I actually like that particular change to Royal Ranger uniform (considering the fact that I was admantly opposed to new program). This is mainly because by the time I got involved in rangers I was already too old so I never got a chance to earn any merits. However thanks to the new program I now get to "earn" and wear merits just like the rest of the boys I teach. Another reason I like them is because when you wear the merit bars with your LMA (or other such awards) it actually looks more military than the old merit bars with the pictures on them. The only downside I see is that people can only tell how many merits you earn of a specific color and not what specific merits you've earned. If you want people to know what specific merit you've earned then you have to do the whole patch and vest thing which I don't like very much (good for BSA and GS but not for the militaryesque look of RR). But that's just me.
Oh and I still feel that we should have Christian Flag patch. -----Original Message----- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Behalf Of Loren C. Klein Sent: Thursday, August 04, 2005 1:45 PM To: Rangernet Mailing List Subject: Re: [RR] Re: Uniforms US and German Duane, Great points, and I agree with them, except I have no inclination to avoid the uniform ;^) I own 7 (yep, s-e-v-e-n) uniform shirts for use in pretty much every function (I only have 2 pairs of pants...though I do own a pair of GPH-issued shorts! lol!). Why you ask? It's pretty practical to have different shirts to wear to a function. Sectional event in the summer? Got a short-sleeve Sectional staff shirt. Ushering at District Council? District Staff Dress Khakis... and so on. I drag them all out when I teach Ranger Basics modules to show my leaders-to-be what the uniform should look like because, strangely (or not) the uniform becomes the dominate topic in the Question-and-Answer session at the end. I don't really like the new ideas behind the uniform, as allowing the commanders to wear the awards they teach opens a door to wanna-be General Pattons everywhere. I wear all of my awards when I wear my dress khakis, but imo 5 rows of ribbons, especially when 2 rows are of merits I taught to boys, just looks plain tacky, and I avoid wearing it as much as possible, except when I'm teaching leaders. Personally, though I measure all of my patches with a ruler and have my uniforms pressed and taken care of at a law enforcement supply shop, I see the uniform not as a focal point or something we should inordinately focus on, but rather a tool to be used to further the ministry to the public. Everyone knows what a Boy Scout uniforms looks like, but when I walk in to a restaurant after a Ranger Sunday, I usually end up satisfying the curiosity of a passer-by after they stare at my uniform long enough. I think we should keep this in mind whenever we wear our uniform in public, as these days, flash and image are everything (something I emphasise on when teaching LMA modules) and a properly maintained uniform does well to appease those ideas in the public. Of course, on a campout, all bets are off as evidenced in a photo I have of myself in my Pioneers uniform way back when (1990-91, ha!) covered in mud (Thankfully I had no pins on at the time) after a spate of football in the mud. Some reading that may be horrified, but when you get down to it, what is more important, the uniform being clean, or the boy having fun (My mom, after the campout, setteled for the former though... ;^)) A final note about the uniforms- Our District Commander emeritus Dee Stroud was once asked by a GMA why he wore a plain uniform with his Campaign hat. His reply, like everything else he says, was so simple yet so deep. He pointed at the gold braid on top and said, "Son, when you have this, everything else is just overkill." -Loren C. Klein Louisiana District Webmaster rangerforums.com Administrator ------------------------------------------------------------------------ "Well I don't like to brag but I also have extensive experience with M1 Tank Platoon and Steel Beasts. Plus I once read a book about German Panzer Aces." - Harold Jones from TankNet Military Forums on his tanking experience other than his decade serving as an M1/M1A1 Abrams crewman. _______________________________________________ The Golden Rule is my daily rule. To send mail to everyone on the RangerNet mailing list, send it to [EMAIL PROTECTED] Only list members may post. To subscribe or unsubscribe, please visit http://lists.rangernet.org/mailman/listinfo/rangernet _______________________________________________ The Golden Rule is my daily rule. To send mail to everyone on the RangerNet mailing list, send it to [EMAIL PROTECTED] Only list members may post. To subscribe or unsubscribe, please visit http://lists.rangernet.org/mailman/listinfo/rangernet
