How do you fold the BDU blouse?

[navytrooper]

Sorry for such a dumb question, but when folding your BDU's into a nice pile, is there a special way to fold the BDU blouse (coat)?

[armysc_25b]

I've always folded my ACU & BDU tops like they were long sleeve shirts. Nothing fancy, but it's neat and organized.

[TruBlu]

If you don't want to risk wrinkles at all, just hang up the blouse and pants. That's what I do, but I don't think there is a special way to fold them up otherwise, just like a long sleeve shirt.

[Drill for life]

I do not have a connection to YouTube now, but I will post a video of how the Navy folds their blouses. I have found it very effective.

[ang1sgt]

I used to do it this way:

1) Button up all the normal buttons and lay the coat face down on a table.

2) Begin with the Arms, fold them in towards the center and have the parallel to the sides of the coat.

3) Now take one side and fold it over towards the center about a 1/3 of the width.

4) do the other side about the same amount

5) From the bottom, fold the coat up about 1/3.

6) Repeat the fold the last 1/3

7) Turn coat over. You should see roughly the top two buttons and the V neck of the coat.

Depending on your Blouse size this should fit into a duffle bag with out having to fold the blouse any further. I used to place a piece of cardboard in with the shirts and the pants Top and bottom before I placed anything else into the duffle. While not a perfect way to keep them crisp, they did travel well. Of course a GOOD First Sergeant also took his travel Iron with him to press out any creases that did show!

If you don't want to risk wrinkles at all, just hang up the blouse and pants. That's what I do, but I don't think there is a special way to fold them up otherwise, just like a long sleeve shirt.

Never been deployed huh! Try living out of a duffle bag and move from site to site either everyday or every other day. After awhile you sure don't care what you look like and as long as it's a working detail, no one is going to bother you.

[MP_Girl]

Aren't BDU's phased out now?? I thought that they were no longer issued and no longer allowed for use.

[armysc_25b]

Aren't BDU's phased out now?? I thought that they were no longer issued and no longer allowed for use.
The Army's done with them, the Air Force has started to phase them out, but as far as I know the Navy is still using them for now.

[flyBoy2010]

They have been phased out in the Army but the Air Force and maybe the Navy still use them. My corps has both and we allow the Juniors to wear BDU's once a month for inspection and Seniors are allowed ACU's once a month. ABU's have yet to be issued to Air Force JROTC.

[armysc_25b]

Wait a second... Why on earth is your Air Force program wearing an Army uniform!?

[flyBoy2010]

Wait a second... Why on earth is your Air Force program wearing an Army uniform!?

We are the only Air Force JROTC in my area and at last summer's JCLC the required uniform was ACU's. Afterward we got to keep them for use in our corps. Since we only have a few of them, they were issued to Seniors only.

[Drill for life]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_jQA9Rcm6C0
Here's how you should fold your shirts for maximum efficency. The Navy is switching to the Navy Working Uniform, Here are the specs.
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/9/9e/New_US_navy_Working_Uniform.jpg
Here is a new concept for a Army uniform. It's called Future Force Warrior.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Future_Force_Warrior

[Billyd]

Just a word to the wise, WIKI-anything is generally not considered a credible source for anything. due to the nature of wiki's, any person with a desire can add to or edit them and there is usually little to now fact checking prior to the revised articles being visible. If you can, please find other sources.

[Drill for life]

Yes sir. Here are some.
http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.new-navy-uniform.com/sitebuilder/images/approved_digi_-_high_res-735x637.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.new-navy-uniform.com/picture-nwu.html&h=637&w=735&sz=102&hl=en&start=2&um=1&usg=__Q35f2KPRFEkeu3ptnE6PDcHeG-8=&tbnid=teIF-dI5EhhxOM:&tbnh=122&tbnw=141&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dnavy%2Bworking%2Buniform%26um%3D1%26h l%3Den%26rls%3DGWYE,GWYE:2006-32,GWYE:en%26sa%3DN
Navy Woking uniform.
Here is the new Army Future Force Warrior uniform.
http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/b1/Future_Force_Warrior_2007.jpg/800px-Future_Force_Warrior_2007.jpg&imgrefurl=http://forum.americasarmy.com/viewtopic.php%3Ft%3D283393%26page%3D2&h=534&w=800&sz=75&hl=en&start=4&um=1&usg=__vVPfTjpQAhnoYjVky45WY6CnAKQ=&tbnid=RGDJwU2xykILUM:&tbnh=95&tbnw=143&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dfuture%2Bforce%2Bwarrior%26um%3D1%26h l%3Den%26rls%3DGWYE,GWYE:2006-32,GWYE:en%26sa%3DN

[navytrooper]

Thanks for all the replies, folks! Every single one is appreciated. :D

So far TOP's method seems to be right on the money.
Any other methods are still welcome.

Again, thank you all for replying. :)

[Startingover]

We are the only Air Force JROTC in my area and at last summer's JCLC the required uniform was ACU's. Afterward we got to keep them for use in our corps. Since we only have a few of them, they were issued to Seniors only.

No, what he means is why in the world ae you wearing ACUs? ACU stands for Army Combat uniform, now reasons for this and some basic knowledge on the Air Force ABUs.

Air Force, cadets and up, all wear BDUs/ABU's. Airman Battle Uniforms, and they are being issue out in staggered amounts for 4 reasons.

1) Money, its always the issue.

2) There are several different companies issuing out similar uniforms, but are not regulated/standardized yet to a single template so there are multi-colored pieces. i.e. pants and shirts will not match.

3) Because of money, there is no full scale production yet unlike where the army has had them coming in for a while (armysc25B can I get some clarification on this if im wrong), the Air Force has an expeced date of full conversion in 2011. All cadets and up will be required to wear ABUs instead of the BDUs.

4) and finally, there is still the supply issue, because again, going back to money, and since there is no regulated person yet, and they are contracting out to several companies to do the Air Force ABUs, it is hard to come by them cause they are in high demand.

[ang1sgt]

So far TOP's method seems to be right on the money.
Any other methods are still welcome.

Again, thank you all for replying. :)

After Serving 24 years total Service in the Military I guess it would be a pretty good method! LOL! Tours in Thailand, England, Norway, Germany, and a Callup to Saudi Arabia should do the trick!

[StarLifter]

After Serving 24 years total Service in the Military I guess it would be a pretty good method! LOL! Tours in Thailand, England, Norway, Germany, and a Callup to Saudi Arabia should do the trick!

Nothing quite like experience!

Even better, though (take note, cadets: this is directed at you) the best learning experience you can observe is someone else's. That is especially true if it's a bad experience. Take it from me.

-- StarLifter

[armysc_25b]

No, what he means is why in the world are you wearing ACUs? ACU stands for Army Combat uniform, now reasons for this and some basic knowledge on the Air Force ABUs.

Air Force, cadets and up, all wear BDUs/ABU's. Airman Battle Uniforms, and they are being issued out in staggered amounts for 4 reasons.

1) Money, its always the issue.

2) There are several different companies issuing out similar uniforms, but are not regulated/standardized yet to a single template so there are multi-colored pieces. i.e. pants and shirts will not match.

3) Because of money, there is no full scale production yet unlike where the Army has had them coming in for a while (armysc_25B can I get some clarification on this if im wrong), the Air Force has an expected date of full conversion in 2011. All cadets and up will be required to wear ABUs instead of the BDUs.

4) And finally, there is still the supply issue, because again, going back to money, and since there is no regulated person yet, and they are contracting out to several companies to do the Air Force ABUs, it is hard to come by them cause they are in high demand.

The reasoning flyboy provided makes sense in terms of why they wore the uniform for the JCLC. However, I don't agree with the decision to continue to wear ACU's within the unit. As far as ABU production goes, the Air Force is in the transition phase and I believe that new recruits are now being issued them. As far as the Army and it's transition, we started trials of the ACU's in 2004, they were finalized in 2005, and the transition began then. Deploying units were issued them, then new recruits started getting them, finally they were available in Clothing Sales. The transition went seemingly quick, and though we had until last October to own 4 sets, it was rare to see BDU's by about 6 months before then.

[Startingover]

The reasoning flyboy provided makes sense in terms of why they wore the uniform for the JCLC. However, I don't agree with the decision to continue to wear ACU's within the unit. As far as ABU production goes, the Air Force is in the transition phase and I believe that new recruits are now being issued them. As far as the Army and it's transition, we started trials of the ACU's in 2004, they were finalized in 2005, and the transition began then. Deploying units were issued them, then new recruits started getting them, finally they were available in Clothing Sales. The transition went seemingly quick, and though we had until last October to own 4 sets, it was rare to see BDU's by about 6 months before then.

Thx, just needed some clarification on Army protocols. I am going to recieve my ABUs eventualy, but it wont be this semester, probably next semester because starting my year, Field training is going to be in ABUs.

[flyBoy2010]

No, what he means is why in the world ae you wearing ACUs? ACU stands for Army Combat uniform, now reasons for this and some basic knowledge on the Air Force ABUs.

Air Force, cadets and up, all wear BDUs/ABU's. Airman Battle Uniforms, and they are being issue out in staggered amounts for 4 reasons.

1) Money, its always the issue.

2) There are several different companies issuing out similar uniforms, but are not regulated/standardized yet to a single template so there are multi-colored pieces. i.e. pants and shirts will not match.

3) Because of money, there is no full scale production yet unlike where the army has had them coming in for a while (armysc25B can I get some clarification on this if im wrong), the Air Force has an expeced date of full conversion in 2011. All cadets and up will be required to wear ABUs instead of the BDUs.

4) and finally, there is still the supply issue, because again, going back to money, and since there is no regulated person yet, and they are contracting out to several companies to do the Air Force ABUs, it is hard to come by them cause they are in high demand.

We already had the ACU's, and ABU's cost about $100 per piece. Our SASI checked it out and got permission for us to issue them out to cadets. Also, the Air Force has not yet started issuing ABU's to most JROTCs.

[Drill for life]

I don't want to seem rude or intrusive but we have gotten really off topic. Could we get back on topic. Did the video help you out?

[navytrooper]

Sorry Drill your video didn't help me too much. :)
As you know, the BDU blouse has a collar, so folding it in half lengthwise won't work. TOP's method worked fine.

[Drill for life]

Sorry about that one. I should have tried it out before I suggested it.

[C/SSGT Seifer]

Aren't BDU's phased out now?? I thought that they were no longer issued and no longer allowed for use.

I know this is kind of late but... Well that's a yes and no question. They have been phased out of the actual army and most ROTC/JROTC units. However some units (like mine) are still in the process. Right now the only people who have them are leadership (platoon sergeant and up) as well as Raiders. The next in line to get them are people who are teaching the Mentorship Program (I don't know if every school has this, but we have a "Junior Junior ROTC" where we teach 7th and 8th graders once a week.)