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May. 31st, 2012 09:19 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
sethrakBoth The Radical Housewife and my husband posted the same link, which appeared on my FB newsfeed within seconds of each other despite occurring hours apart.
http://shine.yahoo.com/parenting/military-moms-breastfeeding-uniform-stir-controversey-214500503.html
TRH's comment: "I fail to see what's wrong with nursing in uniform. Is the outrage from hawks who are disgusted by the uniform engaged in an act of love and connection?"
Tom's comment: "LOC them. Seriously. Not for breastfeeding in uniform, that's just common sense, but for being stupid enough to volunteer to be photographed doing it in uniform and broadast all over the world. If the AF isn't cool with you being photographed working on a 120+ degree flightline with your jacket off, what makes you think for one second that they would be okay with this?"
(LOC refers to a letter of counseling, which means you get spoken to by a senior NOC or an officer in your chain of command. It's a step below an LOR, letter of reprimand, which shows up in your military records.)
He's entirely right that, given such draconian policies about being out of uniform and on camera even in adverse weather conditions, the women in these photos should have known this would not fly well.
But I think the flightline policy is nonsense, and I think this policy, if it is indeed policy and not just internet outrage over the photos, is nonsense too.
It is not disgracing the uniform to wear your tan undershirt, ABU pants, socks, and boots, without the extremely heavy ABU overshirt, to avoid heatstroke.
It is not disgracing the uniform to have your ABU overshirt unbuttoned and your undershirt lifted in order to breastfeed your child. (Probably should have had their hats on, as these are outdoor photos, and military regs on keeping your head covered are both gender-neutral and REALLY fierce.)
Maybe I'm just an ignorant civilian. ::shrug:: I'm somwhat immersed in the culture as a military spouse, but I've never served myself, so I'm not 100% immersed.
Getting plenty of comments from my husband (reasonable), my sil (also reasonable), and one of husband's friends (somewhat less so), mainly concerning the issues of being anything less than 100% buttoned, pressed, and in uniform, and in a photo, diminishes the image of the AF as a whole; they're only doing this to make a statement; and more questionably from the friend, that it's a safety hazard to breastfeed in uniform. I still don't get it.
http://shine.yahoo.com/parenting/military-moms-breastfeeding-uniform-stir-controversey-214500503.html
TRH's comment: "I fail to see what's wrong with nursing in uniform. Is the outrage from hawks who are disgusted by the uniform engaged in an act of love and connection?"
Tom's comment: "LOC them. Seriously. Not for breastfeeding in uniform, that's just common sense, but for being stupid enough to volunteer to be photographed doing it in uniform and broadast all over the world. If the AF isn't cool with you being photographed working on a 120+ degree flightline with your jacket off, what makes you think for one second that they would be okay with this?"
(LOC refers to a letter of counseling, which means you get spoken to by a senior NOC or an officer in your chain of command. It's a step below an LOR, letter of reprimand, which shows up in your military records.)
He's entirely right that, given such draconian policies about being out of uniform and on camera even in adverse weather conditions, the women in these photos should have known this would not fly well.
But I think the flightline policy is nonsense, and I think this policy, if it is indeed policy and not just internet outrage over the photos, is nonsense too.
It is not disgracing the uniform to wear your tan undershirt, ABU pants, socks, and boots, without the extremely heavy ABU overshirt, to avoid heatstroke.
It is not disgracing the uniform to have your ABU overshirt unbuttoned and your undershirt lifted in order to breastfeed your child. (Probably should have had their hats on, as these are outdoor photos, and military regs on keeping your head covered are both gender-neutral and REALLY fierce.)
Maybe I'm just an ignorant civilian. ::shrug:: I'm somwhat immersed in the culture as a military spouse, but I've never served myself, so I'm not 100% immersed.
Getting plenty of comments from my husband (reasonable), my sil (also reasonable), and one of husband's friends (somewhat less so), mainly concerning the issues of being anything less than 100% buttoned, pressed, and in uniform, and in a photo, diminishes the image of the AF as a whole; they're only doing this to make a statement; and more questionably from the friend, that it's a safety hazard to breastfeed in uniform. I still don't get it.
