Re: Prohibition on "Imitating" Military Uniforms (Was Question on
(no name) ((no email))
Thu, 21 Jan 1999 03:00:01 -0600
"James A. Sheckels" <sheckej@EARTHLINK.NET> provided some more
research on the wear of military uniforms by those other than
military folk.
Two comments:
>(Is it significant that the neither BSA Charter nor the USC
>mentions Air Force uniforms??!!??)
Remember that the Air Force (sorry "zoomies" *grinning*) was
an "afterthought" and evolved from the Army (Army Air Corps?)
>Having said all that, let's look at the "kicker" for Venturing.
>Go to page 306 of the Venturing Leader's Manual (#34655) and read
>the military policy definition. You may be surprised at what you
>see! The next to last sentence is germaine to this discussion -
>"Crews or ships wearing military-style uniforms must be clearly
>identified as Venturers and should not be mistaken for military
>personnel." (Oh, that word "should" is there!)
OOooh!! Hey Scott Smith!! You guys see this??
We had this same issue a while back under Exploring whereby police
and fire departments wanted their Explorers to wear the same
uniform as they do, with special patches only to ID the "youth
Explorers" from the "adult real people." It doesn't work. People
get hurt, and then they try to apply the BSA's insurance and
risk-management stuff to say "it was accidental and the person was
confused as to the individual's status."
If we don't go down that road, we won't have to worry about someone
getting hurt later onward, except in true accidents. The uniforms
that Venturers wear (to include Sea Scouts) should be as
DISTINCTIVE and DIFFERENT from those being worn by our military or
by civilian protection organizations; so that AT A GLANCE FROM A
DISTANCE, one can tell the "real folk" from the "youth Venturers or
Sea Scouts."
The uniforming policy as it applies to "military uniforms" isn't
just there to keep us from "looking like paramilitary
organizations" and keeping our reputation straight; it's also to
keep us from harming or placing in harm's way youth members that
are doing nothing more than observing and doing general
crowd-control. There should NEVER be a reason for wearing camo'ed
uniforms as *Scouts* or *Scouters*, just like there should NEVER be
a reason for a Venturer or Venturer Leader (to include Sea Scouts
and Scouters) wearing military uniforms as *Venturers* or *Venturer
Leaders*.
The Sea Scouting uniforms and options have been cleared for wear by
the U.S. Navy, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard. We wear out insignia
in different places, and we have more insignia on our blouses and
tunics than the military does. We don't have ribbons but rather
knot emblems. We don't wear nametapes or tags. And some of our
Sea Scouts are OA members, and therefore wear the distinctive OA
Lodge flap on the blouse or jacket. Therefore, we do avoid the
confusion between Sea Scout or Sea Scouting leader and military
people, even from afar.
Thanks, Jim, for finding the additional information!
Settummanque!
>HAND!
>
>YIS, Jim Sheckels - I used to be a Bobwhite & 1SG,US Army(Retired)
>CC/CR T-742, Hope Mills,NC United Methodist Church
>V-Chair, Relationships Committee, Occoneechee Council
> #421/Lodge#104
>sheckej@earthlink.net http://home.earthlink.net/~sheckej/
(c) 1999 Mike Walton ("no such thing as strong coffee,...") blkeagle@mninter.net
http://mninter.net/~blkeagle Burnsville, MN 55306-7130 (612) 435-3068
privately at kyblkeagle@aol.com or waltonm@server.kaiserslautern.army.mil
---- FORWARD in service to youth ----
