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Great article on OPSEC, everyone in my unit got a link forwarded to them by our tactics shop.
And don't think it is just the airports where you catch guys doing this kind of thing. One of our guys was doing some quick shopping at a bazaar in Islamabad about a year ago when he spotted 3 U.S. federal agents. How did he know this? Well, using his Sherlock-esque powers of observation, he saw that all three were wearing 5.11 tactical khaki pants, black fannypacks, Oakley sunglasses and (I swear to God he didn't make this up) navy blue t-shirts with large gold letters that spelled D.E.A. on the front.
Needless to say, he got the hell away from that trio as fast as he could. All the locals were staring at those three idiots like they had just grown horns and fangs and he had no desire to stick around and watch this debacle unfold any further...
I think that by adopting the pseudo uniform you are trying to impress people. Many others stopped doing that somewhere around the 1stLt/Sgt stage of life. It is one thing to not hide your allegiance. It is another thing to go the full on coyote/digicami bags, service polo and boots route, with your shirt tucked in behind a nice braided belt, with your nametape all over everything, and talking loud enough for everyone around you to have to listen to your stories.
I am active duty. I don't need to wear in embroidery to have allegiance. I see people like you milling around airports and hold back my vomit.
Mass Armies ala WWI and WW II produce reasonably competent units that can accomplish most tasks. That mass is achieved by taking, essentially, who or whatever walks in the door, minimally training them and turning them loose on the opponent -- and society. That has costs.
To decide a professional force should be similarly recruited and trained strikes me as lunacy. Not least because you get just the sort of appearance and behavior cited in the article and by most respondents above. Those kids and their contractor cohorts as well as the few more senior folks who should and probably do know better but are into flaunting act and dress the way they do because that is precisely what the system encourages even though many in the system pay lip service to a higher plane, better performance -- and 'nicer' clothing off duty. A lot should be changed but systemic change is difficult. Obviously.
The same dichotomy that exists between Troop haircuts and dress compared to that of most of their civilian peers is also reflected in their general mores and attitudes -- not to mention aggressiveness and capabilities. The capability to modify all those characteristics exists but any tinkering should be carefully considered -- a reason why that systemic change is so slow.
A consideration aside from what we expect Joe to be is what we expect Joe to do. Some brash, aggressive dress and behavior has a place in combat. It has little place in geopolitics so perhaps the issue is really who we have doing what and where.
Most -- but far from all -- SF troops do <i>not</i> do the adverse things mentioned in the above comments nor do they have funny haircuts. Thus on the surface they are generally more discreet and more 'professional.' That's due to some selectivity, more maturity (an issue that is not age dependent) and better training. Not to mention more money to buy better clothes...
You get what you ask for and pay for...
Even when people don't have names, logos, tan bags, etc, they usually stick out like a sore thumb anyway because they dress like they're in uniform still. Plus the screaming high and delicious haircut usually gives you away anyway. But if your hair wasn't high and delicious, you wouldn't be a professional, right?
This kind of stuff has been going on for decades. It is just taking on a new level of intensity. I personally have never understood it. Forrest summed it up best when he said, "Stupid is as stupid does." Truly amazing since everyone traveling overseas has to endure a mind-numbing training session on anti-terrorism that counsels against such behavior. During the good old days in Europe, with the RAF, AD, Brigade Rossi and Palestinians active, I was always content for others to draw fire away from me. As they teach in AT classes, you can't prevent a terrorist attack, but you can shift the crosshairs to someone else by acting low key.
Other issues -- unit logos on luggage/caps, luggage nametags that aren't concealed. And besides terrorists, there are also foreign intel guys out there who are always trolling for interesting characters. The wonders of modern technology have simply increased the intensity of the dangers.
This has been an ongoing problem for many years, going back pre-OIF/OEF. When I was on Embassy Duty in Peru, when the Shining Path, among other groups, were very active, we would see TAD personnel out in town (PIzza Street)advertising their military branch through their dress or else bragging to the ladies who they were and what they did.
Heh. Probably good advice, really. Probably also doomed to be not heeded for a variety of reasons, good and bad. Might have been better accepted had it not read like a rather supercilious screed by someone whose fashion sense was offended by "Caterpillar Boots" (which I suspect few if any of the people he saw were wearing).
Might help also if said screed didn't sound like a carp at things that might put the writer at risk. ;)