Posted on Apr 3, 2016
Why can't Soldiers roll up their sleeves in uniform?
244K
143
86
7
7
0
Posted in these groups: 
Uniforms
DA Pam 670-1
Uniforms DA Pam 670-1
Posted 8 y ago
Responses: 30
18
18
0
The first and most important why is:
DA PAM 670-1, 4-8(d) - Sleeves will be worn down at all times(not rolled or cuffed). The sleeve cuffs on the combat uniform coat are not authorized to be rolled inside the coat.
The second and debatable why is:
Sleeves protect against sunburn and insect bites.
Having come from the Air Force in the late 90's I enjoyed the flexibility of rolling up the sleeves in the Oklahoma summers. When I switched to the Army, I found myself in flight school at Ft. Rucker Alabama in the middle of the summer and decided to roll my sleeves up. (They do not go through all of the intricacies of AR or DA PAM 670-1 in Army Basic) So I just rolled up my sleeves and headed out to formation. Everyone looked at me like I had a penis growing out of my forehead. However, since I had already made a name for myself as the guy that came from the Air Force and still doesn't know shit about the Army, they just laughed and yanked my sleeves down.
This is just another example of how the Army does not allow the lowest level NCO's to make common sense choices for their teams, squads, or platoons. The Army does not trust anyone to think outside of the box, they train their NCO's to be inflexible robots, and force them to read and adhere to every reg by the letter. (See post about PT test scoring whether someone can stand up after three push ups if they get a cramp or need to go potty) This isn't a hit on NCO's, but a hit on how Army doctrine prevents NCO's from being all they can be. I would have never made it a day in the Army as an NCO. They don't let NCO's think and they force Commissioned officers to be responsible for every mistake grown adults (aka E-1 thru E-4) make. Warrant Officer Corps (I refuse to accept the term Cohort) is the last bastion of common sense left in the Army.
DA PAM 670-1, 4-8(d) - Sleeves will be worn down at all times(not rolled or cuffed). The sleeve cuffs on the combat uniform coat are not authorized to be rolled inside the coat.
The second and debatable why is:
Sleeves protect against sunburn and insect bites.
Having come from the Air Force in the late 90's I enjoyed the flexibility of rolling up the sleeves in the Oklahoma summers. When I switched to the Army, I found myself in flight school at Ft. Rucker Alabama in the middle of the summer and decided to roll my sleeves up. (They do not go through all of the intricacies of AR or DA PAM 670-1 in Army Basic) So I just rolled up my sleeves and headed out to formation. Everyone looked at me like I had a penis growing out of my forehead. However, since I had already made a name for myself as the guy that came from the Air Force and still doesn't know shit about the Army, they just laughed and yanked my sleeves down.
This is just another example of how the Army does not allow the lowest level NCO's to make common sense choices for their teams, squads, or platoons. The Army does not trust anyone to think outside of the box, they train their NCO's to be inflexible robots, and force them to read and adhere to every reg by the letter. (See post about PT test scoring whether someone can stand up after three push ups if they get a cramp or need to go potty) This isn't a hit on NCO's, but a hit on how Army doctrine prevents NCO's from being all they can be. I would have never made it a day in the Army as an NCO. They don't let NCO's think and they force Commissioned officers to be responsible for every mistake grown adults (aka E-1 thru E-4) make. Warrant Officer Corps (I refuse to accept the term Cohort) is the last bastion of common sense left in the Army.
(18)
(0)
SFC (Join to see)
"No one is more professional than I" unless somebody on the Internet says overbearing doctrine prevents me from doing my job.
(0)
(0)
CW4 (Join to see)
SFC Don Ward - Thank you for your words of wisdom. Every WO should have a senior NCO like you to help guide them in their career. Department of the Army should hit you up more often and get your ideas on how to properly reduce the force. You might want to brush up on your generational knowledge. Not only do I not fall into the accepted definition of a millennial, but there are likely no CW4s in the Army that would fall into that definition either aside from the rare high school to flight school WO that successfully promoted on their first look. Keep up the good work!
(0)
(0)
MSG James Devereaux
Being that you are NOT an Army NCO, I don’t think you are in a position to point out your perceived faults. Not only are you undermining the corps especially to our younger soldiers but you aren’t representing the air force or warrant officer corps very well. Just so you can be better informed, that specific uniform is not designed to be rolled up, if you needed to be in a short sleeve uniform then your unit senior NCOs would have recommended that it be changed. Sometimes there are safety factors that are not being considered. I.E, sunburns, insects, or the fact that a rolled sleeve constricts around the bicep (usually), and prevents good blood flow and air circulation. A rolled sleeve is actually much hotter and very uncomfortable.
(0)
(0)
SSG Jess Peters
In my time of service 65 to 85 it was authorized to roll sleeves. It was a none issue. Why it changed made no sense to me.
Same with doing away with the Khaki class B uniform. It was comfortable, had a choice of long or short sleeve, plus looked sharp with blouse boots. That uniform should make a comeback as well.
Same with doing away with the Khaki class B uniform. It was comfortable, had a choice of long or short sleeve, plus looked sharp with blouse boots. That uniform should make a comeback as well.
(0)
(0)
14
14
0
When the Air Force, Navy, and Marine Corps all allow their sleeves to be rolled under certain conditions, I have a hard time buying any of the reasons I've heard.
My guess, when the transition from BDU to ACU occurred, whoever was in charge didn't like rolled sleeves.
My guess, when the transition from BDU to ACU occurred, whoever was in charge didn't like rolled sleeves.
(14)
(0)
Sgt (Join to see)
(USMC) The tucking of the cuff, what we all love doing on deployments, isn't supposed to be authorized but were deployed so no one really cares. In garrison until recently we were sleeves up or down based on when we reset our clocks, now it's command discression though just recently.
(2)
(0)
CPT Martin Krievs
Back in the late 60’s the Army OK’d rolled up sleeves and as Adjutant of my small unit I was one of the first to get word. Got the CO’s blessing, rolled up my sleeves and headed to the Schwaebisch Gmuend Officers’ Club. Got strange looks from the Pershing FA guys and even had an argument with an O4 from the 56th Bde Hq. A few days later they, too were allowed rolll up sleeves.
(1)
(0)
Read This Next
Continue with Facebook 
Continue with Google