December21, 2006: For the last five years, the U.S. Air Force has been trying to design a new "combat uniform." To the army and marines, this effort has been the source of much mirth. But the air force does have people, besides pilots, who are trained for, and actually get involved in, ground combat. These are the air force security troops. In effect, the air force has about five brigades worth of these men and women. They are trained to use rifles, pistols, machine-guns, grenades for ground combat. They guard air force bases, and in Iraq they help guard convoys and bases. It's the air force grunts that have had the most problems with the new air force uniforms.

The first version of the new air force combat uniform (or ABU, for Airman Battle Uniform) came out in 2003 and immediately raised a howl of protest from the security troops. The camouflage pattern of the ABU was in blue and gray. It looked nice, in a hanger or office, but there was no camouflage effect. Taken aback, the air force brass backed up and came up with a new color scheme (green-gray-blue-tan), that worked for the grunts. But the ABU designers made another error, by leaving off the extra pockets on the shirt. The army and marines had these extra pockets, and they were very useful when you were suiting up for battle. The air force brass disagreed, and the air force grunts are still grumbling about it.

Another source of complaint is the order to not put any patches on the ABU. The idea is that you spend a lot of time putting the patches on, and taking them off, when you transfer. But the grunts, who operate with soldiers and marines, like to have people know who they are. Unit pride and all that. The air force brass don't get it, and apparently feel that this ground combat stuff will soon be gone, and the air force can get all their people back to offices and hangars.