Not Your Father's Air Force XII

I found out today that the Air Force Personnel Center has a spiffy web site devoted to what used to be known as AFR 35-10... the bane of my military existence and a perpetual thorn in my non-conformist side... but is now AFI 36-2903.  (Minor digression: Today's Modern Air Force doesn't have regulations; it has "instructions."  This irritates me slightly, an unusual position for a non-conformist to take.  Whatevah.)  I found out about the web site through the (other) usual source, of course.

Eye on Style: The Air Force's dress and appearance standards website is now fully operational and ready to help airmen with their uniform questions. The site is accessible via Air Force Personnel Center's public website (left column under "featured programs"). It's designed for ease of use. "It has both pictures and word descriptions of everything," said Capt. Meghan Liemburg-Archer, Air Combat Command force management officer at Langley AFB, Va. She continued, "So you can click if you have a question specifically on [physical training] wear, or you can type in 'PT uniform,' and it will show you a picture for both genders." The website also has a frequently asked questions page. Personnel officials will keep the site up to date. "The website is going to be your most accurate resource," said Liemburg-Archer. The website debuted last July. (Langley report by SrA. Jason Shamberger)

"Well, cool!" sez I while promptly trotting off to check out all the different unis.  I was suitably (heh) impressed with the site's ease of use, the clarity and brevity of the writing, and the sheer diversity of all things 35-10 36-2903.  A couple o' screen shots:

There sure are a LOT of unis these days!  One wonders how many of these uniforms are part of an airman's original issue, how many are "optional" (by that I mean authorized for wear but bought at one's own expense), and how many are organizational issue.  As an example, the parka used to be "organizational issue" back in my day: you drew one from supply at your cold weather base upon arrival and turned it in when you left.  Those things were expensive, Gentle Reader... and warm, too.  The Air Force gave me the absolute best cold weather gear I've ever worn... period, end of report.

Long time readers know my "Not Your Father's Air Force" series tends to run heavily on snark and/or "Get Off My Lawn!" sorts of comments.  I was thinkin' "Good on the AF" as I scrolled down and clicked on the various uniform combos, read the verbiage, and all that happy stuff.  No snark potential here!  Well, check THAT, coz there's THIS:

O my aching ass... It's the Mr. Rogers uniform!

I've always wanted to have a neighbor just like you.
I've always wanted to live in a neighborhood with you.

Way t'go, Air Force.