Wearing uniform in public
I think it's fairly true to say that the reputation of our armed forces in the eyes of the general public has not been so high for many years, and rightly so. A welcome development has been that servicemen and women are no longer discouraged from wearing uniform in public. When I was serving in the 1960s and 70s we were strongly discouraged from this practice, particularly when IRA terrorism became a real threat. Now although our forces are much smaller numerically, they are far more evident on our streets, and a good thing too.
But (and there had to be a but) in recent times I have seen the following.
A naval officer in uniform emerge from his car and wander hatless down the street, eventually entering a shop.
A pilot in (faded) flying suit, also hatless, leave his car and stroll down the street. In a belated attempt to cover up he pulls a grey civilian "hoodie" over his head.
A Lt Cdr RN (also a pilot) in best blue (or whatever the Navy call it) standing hatless on the street outside a pub smoking a cigarette!
Any one of the above would have earned me a stand-up rollocking from my flight commander had I been observed, and probably a week's duty officer into the bargain.
The question is - am I just fussy old git who shouldn't moan as these guys are doing a great job? Have standards changed to the extent that younger members are wondering what I'm on about?
By the way, I dont mean to pick on the navy, I just happen to live near a large naval air station - I'm sure RAF and army examples abound elsewhere