How would you react if someone showed up to a uniform inspection with a ribbon rack like this?

Damn, cant shoot them uh

I was NCOIC of a shop with a SSgt working for me. SSgt had been in for almost 8 years but had just made NCO rank so he knew what the uniform regs said. My section chief and I were doing a counseling on him for a completely separate issue. At this time, the Air Force was required to wear our blues on a certain day of the week, per order of the CSAF. So we're doing this counseling session on this SSgt. As he's sitting there listening to the section chief talk, I'm doing a look over of his uniform. First, he was kind of a bigger guy anyways and I saw where his face was bright red because his collar was too small for his neck, to the point I could not get my finger between his neck and the collar while he was wearing his tie. He was wearing long sleeves so tie was mandatory. His ribbons were out of order and some of the rest of his buttons on his shirt were straining to stay fastened. As I went down the uniform, I happened to notice his pants had just been rolled under and not had the cuffs sewn. His shoes were not only scuffed but were completely unserviceable. We were at a small RAF base in England so the closest base with a comprehensive clothing sales was about a 45 minute drive away. This happened on a Friday morning. The section chief and I gave this the rest of the day to drive to clothing sales, buy everything to bring his uniforms up to reg and we wanted to see the receipts Monday morning to include alteration. We also contacted the shirt and requested the next Friday for him to conduct a uniform inspection on this SSgt. He came back Monday morning with a receipt for over $400 where he bought new blues, ribbons, rack, low quarters and had the receipts. Next Friday comes around, first sergeant does his inspection but tells the section chief and I to step outside his office and does his own counseling session with the SSgt. Eventually he came up for reenlistment which I non-rec'd to the chief and commander who ultimately denied it for other issues.

Leaders. Build a Dress kit. Simple tackle box with some rails, likely ribbons (no need to carry around a purple heart or a medal of honor. service ribbon, yes, national defense, sure.. be smart). Marksmanship badges, rank, unit insignia, corps pins, airborn wings, and a boat load of dammits. Throw in a bras polishing and show polishing kit and you are set to make your section shine. I went as far as having a pouch on my backpack that contained, paper, ID tag chain, pens, ranks from PV2 - SSG (Army), eye glass repair kit, small boot shining kit (back in the days of black boots) so troops can square themselves away before formation real quick before open ranks is called out.

After the uncontrollable twitching stopped and I lost my voice from yelling! I would make the soldier memorize the 670-1 and show up to every formation in dress uniform no matter the day's activities until he/she had it rite!

I posted this story else where but since its relevant here you go.

We had an E3 at my first command (Hawkeye squadron) that was a special kind of 8-up. (Locked himself in a plane once) Anyways in this story we had just come back from a det the day before and some people’s gear was in tri walls in the hanger. A few of us were sitting in the smoke deck and we see this guy wandering up the road wearing the Utility shirt but with a Dixie cap on… When he gets closer we relies its one of our guys so we yell at him to come over. Top to Bottom, he had a Dixie cap on a Utility shirt 3 sizes too small a PT shirt (White with the Navy logo on the front and back) Johnny cash pants, rope for a belt, and dress shoes. When asked WTF!!! He replied that all his uniforms were in the tri walls in the hanger and so he “Found” these uniform items in the BEQ. He had cut the name tap off the shirt and sharpie his own name on it. We asked why he didn’t just come in civvies change here and take his sea bag back to his BEQ after work…. He said he hadn’t thought of that… In the 7 Commands iv worked with I have had 2 of these types of people…

After I would get my clenching teeth and flaring nostrils under control, I would fall the formation out and bring this lovely character AND their immediate supervisor to my office. Once the door was closed, I would look at the supervisor and say one word and one word only...."EXPLAIN"

Very good answers here. I'd like to know where his buddies were. Seems like he could have received some peer help.

I would take the ribbons off of the uniform, then I would tell the inspectee to get some real time in the military, before trying to show what a hard charger he/she is, seeing as the sleeve anchor shows that the person has not done any real time in the actual Navy.

Then I would go to the nearest bulkhead and try to erase the memory by pounding my head into it. Before doing this, though, I would report this wannabe to the powers that be.

Ahhhhh, a good ol' on the spot correction consisting of questions, pushups, and retraining.

You're taught when you go to basic or boot what right looks like and you know this isn't it but it's ok, I will retrain you as I see fit. I do enjoy retraining.

Good grief! I would be talking to them and explaining how to properly wear their ribbon rack.

I would have lost my mind on her first line leader (Work Center Sup). Though it’s her fault ultimately I agree, she has been failed by her leadership at the lowest level long before I would have been standing in front of her. Maybe I’m soft but I would have dug into my bag of uniform junk which I always kept for the junior sailors and handed her what she needed and then I would have eaten her first line leader for lunch! She never should have made it to a division inspection looking like that… unacceptable.

For some reason I suspect this is not a problem in the Marine Corps.

All this time and the ribbons were so disturbing that no one noticed the deck apes apparently had powdered a powdered donut fight before the inspection.

Slap his squad leader

grab that person take him aside, unfuck that mess he calls a ribbon rack, and then let him loose

Did that "uniform" come from an Army Navy store?

It's going to be a long night!

Time for a smoking.

I would agree too, with all those that have commented...unacceptable! The bad thing about the whole situation, IT'S OUT THERE, not matter what branch of service!

I would respond with guidance and possibly take this young man or woman to the BX/PX/NX to get their first multi ribbon bar, or use two single ribbon bars on the bottom row and split the ribbons on those bars to make them tight and straight. Why let another persons uniform speak for thousands of others when a simple correction is in order. Chances are though that this person has other things wrong with his or her uniform too.