good example.

However, much as it pains me to have to say it, when I see the turn out of the units in my district, a good many of them are wearing "My uniform" If it is not theirs it sure is not, the BSA uniform.

Even boys that I know have a full uniform opt to only wear parts of it. I know they have one because they wore it to the last jamboree.

While, I thank the good Lord, not in my district, we do have units that on their own have redesigned parts of the uniform, for wear by the entire unit.

To my way of thinking, we do need to do everything possible to get all our members to wear our uniform.

I feel sure that everyone at every level is aware of the problems that we have with uniforming, and one day maybe not in the very near future, something will be done.

Will everyone be happy ? I wonder.

[fotoscout]

I dont care what material its made of, I dont care what style it is, I dont care what color(s) it is. I think it should be MANDATORY, AND AFFORDABLE!

[SmT206]

I definitely agree with the MANDATORY and AFFORDABLE. I have no problem with the current uniform except that the pants could use some improvements. Many good ideas have been mentioned in earlier posts.

[matuawarrior]

I would have a tropical quickdry uniform for island scouts. That's with matching Teva sandals, Cool Shades with headwrap, and matching lavalava.

 

This way we can jump in the water without changing. Patches in the correct places of course.

 

Have Fun,

 

Matua

[Eagledad]

>>Maybe my 38 years of military experience has warped my thinking, but a uniform should make a statement. It should be a source of pride and discipline.>I definitely agree with the MANDATORY and AFFORDABLE.

[fotoscout]

A short uniform story.

 

This past weekend my Pack did a sleepover at the New York Hall of Science. This particular night was reserved for Scouts. There were probably 200 Cub Scouts running around the place. Most were completely out of uniform, some were wearing pack Tee Shirts. A few (very few) were in a proper uniform. Of course the few, were the four Scouts from my den that went on the trip.

 

The program included a magic show. The magician included the boys in virtually every trick she did. At one point, she pulled my son and one other boy out of the audience. She stood the two boys next to her, one on her left and the other on her right. She stopped and took a breath. Her next words were classic, all she could say was, What a contrast!. Here she had two Cub Scouts, one properly dressed, tucked in, pockets buttoned, gig line straight, hat properly placed on his little head, and the other, well, you can only imagine. The magician had no involvement in scouting. But she did not hesitate for one second to comment on the boys appearance.

 

Each and every time the boys step out of their home on the way to a scout activity, they represent all of us. My sons appearance on that stage made me proud, he made our other boys proud and he made the other parents from our pack proud, and in a very un-scout-like tone I hope he made all the other parents that were their just a little embarrassed.

 

[SmT206]

Good reply fotoscout!!

 

As for wearing a uniform so as to not be hassled, if wearing a uniform is a hassle, then the discipline and pride question just answered itself.

 

If we are not promoting discipline and pride, then what is our purpose. We are supposed to be developing these boys for the future, if they don't take pride in their appearance now, when will they start to care? Have you noticed how many jobs require a uniform. Even businesses that don't have a uniform usually have a dress code.

 

Even McDonalds has a uniform, how many young people enter the job market there?

 

HASSLE? Standards have to start somewhere.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Eagledad]

>>As for wearing a uniform so as to not be hassled, if wearing a uniform is a hassle, then the discipline and pride question just answered itself.

[MiG-19]

Hello All,

I am brand new to scouter.com and this is my first post. I really enjoy the site.

 

I was a Cub Scout, Webelo, and a Boy Scout until I was 17 back in the mid-70's. Our Scoutmaster taught us that the complete uniform was the only way to dress, and I never once saw anyone wear a Scout shirt with jeans or any other combination of civilian attire in my troop. We were not made up of affluent people, and yet everyone found a way to have a complete uniform.

 

As for hats, we wore either campaign hats or the old "overseas hat". Shoes were to be polished unless we were in the field and then it was boots.

 

The training I received as a Scout was invaluable. My Troop was indeed one of the tightest organizations I have ever experienced, and the friendships I made then last to this day.

 

As I was leaving Scouting, the "new" uniform was coming in. This is the one with the red beret and the belt activity loops. We hated it! The uniform we had been wearing before was considered by all to be superior to the new one.

 

Campaign hats? They worked great for us, and I have one now, and still love it. (They are offered on e-bay as well as surplus stores).

 

I left Scouting when I went to college, and then served 24 years in the Marine Corps. I just retired from the Corps, though I still live and work for the Corps in Japan. I have recently returned to Scouting, and I must confess, I LIKE the current uniform. I was prepared not to like it, because it was different from what I wore as a kid, but I find that I do actually like the way it looks. (One of the first things I purchased at our Scout Store, was the uniform regulations. They are very clear and should be read by all leaders.)

 

As for berets, very few people wear a beret properly. It can be and usually is a very unsightly blob on your head. They didn't look good in the '70s, and they don't look any better now. Yes, it's become standard head gear for the Army, but the majority of soldiers I come across hate it, and the vast majority of them can't or won't wear them properly.

 

A word on BDU's: Mike Walton has written a very concise account of why BDU's are not appropriate Scouting attire, and it is available on his web site, The Tree.

 

Neckerchefs: Should be mandatory, as they are a very visible and recognizable sign of being a Scout, (and they still look best worn with the shirt collar rolled under).

 

Uniforms change over time. However, the traditions that make an organization what it is, should be incorporated in the changes.

 

Bottom line, the uniform has always been part of being a Scout, and only a complete official Scout uniform should be worn, both by the Scouts and their leaders.

 

Semper fi,

MiG-19

[dsteele]

MiG -- 19:

 

Welcome to the campfire. Feel free to post anytime. Hopefully others will see this post, but we seem to be pretty slow this Friday before Memorial Day. BTW -- I was never in the military although I desperately wanted to be. I usually spend a fair amount of time calling the people I know who are veterans of any branch of military service.

 

I call them to say, "Thank you for your service. I look up to you and believe you are a credit to our nation." Or something along those lines that doesn't sound canned.

 

In that vein, MiG -- 19 . . . Thank you for your service. It means a lot to us.

 

I agree with you on the importance of proper uniforming. In fact, in all my years as a Scout, I can only remember one meeting when I wasn't in uniform. I was embarrassed. There was good reason I was in uniform, but I don't remember what it was. I do remember being embarrassed.

 

As to the earlier poster who said that Scouts shouldn't be harrassed in the BSA (or something to that effet,) let me say that there's a fine line between harrassment and peer pressure. The difference is who is doing it and for what reason. If the adults in the troop (and the boy leaders) uphold proper uniforming as being important, the younger Scouts and other Scouts will apply pressure on all to be in uniform. That's not harrassment, it's peer pressure. The BSA uses it all the time. Even in Cub Scouting -- witness the Good Conduct Candle, etc.

 

It doesn't really matter to me what the uniform of the BSA is, it's my duty to wear it properly. Of course, I'm on the payroll and it's in my employee handbook. So what's a guy to do?

 

Well, I can dream a little -- if I had my way, for looks, the BSA uniform would be the 100% wool uniform of the 1950's that was modelet on the WWII uniform (with insignia on the collar. I'm speaking of the adult uniform, I have no idea what the youth uniform of the time looked like.)

 

I also liked the Dough Boy look for all Scouts and Scouters of the early days of Scouting -- but we'd look silly wearing it today.

 

I like the design of today's uniform -- not the construction, the fabric or the cost. The look is okay, but if I had my way, they would be of 100% natural fiber (wool for cool climates and linen for warmer) and less expensive.

 

The dress uniform (which I'll admit relatively few on these boards have to wear) would be a pair of olive green pants (100% worsted wool) a kaki shirt, olive green tie, and Marine Corps style (again WWII) jacket with metal position logos on the lapels. Shoes would have to be black and shined nicely.

 

That's my dreaming and scheming.

 

Have a nice Memorial Weekend.

 

DS

[hops_scout]

MiG-19: I also would like to thank you for your service to your country( you too KoreaScouter and anybody else). It really does mean a lot to everybody. They may not say so, but they really do care.

 

Also, just because we say BDU clothing, we dont mean camo!!