One of my hobbies is military history, British Army, Victorian to Great War period, and specialising in dress/clothing and the badges attached.
One theme recurs: the regulations often follow practice, rather than the converse.
I prefer the rules to be obeyed in our armed services, but if there is sufficiently good [or bad] reason to diverge from them, perhaps the regs might change.
Not that I have a dog in the fight as a retired weather guesser.