Whilst the wearing of uniform in public is sometimes a relief (I never felt so comfortable as stopping at a US Waffle House at 9pm after work, wearing CS95 a few years back - thanks to the warm welcome given to us by the people of Gulfport, MS (before Katrina arrived)). But we also had to explain to our US hosts, that out-of-hours/work we usually called lower level bosses by their first names to avoid highlighting their involvement in the Military.
However, I can't help thinking that certain sections of our community aren't quite ready for us roaming freely in full uniform.
I'm not condoning the hatlessness, but in certain towns, would you really feel comfortable wearing a hat and walking past a crowd of yobs in hoodies, and expect to get out the otherside WITH your hat???
That said, my other half was in hospital recently and I walked from the carpark into the Hospital in 2As with beret on a daily basis without any problem - Hoodies don't tend to gather around hospitals!!!