RAF warned not to wear their uniforms in public for fear of “verbal abuse”
posted at 6:40 pm on March 6, 2008 by Allahpundit
Via JWF, first came Birmingham, then came Harrod’s, and now third time’s a charm.
Totally, completely, utterly unrelated to today’s Times Square bombing, I’m sure.
RAF personnel have been ordered not to wear their uniforms in public after incidents of verbal abuse on the streets…
The verbal attacks had come from a “cross-section” of the community, he added, and were believed to be linked to the RAF’s current operations in Iraq and Afghanistan.
He stressed that the decision to prohibit uniforms in the city was a local one made by station commander Group Captain Atherton after she took advice from RAF police.
It ran counter to the general policy of allowing uniforms to be worn more widely, which followed the easing of tensions in Northern Ireland…
The uniform ban was imposed after Parviz Khan, from Birmingham, was jailed after he was recorded planning to kidnap and kill a British Army soldier.
That last part sounds conveniently tacked on to a broader-based problem. Could Harry’s service help with this problem, maybe? Or … will it actually exacerbate it?
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Lol, I love that country.
AbaddonsReign on March 6, 2008 at 6:43 PM
My uncle repaired Halifax bombers in Yorkshire 65 years ago. Wearing his uniform, he seldom had to buy his own drinks at the local pub. How does one nation sink so far, so quickly?
DocKen on March 6, 2008 at 6:45 PM
So we’re back to the 60′s again.
Kini on March 6, 2008 at 6:46 PM
again. The French are now tougher than the British.
THE CHOSEN ONE on March 6, 2008 at 6:47 PM
Harsh language is a deadly form of combat
Kini on March 6, 2008 at 6:50 PM
What’s the big deal?
Someone pointed-out to me this very morning that U.S. Air Force personnel stopped wearing their uniforms on Boeing property this week.
CyberCipher on March 6, 2008 at 6:52 PM
Dammit, I’m British from the ma’s side + an aviation buff and I am piss-ed! The RAF has saved Western civilization time and again, from the Battle of Britain to their role in the Battle of Baghdad. All of Britain should be ashamed.
HotAirJosef on March 6, 2008 at 6:52 PM
Wrong response.
They should have said you are allowed/encouraged to wear your uniform in public along with your standard issue side arm. They should greatly reduce the incidents of verbal abuse!
We (they) are in a war after all, with know Islamic terrorist cells in the UK.
SPCOlympics on March 6, 2008 at 6:52 PM
That was mean very mean…True but mean.
TroubledMonkey on March 6, 2008 at 6:54 PM
Ping-pong balls instead of stones…good ol’ Europe…
Entelechy on March 6, 2008 at 6:55 PM
Wondering what Prince Harry has to say about this. This young man has earned respect and I hope he speaks up. His brother, too. No wonder he doesn’t like England. DD
Darvin Dowdy on March 6, 2008 at 6:58 PM
What’s next?
-a ban in displaying the union jack?
Saltysam on March 6, 2008 at 7:02 PM
My God.
What happened to the doughty, always reliable Brits of yester-year–to the Brits who parachuted into Holland, who then fought German armored divisions with little more than a few PIAT anti-tank weapons, Bren machine guns and air-dropped AT guns?
What happened to the Brit’s who refused to surrender in Arnhem and instead let loose their war cry of “Whoa Mohammed!” and took to throwing rocks when they ran out of grenades?
What happened to our stoutest ally?
They want their service men and women to hide their service in shame or fear?
Winston Churchill weeps.
Montana on March 6, 2008 at 7:04 PM
Hate to tell ya this but I experienced the very same sort of thing in New Orleans. Last year.
I was driving back through the French Quarter on Decatur Street just a couple blocks down from Jackson Square. I hadn’t bothered changing out of my Navy uniform for some reason or another. This part of Decatur is narrow and traffic slows to a crawl in the afternoon (all those damned horse-drawn buggies in front of Jackson Square).
All of a sudden a man is screaming at me and hitting the back windshield of the car. It was clear that he was doing this due to the military connection because Iraq kept coming up in his ranting. I was about to call 911 when he walked off giving the same one digit “salute” that Allah routinely employs toward social conservatives. I rarely drive through that area in uniform now but I’m a little steamed that, in America, one should have to be discreet in wearing a military uniform in public.
highhopes on March 6, 2008 at 7:09 PM
They need to tell muslim women to not wear burkas for fear of “verbal abuse”.
SouthernGent on March 6, 2008 at 7:12 PM
What’s next?
-a ban in displaying the union jack?
Saltysam on March 6, 2008 at 7:02 PM
No, they are replacing it with a white t-shirt and the end of a fallen branch.
THE CHOSEN ONE on March 6, 2008 at 7:15 PM
Britian is a little behind Europe. My brother in law was in the Dutch air force and they were not allowed to wear their uniforms in public for the same reason. My sister told me that they didn’t even tell their neighbors the truth about what he did for a living. They just said he worked for the gov’t. That was in the 90s. Now my sis and b-i-l have moved stateside and he is an American now.
Bad Penny on March 6, 2008 at 7:21 PM
My cousin is a student at the USAF Academy, & they are told not to wear a uniform when flying on commercial airlines. We’ve come a long, long way since WWII
hoi polloi on March 6, 2008 at 7:22 PM
If my fellow Irishmen ever wanted their true independence, NOW IS THE TIME!!!!!
THE CHOSEN ONE on March 6, 2008 at 7:24 PM
Didn’t they used to have an empire? Soon they will not even have a country if they keep this up.
dentalque on March 6, 2008 at 7:27 PM
As I have posted on other threads from time to time, England ceased to exist in mid-’45. Do not confuse “Great Britain”, which is a political determination, with England, which was a nation.
OldEnglish on March 6, 2008 at 7:37 PM
My Uncle/Godfather was Ike’s G2 and talked of the same experience. I think I would wear my uniform anyway.
hoi polloi, my late brother graduated USAFA Class of 1970, may God rest his Soul. He proudly wore his uniform back then, especially in the face of the those hopped up hippies.
Zorro on March 6, 2008 at 7:47 PM
Sorry. This same thing has happened here. While it wasn’t an order, it was STRONGLY suggested, to us at Presidio San Francisco (1977) to not wear our uniforms outside the gate unless we were staying in the car for commutes. There were too many incidents of confrontations between the civilians and troops.
So while I don’t agree with the position of the Brits on this I also can’t hold America up as role model. Look at SF today, and Berkeley. Last time my boy was on leave he went to L.A. to visit his sister. He wore his dress greens to dinner at a restaurant and nearly got in a fist fight over his ‘gay’ beret. It was he who stopped his sister from putting several punks in the hospital.
So while you are bashing Britian, bash ourselves as well.
Limerick on March 6, 2008 at 8:08 PM
We had the same kind of nonsense going on in Canada for a while. First it was “don’t wear your webbing because it looks too aggressive”. Then for a while it was “avoid wearing your uniform in public except when absolutely necessary”. Finally, it got to the point where soldiers employed within cities were being told that they couldn’t even wear their uniform on the way to and from work – they were expected to travel in civilian clothing, and then change when they got to work.
Luckily all these restrictions disappeared once the military started getting more exposure thanks to our work in in Afghanistan, and public opinion started to swing in our favour. I can say from experience that incidents of verbal abuse have definitely gotten rarer here. I guess the Brits are having a much different experience.
c6gunner on March 6, 2008 at 8:09 PM
Next time I visit England I’m wearing an RAF uniform.
Have to find one on ebay before I go.
I knew there were plenty of uncontrolled drunks on the streets of London at night [personal experience, luckily neutralized with some simple judo], but not completely suicidal self-loathing nihilists.
profitsbeard on March 6, 2008 at 8:33 PM
We were spit upon in the 70s.
davidk on March 6, 2008 at 8:45 PM
When I was stationed at RAF Lakenheath, bringing the ordinance out to the F-111s on the flight line, we were appreciated by the locals.
The good old days.
jgapinoy on March 6, 2008 at 8:50 PM
I don’t think bashing is in order. In the examples listed here, it’s one guy or a few people who have a problem with the uniform. The vocal minority, or should I say vast vocal minority.
I can tell stories of me walking through airports and shaking 100 hands between the front door of the airport and the gate to board the plane, getting patted on the back, and not being allowed by fellow patrons to buy my own beer in the airport bar when I was wearing my uniform. Chicago, Atlanta, Dallas, and St. Louis to name a few.
Did anyone ever look at me with a disapproving scowl? Yes, but like I cared what that infrequent fruit cake thought of me or my uniform.
Hog Wild on March 6, 2008 at 8:50 PM
A full 1/4 of Brits think Churchill is a fictional character. Tack on the uncorrelated elements of the anti-war, the anti-globalizationals, and the closet jihadists, and before you know it you have a plurality with a common interest and contempt for their freedom and those who provide it.
thirtypundit on March 6, 2008 at 9:11 PM
Yes you were and I wasn’t comparing the two experiences.
Those currently wearing the “cloth of the nation” are rarely being spat upon. That’s old school. The new tactics are epitomized by Berkley’s city council giving the anti-military crowd parking passes so they can comfortably show up to picket recruiting offices.
highhopes on March 6, 2008 at 9:25 PM
Memo to RAF:
Put on uniform in public. Take names. Kick ass.
I’m one of those shaking your hands in airports and interrupting your meals in restaurants to say thank you, uniformed soldiers. I need you to wear your uniforms so I can express the gratitude in my heart, and train my children to honor and respect those who have earned it.
TexasDan on March 6, 2008 at 9:33 PM
When service members can no longer wear their uniform proudly in their own country it’s time to open the gates and let every man defend himself.
bojack on March 6, 2008 at 9:49 PM
I flew from San Francisco to Louisville in uniform in 1970. I hadn’t changed in +36 hours. I smelled like a buffalo. No one said a word. It all depends on the look in your eye.
easy on March 6, 2008 at 9:53 PM
I make it a point to walk up to every person in uniform, or any Vet wearing colors, that crosses my path and earnestly thank them for their service.
Always have. Always will.
techno_barbarian on March 6, 2008 at 9:58 PM
If the RAF truly has any guts, they will disobey this order. I’d like to see some yellow bastard try to enforce this rubbish. He’ll lose respect from his men and the six British citizens left that support the troops.
THE CHOSEN ONE on March 6, 2008 at 10:23 PM
Here’s an interesting difference between us and the Brits, and Europeans in general. When we get attacked, we tend to get patriotic (for the most part) and proud and rally around one another to protect ourselves.
The Europeans take off their uniforms, and keep a low profile so as not to antagonize their aggressors. The hope is, if they don’t piss ‘em off or confront them in any way, they’ll just leave them alone……
Not a real effective plan.
Tim Zank on March 6, 2008 at 11:10 PM
To all of the service personel: In Texas, we have got your back.
Johan Klaus on March 7, 2008 at 1:04 AM
It actually doesn’t seem so bad if you read the whole story-
“Home Secretary Jacqui Smith has held talks with Cambridgeshire police over the problem, described as “despicable” by the city’s mayor Marion Todd.
RAF officers have been urged to identify the culprits and police have pledged to target problem pubs or streets where personnel have been harassed by yobs.
A source close to Gordon Brown said: “All our armed forces should be able to wear their uniforms with pride and with the respect of their communities.
“If they face abuse or even violence then the law must clamp down on that severely and urgently.”
To that I’d add that RAF MPs and MoD police should flood the town until the problem is stamped out. BTW, back when I was in the forces I knew of some recruits that were attacked in the local town just because of their occupation- scumbag yobs are not a new problem. In this case, IMHO, it’s the station commander who is making the mistake in banning uniforms over mere verbal abuse. If her people are concerned she should have left it up to them to decide what to do.
Jay Mac on March 7, 2008 at 4:54 AM
The mention of Ireland is interesting because I can’t say I have noticed anyone wearing a uniform in a civilian setting in the UK in my life.
Ares on March 7, 2008 at 5:31 AM
Hmm. If we can’t overturn hate crime legislation, we should make sure that it applies to soldiers and use their own weapon against them.
Between the two World Wars, there was a period when American Soldiers were ordered to report to their stateside posts in civilian clothes and change into their uniforms there to avoid violent protesters.
We had a grossly undersized army then, with every soldier, non-com, and officer ready to advance by two ranks. That nearly describes today’s army.
If we are returning to those days, if the “pacifist” movement today is doing what it was then and growing as it grew then I can only fear for what will come next.
njcommuter on March 7, 2008 at 7:22 AM
I was transferring,in uniform, from Nellis AFB, Nevada to Osan AB in Korea in 1976 in transit at Seattle/Tacoma airport where some peace activist spit at and cursed me. I simply reminded him that I was the guy that protected and ensured his right to express himself.
jimbo2008 on March 7, 2008 at 8:25 AM
Melanie Philips wrote a good article on Harry.
aengus on March 7, 2008 at 9:12 AM
As a Brit, I’m sad to say that I think this a reflection of the fact that what is classified as liberal in the US is merely mainstream in the UK. Many of the positions held by the left alone in the US are held by a much larger portion of the population in the UK. This extends, sadly, to distrust (and even hatred) of the armed forces. Add in the extra element of Muslims who see every man in uniform as an affront and you have a nasty but powerful combination
rightsideup on March 7, 2008 at 9:24 AM
*Sign*
Before you lot go off on your regular “Britain’s” full of PC wimps rants again….of I’m too late. Well have a look at this anyway: http://ukcommentators.blogspot.com/2008/03/cross-section-of-community.html
It’s still a problem, just of a different sort. Sadly one we have allowed in over the last 10-30 years. You have no idea how angry genuinely “British” people are at things like this.
VeniVidiVidic on March 7, 2008 at 2:41 PM
Apologies for the shocking composition of that post – get post editing facilities added please guys.
Should be *Sigh* and ““Britain’s full of PC wimps rants again” rather than just “Britain’s”…
Cheers!
VeniVidiVidic on March 7, 2008 at 2:43 PM