U.S. Navy question

[LDB415]

Say a person serves aboard 3 ships in their career and is currently assigned to the third ship. Can the person have caps from all 3 ships? Are you allowed to keep your cap from a prior ship? I'd think yes but don't know. Anyway, if you can keep your caps what are the rules for wearing the cap from ship 1 or 2? I presume while in uniform and on duty only cap 3 can be worn. What about in uniform but off duty? And last, what about not in uniform and off duty? Thanks for any input.

[Grayling813]

https://navadmin.dodreads.com/2018/03/ ... -ball-cap/

https://www.mynavyhr.navy.mil/Referenc ... gulations/

Good luck discerning the answers to your questions from official Navy documents!

I have ship’s caps from both of the ones I served on.

[oljames3]

My younger brother graduated from the Naval Academy and retired from the USMC. He assures me that sailors cannot read. No one will know if they wear the wrong cover.

[bobby]

easy one. You can only wear the Hat or patch of your current command. Now you can still own what ever you have patchs and hats are not turned in you get to keep them.

[LDB415]

easy one. You can only wear the Hat or patch of your current command. Now you can still own what ever you have patchs and hats are not turned in you get to keep them.

Thank you. So if a sailor is currently on the Missouri and previously was on the Texas he could not wear his Texas cap even if he was off duty and not in uniform? (I know, those are old ships no longer active but for example purposes.)

[bobby]

Out of uniform you can wear what ya want as long as its not in bad taste or vulgar on base. off base what ever

[powerboatr]

easy one. You can only wear the Hat or patch of your current command. Now you can still own what ever you have patchs and hats are not turned in you get to keep them.

bingo

you only wear the cap or Unit id patch from current command assigned
UNLESSSSSS
you are part of a detachment from say a Helicopter unit for example, then we wore either the ships hat or the squadron cap that we were assigned to.
i have a collection of all my ships...wear at will now i am retired

[LDB415]

Thanks for all the good replies. I have a much better idea of it all now.

[oohrah]

I did several cruises on destroyers. Unless the rules have changed (it's been a lot of years for me), my understanding is that ship's caps are only allowed to be worn with the uniform while on board ship, and cannot be worn in uniform off the ship because they are not "official" uniform items. Off the ship, they would just be another ball cap.

And IMHO, it would be in bad taste to wear the cap of a ship you were not assigned to (unless TAD or something).

[Scott B.]

...No one will know if they wear the wrong cover.

Years ago on a small base overseas, I was working a 5AM to 5 PM shift, 4 on 4 off. Had to pass through a couple of rings of marine security to get the facility. If the weather was good, I'd walk from my quarters to the complex. Now walking in the dark, on a dead quiet base, at 4:30 AM up to an armed Marine checkpoint could be entertaining at times. Never startle the nice, armed Marines.

This particular morning, I hit the first checkpoint and the guard looked at me a little funny. Got to the entrance of our underground facility and removed my cover. The marine in the mantrap entrance smirked at me. Now I'm wondering what these guys have been chatting about on the radio. Checked my gig line, made sure my pants were zipped up, etc.

Finally make it deeper into the facility and tossed my cover up on top of a big monitor at my desk. For the record, Astros baseball caps were not on the approved uniform items list. Had to buy a new command ball cap to get home that afternoon.

[ELB]

... For the record, Astros baseball caps were not on the approved uniform items list. Had to buy a new command ball cap to get home that afternoon.

Lol.

Now for a thread hijack. Your story reminded me of when I was at my first assignment at Tinker AFB, one of our Air Force first lieutenants was promoted to captain. The next day he drove to work from off-base and realized he had captain's bars on his shoulders, but his flight cap still had a first lieutenant bar on it. He had scrounge around in the ash tray and under the seat to come up with a spare first lieutenant bar to put next to the one already on his hat, then scurry to the building before anyone got a close look. At lunch time straight to clothing sales.

[C-dub]

I was in 83'-87' and in only one fighter squadron and on one ship. VF-21 & CV-64, although I was never officially attached to Connie, but rather only detached there for cruises and other short period requirements for squadron qualification stuff. I could have purchased a Connie cap and wish I had, but for whatever reason never did.

Anyway, the baseball caps were never issued and not really part of the official uniform as others have mentioned. Caps were optional and purchased in the ships store. I don't remember if we could purchase a ship cap at the Miramar base store or not. Mostly they just had squadron caps. While on base at Miramar we could wear our squadron cap. About the only time I can remember doing so was when I was not working. When working I either had no hat or my cranial with headset since I worked on radios.

On the ship we could wear our squadron cap, but most airwing people had no hat or the cranials. Once the ship pulled away from the pier the uniform requirements changed drastically. Off came the dungaree shirts and down to t-shirts for many depending on your work environment. For much of the airwing, enlisted stowed the dungaree shirts in their lockers and had either white, green, or an OD color t-shirt. many of us were also allowed to wear a kind of green army like work pant with our t-shirts to keep from really messing up our dungarees. Then of course there was also the colored long sleeve shirts according to our jobs for the flight deck. No hats there! It would probably get blown overboard anyway or FOD for aircraft. Cranials were strapped to your head with a chinstrap.

That's pretty much what mine was like. It also had a triangular mouthpiece/microphone that would snap on for use with the radio. Some of us found and could use a boom style mic. It was easy to tell which cranial had headsets by the black ear covers. Tan ear covers were not headsets.

[powerboatr]

... For the record, Astros baseball caps were not on the approved uniform items list. Had to buy a new command ball cap to get home that afternoon.

Lol.

Now for a thread hijack. Your story reminded me of when I was at my first assignment at Tinker AFB, one of our Air Force first lieutenants was promoted to captain. The next day he drove to work from off-base and realized he had captain's bars on his shoulders, but his flight cap still had a first lieutenant bar on it. He had scrounge around in the ash tray and under the seat to come up with a spare first lieutenant bar to put next to the one already on his hat, then scurry to the building before anyone got a close look. At lunch time straight to clothing sales.

oh thats funny...
i once walked around nearly the whole day with my collar devices not on the uniform i was wearing, ribbons and name tag were in place, but i simply forgot to put the collar devices on my uniform the previous evening at home.
everyone knew my rank from my name tag and i guess the wrath of asking about their missing in action prevented inquiries .

a brave young LDO Lt stopped me and asked if i was ok???? he pointed to my slick collars ..it was a riot. I had been all up and down the hall at other commands, as well as my own most of the morning and even up on base to the PX... no body ever said a word.