On the spot corrections in public; when is it appropriate?

To the Troop that presented this discussion...
First of all RANK has no bearing on the regulation...I have told a CSM to "please adjust his beret, and then assisted with such...because truthfully he looked "out of reg's blatantly" and truly looked badly, he later coined me for my actions.
Only the true "following the regulation" takes presendence.
Now my back background: USCG (active) NH Air Guard (Tsgt) NH ARMY Guard (SSG, ret).
Also involved in numerous HONOR GUARD positions and many deployments.
I just have to say this...if you are out and about on the civilian sector in uniform ( which unless you are on-call, you have plenty of time to change out to civi's) You should present yourself in that uniform "PROPERLY, with dignity and respect, and appropriately...It should be an Honor to wear it that way!
As for "corrections on the spot" so to speak, advise that Troop of the issue (ensuring your view is correct) and asked them politely to rectify in private, no embarrassment needed to either Troop, Yourself, or Public view of OUR ARMED FORCES.
On a side note some people don't know the true way to present themselves in public in our respective uniforms, a GREAT NCO will do this in a manner of fitting with our traditions.
This Troop could be fully involved in an imposter situation as well...
Just use your head and service and go from there, but do it professionally...
Submitted respectfully,
SSG (ret) K. "Doc" Dawson, Hooah!

While stationed at Bangor Submarine Base, WA, I would run across jr sailors and marines that would be out of uniform. I would usually say one or two things to them, but I had one experience where a kid told me I had no "F" ing clue what I was talking about. So I pulled out my ID and pointed out that I did. He continued to give me lip and asked for his ID. He refused and when he tried to walk away I asked what command he was with? He again refused. About a week later I saw him on base in uniform and walking with a SSGT. I walked up to the SSGT and introduced myself and asked if this was one of his Marines. He told me yes and then I explained to him what had happened off base and disrespectful he was to me. I explained to him that wasn't out to get the kid but wanted him to be aware. He thanked me and they walked away. I later saw the SSGT at the gym and he thanked me for letting him know. He told me that they had been having a lot issues with him.

I live in the big city, and am always seeing people walking around in bits and pieces of uniform thrown on any old way, with name and rank. It gives me the willies, like a raggedy flag flying in the rain, but we're not near any military facility, so I assume they're crazies with knives ("Veteran with PTSD attacks shoppers at mall. Film at 11"). If there were a military base nearby, I'd ask the person if they were active duty. If they said yes, I'd say "You know you're taking a huge fashion risk right there, don't you?" And then I'd wander off.

As a Non-Commissioned Officer, we are supposed to uphold the Army Standard and regulations, whether on or off duty. There is no excuse for a Soldier to look that jacked up in uniform, even if it is a BA weekend. I advise all my subordinates to wear civilian attire when they are off duty, and if you are attending an event that requires the wear of a uniform, ensure that you are well within regulations.

Not worth it. Obviously a POS. If you really care probably easy enough to find out who she is and report to her chain...

Whether it is in public or private, I personally would rather be corrected at the first possible moment something is recognized as being "out of reg" for myself.
I don't look in the mirror once I get my hair up in the morning, so I could be the pockets askew/rank twisted/spinach on teeth misfit if not for a sharp-eyed fellow soldier to correct me.
Politely.
No one wants to be "that guy" who makes the military look sloppy!

My concern is why do we have service members that are comfortable enough to show themselves in public that out of uniform and then are upset that someone would call them out for that.

I would've made the correction immediately but would've done it by pulling her off to the side and out of public view/earshot.

Bluntly she looks like a soup sandwhich or a walking duffle bag. But she's obviously out on a date or spending time with a friend or spouse. There's no need to embarrass here or ruin her night. There's a tactful way to get the point across....

Think about how you would want to be corrected. I would want to be taken aside individually, but if I was taken aside while standing in line (losing my place) I would have gotten pissed. That said, her getting attitude makes things different. If you asked to take her aside and she became angry, then I would have let out the bull.

You exercised more self control than I would have. I would have been asking for this person's commander's name, unit number, etc. and if she failed to give it, I would do a search upon returning to work for all of this information and let her commander know of her behavior and how badly it represented his or her unit.

This happens in all ranks... I had a MAJ who wore an ORANGE t-shirt under his ACUs with a lei, and said, "it's okay, we are supporting a community exercise by being involved". I respectfully disagreed with him, since he outranks me. However, I also referred the situation to the Battalion Commander as I felt the MAJ was setting a precedence for poor judgement / new standard of what is "acceptable" off duty. I don't care who you are, the uniform needs to be respected or removed from your person if you are not wearing it in accordance with AR 670-1

I would have yelled and screamed and ranted and .... Well, that is what the Chiefs in the Navy told me to do when I was in.

I remember when I was home from boot camp nobody had told us we couldn't wear our dungarees off base so I was wearing them. A sailor saw me and asked if I was just out of boot camp and I said yes. So he told me I couldn't wear that off base and told me I should go home and change into civvies or a proper uniform. Then he walked away. I was grateful for the way he handled it, quietly.

Of course since she told you she knows she is out of uniform regs I would have told her a bit more forcefully to go fix it now or I would be reporting her to her command. Of course you would have to know her command.

Now since I started working at USPACOM I have seen female sailors with their hair past their collars. I asked a Senior Chief about that and he told me that there was nothing he could do because the offender was female. Apparently now days if a male says anything to a junior female she can just yell sexual harassment and get away with it. So a female superior has to talk to the female. But there aren't enough of them to handle it.

Also what is this crap about women out at sea can have 1 stuffed toy on their bunk when they aren't in it???? WHAT??? NOTHING ON THE RACK! Those things go flying when a ship takes heavy seas or come under fire.

In light of correction, it would solely depend on the situation at hand. Although you ask her in regards, was she in a standard of military, in which her reply was a "yes", in her response with the rolling of eyes, my Indication would ask, may I see her military ID with myself pulling out mine as well. If she could not provide such, then I would just back off and look at either another case of Stolen Valor, and pathetic.

Maybe if you rrport her you can get an ARCOM lol. J/k I've corrected NG for wearing covers in door myself so I suppose it all depends on how you want to handle it. I don't understand why soldiers sre wearing uniforms out to things like movies? We always wore civilian clothing. And from you picture looks like she needed more than an on the spot correction was needed? Why wear BDU or ACUs or whatever they are called now mixed with a PT uniform?? Sll I can say is she is Ate The FRack up in my opinion.

Should have made her lock her nasty body and fix herself or go the hell home. Why is she in uniform to go see a movie anyway? I can't stand seeing ACU's when I go out in public. Stop being lazy and change into civvies or, if you really really want recognition, wear your service uniform.

You handled this correctly so as not to great a public scene but you also need to follow up with her chain of command. When I find myself in similar situations, I first obtain their name and unit from them, then politely issue the necessary instructions to always be in the proper military uniform or change into civilian clothing. If they then display the "attitude" I just follow up with their chain of command. I live in a small town so I will see them later and usually they still have the "attitude" toward me but either are in civilian clothing or proper uniform.

I had a similar situation there was this pfc in full uniform riding a small pink skateboard to the train station, when I confronted him about it his excuse was he got a dui how else was he supposed to get around? To which I replied the fu**ing shoelace express!

Maybe for entertainment, I would have embarrassed her in front of her friends since she likes to show off in uniform.

I wish you filmed it. If that was a Soldier, she has not pride in being a Soldier. I want her to beat her face on the asphalt. That means do push up for anyone not Army.

SSG (Join to see) SSG you did the right thing. I would have maybe pulled her aside. But you did the right thing and didn't ingore it.