Air Combat Command is considering a supplement to dress and appearance standards that would limit the use of cold weather clothes such as beanies and fleeces to only certain colors, places, and times of year for Airmen assigned to ACC.
The supplement, which is still in draft form and has no expected date of implementation or publication, is part of a wider push at ACC to pay closer attention to military standards.
“The supplement is aligned with ACC’s efforts to recommit to high standards of conduct, dress and appearance, physical fitness, and customs and courtesies,” a spokesperson for the institutional command told Air & Space Forces Magazine.
The document was posted to the unofficial Air Force subreddit on July 15. If implemented, it would add on to Department of the Air Force Instruction 36-2903, which lays out dress and appearance standards for Airmen. The spokesperson cautioned that the supplement, which is dated May 20, is still being reviewed by staff at ACC and its numbered Air Forces, so the regulations are subject to change.
Three of the proposed regulations involve the use of watch caps, also known as beanies, which would be authorized only between October and March each year. Only coyote brown watch caps would be authorized for use with the Operational Camouflage Pattern (OCP) uniform, while black watch caps would be authorized only with the formal Class A and B uniforms or with physical training gear. Sage green watch caps would not be authorized.
The proposed regulations are slightly different from the wider DAFI, which also authorizes black watch caps with OCP; sage green watch caps with physical training gear; and coyote brown watch caps with physical training gear. The shorthand for the new rules would be coyote brown for camouflage uniforms, and black watch caps for anything else. But the wider DAFI does not specify the October-to-March timeline as the ACC supplement does.
Another potential change involves the coyote brown fleece jacket. While the wider DAFI says the fleece “may be worn indoors or outdoors,” the ACC supplement would authorize the fleece only outdoors.
Other proposed changes include:
- Squadron commanders can approve wear of “distinctive scarves” authorized by their wing commanders where it is practical and appropriate.
- Lanyards, access passes, restricted area badges, common access cards, and identification badges cannot be worn outside of the restricted area and must be stowed in a secure area when not being worn.
- ACC members on a profile limiting them to wear tennis shoes while in OCPs must wear dark colored shoes (black or navy blue, for example).
- Airmen can wear only one earpiece while in uniform when performing official duties except for physical fitness, where both earpieces are authorized.
The regulations involving beanie and fleece use caught some criticism from Airmen on Reddit, where users pointed out that cold weather persists earlier than October and past March at some ACC locations and especially for ACC Airmen assigned to bases in Alaska, North Dakota, Idaho, and Colorado.
Others noted that indoor data centers are often kept cold to help prevent computers from over-heating. There are about 1,000 data centers across 185 Air Force and Space Force bases, Winston Beauchamp, the deputy chief information officer at the Air Force, told Federal News Network in April.
The Department of Defense also has a checkered reputation when it comes to building maintenance, with Air Force Vice Chief of Staff Gen. James C. Slife saying in April that elements of base infrastructure “are essentially on hospice care.” Heating and air conditioning units are often broken in junior enlisted housing, the Government Accountability Office noted in September.
The ACC spokesperson said the supplement would apply to all Active, Guard, and Reserve Airmen assigned to ACC, but “waivers may be approved to make adjustments based on local conditions and specific mission requirements.
“An essential element of being part of this elite team is the high standards we hold as an institution,” the spokesperson added. “Adherence to higher standards of conduct, dress and appearance, physical fitness, and the observance of customs and courtesies is critical to our identity as military members.”
The pushback on Reddit comes on the heels of earlier announcements by Air Combat Command boss Gen. Kenneth S. Wilsbach. Starting in June, the general ordered the nearly 80,000 Airmen under his command to face inspections to make sure they are meeting Air Force dress and appearance standards, citing “a discernible decline” in the commitment and enforcement of those standards.
“What I learned many years ago is if you pay attention to the details, when it gets hard and you need to do something difficult, because you’ve been disciplined to pay attention to the details, you can be good and you can succeed,” Wilsbach noted last week, saying he faced his first open ranks inspection since college earlier this month.
“If we police ourselves, we won’t have to worry about this, but we’ll be paying attention to the details and it will allow us to have discipline to do some very difficult things,” he said.