JOINT BASE ANDREWS, Md. –
The temperatures were in the mid-twenties as I drove up to the base gas station. I had no desire to refill in those temperatures, but the 36 gallon tank on the new F-150 was on "E" and I figured it would be good practice for my upcoming Alaskan assignment. As I stood there shivering pumping my gas, I noticed a young non commissioned officer was improperly wearing his APECS jacket/parka.
As I approached him, he seemed nervous. I'm guessing he knew that I knew he wasn't wearing his jacket properly and that made me unhappy. I politely reminded the NCO that the APECS jacket must remained zipped and walked back to my pump. It was about then that I had a "Gregory House" style epiphany; I knew the next "Diamond Compliance Corner" topic...The APECS/ABU jacket.
According to the AFPC uniform website, the APECS parka is for outdoor/cold weather conditions only. The APECS parka can be worn with the Flight Duty Uniform or the ABU with or without a sage green fleece liner. When worn the APECS:
1) Will match as closely as possible to the level of the ABU blouse
2) Must have slip-on rank that will be worn on the rank tab
3) Remain zipped at all times with sleeves down, not pushed or rolled up and the hood should be stowed when not in use
The authorized accessories that may be worn with the APECS parka are black or green leather, suede or knit gloves, black or green knit cap, sage green fleece cap, black scarves, and black earmuffs.
We are one week closer to the UCI and one week closer to our goal of an overall Excellent or Outstanding. We must continue to strive to improve our compliance to uniform standards.