David: I have long been amused at the sight of soldiers parading around in airports, office buildings, grocery stores, shopping malls, etc., in their jungle camouflage attire. I have even seen top generals in such costumes on C-SPAN speaking at press clubs. I suspect the image they are trying to promote is one that suggests “I just got in from the jungle, where I was engaged in a deadly fire-fight with the dreaded Mongolooshian hordes.”
What clothing makeup do the Navy and Air Force people wear? During World War II, Navy pilots had the bottoms of their planes painted a mixture of light blue and white (to match the sky) and the tops a dark blue (to match the ocean). Perhaps their clothing colors could be adapted to these same patterns.
It’s just all part of the costuming for “war as entertainment” about which I wrote an article a few years ago. They don’t refer to battle zones as “theaters” for no reason!
2:43 pm on November 18, 2009
