Why can't Soldiers roll up their sleeves in uniform?

There would be no place for our pens.

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.

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.

1SG (Join to see) unless, the regulation changed,I know you couldn't. Back when it was BDUs you could roll up sleeves, until the ACUs came out in 2005.

Could you imagine he chaos that would ensure?

Personally, with all the concern about gun violence in the country right now...I wouldn't want to walk around with these GUNS in plain view.

Whatever the regulations say now, it is important to consider the medical aspect of sleeves up or sleeves down. A short look at the effects of Vitamin D3 deficiency is that a body receiving less than 600 International Units per day of Vitamin D 3 is at increased risk of a lot of things, including knee and hip pain, cancer, etc., all of which can increase the risk of sick days, injuries, that are otherwise avoidable, and thus increase the costs of medical treatment, in essence taking money away from veterans that might need it more. With the introduction of more females into the service, including combat roles, the potential exists for more Vitamin D3 deficiency in females leading to osteoporosis, which at some point could be lablelled service-connected, if the prolonged deficiency were so judged. Dosage exposure measurements are common in radiation control environments, like X ray machines, power plants, etc. With the advances in medical techonolgy in the past 15 years, health effects are becoming easier to measure, and IMO, should be part of the mix in decision making. One size doesn't necessarily fit all. But in Drill and Ceremony, everybody needs to do the same thing, to look sharp.

I think it would look quite nice...

Uniform: not varying or changing : staying the same at all times, in all places, or for all parts or members (Webster)

Remember it's called a "Uniform" not "MIL Loincloth". They regulate it because they can. It's one of those things they abhor if the SMs are left to their own devices. I've noticed a significant portion of the Army posts have to deal with a reg. Regs define a process, standard, or appearance most times. I think the logic behind them is to specify something so it's done the same way every time and, if you know it, you don't have to think about it. So the top brass concludes that by having them, the service is better off for it. I think it has a lot to do with having the same look and feel wherever you go. Don't worry, it's cyclical. The next group of whiz kids will "improve" things to what they were 20 years ago with their "new" idea they can take credit for.

Easiest way to protect yourself from UV rays and reduce your risk of skin cancer. Why risk it? (My father served 25 years died of skin cancer after surgery to remove it was unsuccessful which led it to spread to brain)