I met up with some friends last night for dinner - and one of them had an authentic name taped full ACU on as a Halloween Costume. In my part of the country there are a few Army bases, and seeing someone in a uniform is a normal(although typically it's with at least 3 or more soldiers).
A young veteran was giving him the eye for a few minutes, walked over and gave him a shove and asked him for his rank, "You have some weird shit going on there, I'm trying to figure out who you are" to which my friend responded "I mean no disrespect, it's a Halloween costume sir." This sent the veteran over the edge, and we did what we could to diffuse and control the situation - he was very apologetic and asked what he could do to make the uniform right , to which he was told "take it off. all of it." with a straight face.
Fortunately we were done with dinner by now, closed out, and able to walk away - with some quick brainstorming he swapped his field coat and tags for a pink polo and became "Don't ask, Don't tell..." to appease the group.
A little more background - Calvin had lost a cousin he had grown up with to Afghanistan (after active duty, as a contractor), and the ACU's were his. The fallen soldier's wife had gifted them to Calvin because of how close they were, and he had worn them during a Halloween party a few years ago with no issues. His wearing it was not an act of disrespect, but he had in no means earned the right. He knew better than to be drinking or acting out, and didn't cross a line. Based on suggestions from some friends in active duty, he swapped the nametapes and patches as to keep from looking authentic, but that seemed to upset this veteran even more.
Thoughts? When, if ever, is it ok for a CIVILIAN to wear an ACU? MARPAT? Surplus clothing is for sale all over the internet and the hide - and most of the time it's soldiers and their families selling from what I've seen.
I have a set or two of ACU's I use for hunting (no insignia or patches needed there) and a set of brand new MARPATs I've yet to use, as no one wants to piss off a Marine
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Not sure which forum this belongs in, and for the record I can see and understand both sides, to an extent...
A young veteran was giving him the eye for a few minutes, walked over and gave him a shove and asked him for his rank, "You have some weird shit going on there, I'm trying to figure out who you are" to which my friend responded "I mean no disrespect, it's a Halloween costume sir." This sent the veteran over the edge, and we did what we could to diffuse and control the situation - he was very apologetic and asked what he could do to make the uniform right , to which he was told "take it off. all of it." with a straight face.
Fortunately we were done with dinner by now, closed out, and able to walk away - with some quick brainstorming he swapped his field coat and tags for a pink polo and became "Don't ask, Don't tell..." to appease the group.
A little more background - Calvin had lost a cousin he had grown up with to Afghanistan (after active duty, as a contractor), and the ACU's were his. The fallen soldier's wife had gifted them to Calvin because of how close they were, and he had worn them during a Halloween party a few years ago with no issues. His wearing it was not an act of disrespect, but he had in no means earned the right. He knew better than to be drinking or acting out, and didn't cross a line. Based on suggestions from some friends in active duty, he swapped the nametapes and patches as to keep from looking authentic, but that seemed to upset this veteran even more.
Thoughts? When, if ever, is it ok for a CIVILIAN to wear an ACU? MARPAT? Surplus clothing is for sale all over the internet and the hide - and most of the time it's soldiers and their families selling from what I've seen.
I have a set or two of ACU's I use for hunting (no insignia or patches needed there) and a set of brand new MARPATs I've yet to use, as no one wants to piss off a Marine
Not sure which forum this belongs in, and for the record I can see and understand both sides, to an extent...