It’s pretty clear the war years are largely over for the Army in Hawaii.
More time away from the battlefield means more time to focus on standards back home, and lined up in the command cross hairs are soldier and civilian attire on post.
A fashion police "Courtesy Patrol" has sprung up at Schofield Barracks to crack down on civilians and off-duty soldiers with short shorts, bare midriffs, the wearing of swimsuits other than at the pool, visible underwear, saggy pants and clothing with "obscene, vulgar, distasteful, slanderous or sexually suggestive language."
Soldiers in uniform are being watched for uniform and haircut violations, walking and talking on cellphones (not permitted), failing to render proper courtesies and failing to follow other regulations.
Doing the watching are two-person teams that include an officer and an enlisted soldier with the rank of sergeant first class or higher.
On Thursday two OH-58D Kiowa Warrior helicopter pilots donned "CP" armbands and scoped out infractions at Schofield’s post exchange on their 12-hour Courtesy Patrol shift.
"A lot of the focus during wartime is focused more toward mission accomplishment. … It can shift away from personal standards," said one of those pilots, Chief Warrant Officer 2 Orin Cloninger. "We’re paid to be a professional military force, and that’s just kind of what we’re getting back to now."
It’s one thing to monitor soldiers in uniform on post but another to dictate civilian and off-duty attire, judging from some of the responses posted to a U.S. Army Garrison Hawaii Facebook page.
The standards are being applied to all Army installations in Hawaii, an Army memo states. Commissaries, post exchanges and other public gathering spots are areas of particular concern.
"The military is turning into kindergarten day camp!" Christy Conner said on Facebook in late September. "We can’t possibly allow these adults to make decisions on dressing themselves."
"Wow. Fashion police now?" said Rhonda Slattery Cash. "So, let’s see, on the way to the beach we are not allowed to stop at the gas station or shoppette in our board shorts and T-shirts? This is ridiculous!"
Clothing such as tank tops, sleeveless T-shirts and "athletic-type shirts and shorts" are appropriate only for quarters areas, physical training, sporting activities and recreation-type areas, the Army said.
Anything resembling swimwear can be worn at the pool but nowhere else on post, the service decided.
Two civilian spouses at the Schofield post exchange food court Thursday said the Courtesy Patrol and rules reinforcement are needed — particularly for skimpy clothing.
"I’ve definitely seen some people that need to put a little bit more clothes on than what they’ve been wearing," said Britta Jones, 23, the mother of a 1-year-old son. "Nobody wants to see your butt cheeks and your belly button."
Sanell Green, 25, who was with her two young children, also said the rules enforcement is a good idea.
"A lot of kids are around, and they don’t need to see too much skin or profanity on shirts," Green said.
New dress standards were set out in a July 2012 memo and reinforced in a September 2013 soldier "Blue Book" of rules.
The Courtesy Patrols were started at Schofield and Wheeler Army Airfield in October.
"A neat, well-groomed and professional appearance by soldiers is imperative, as it contributes to building the pride and esprit de corps essential to an effective military force," 25th Infantry Division commander Maj. Gen. Kurt Fuller said in a September Army-produced news article about the guidelines.
Civilian attire, meanwhile, "should be a matter of personal pride and reflect our division (and) Army values," Fuller said.
The Army said a crackdown on "revealing, offensive and unkempt" off-duty attire also is in effect at several posts on the mainland, including Fort Stewart and Hunter Army Airfield in Georgia; Fort Wainwright and Fort Richardson, Alaska; and Fort Irwin, Calif.
The most common violations in Hawaii, the Army said, included wearing undergarments and pajamas as outerwear, and wearing swimwear and gym clothes at public facilities including the commissary, shoppette and post exchange.
Eight soldiers are picked daily to be part of four roving Courtesy Patrols at Schofield. Their task is to police soldiers and civilians on regulations, including what they wear.
In a briefing for the soldiers Thursday, Sgt. Maj. Robert Parker, provost senior enlisted leader for the 25th Division, emphasized the use of tact.
"We really want to just educate people on what ‘right’ looks like," he said. "It’s not an ‘I gotcha’-type program."
It’s also not meant to shame people, but rather so the community as a whole can feel comfortable, he said.
The Courtesy Patrol has the authority to "verbally detain" a soldier — meaning tell him or her to stay put while higher-ups are called, but has no authority to detain a civilian, Parker said.
Some infractions are logged, and a soldier’s name is reported to his or her command.
First Lt. Kirk Landon asked about tight-fitting Spandex "yoga pants" on women. "Is that, I mean, acceptable?" he said.
Parker said there is no prohibition on workout pants in a place like the commissary.
"It would be (policy) to ban somebody from going in there with like a sports bra on and then the workout pants with their whole midriff exposed," Parker said.
The Courtesy Patrol soldiers are drawn from the 2nd and 3rd Brigades, 25th Combat Aviation Brigade and 8th Theater Sustainment Command.
Cloninger, 23, who got back from Afghanistan in January after flying close to 1,000 combat hours, was asked if using helicopter pilots for occasional Courtesy Patrol duty was the best use of resources.
"To be honest, I don’t know," he said. "It could, it could be not. Again, it’s their (command’s) program. I work for them."
Parker, the provost senior enlisted leader, said there’s been "very little" push-back over the new regulations.
"I think maybe the community was a little bit confused at first on what was right and what was wrong, but I think now it’s really catching on."
