Army A-2 is officially official

[Ed Rooney]

Ok, gotcha. 15P is flight ops, right? Back before they realigned Aviation MOS numbers with combat arms, flight ops was a 93P. When they got rid of the OH-58A/C, they made many of us observers switch to 93P or 93C, but I rolled back into being a Huey crew chief.

I guess the E-9 to Commissioned officer part is totally foreign to me. It just doesn’t happen here. A quick Google of Australian Army ranks is telling me that your senior NCOs, like E-7 to E-9, are actually warrant officers. Is that right?

Currently all Aviation officer positions are open to pilots only. There are some legacy commissions who occupy standards or admin roles. I had planned to commission to take up a 2IC role until they made the policy change. Etiquette states a new Chief of Army can not rescind policy changes, only the third Chief can?

I am the '15P' E-9. I have a refueller/ordnance peer at BDE HQ. We both wear the Chrome Army Aviation badge. Our enlisted Aircrewmen do to. They are like 'crew chiefs'; however, most are not technically proficient. Just 'meat mirrors'. Our maintainers are Royal Australian Electrical and Mechanical Engineers. The 'mafia' are a law unto themselves and drive rate of effort and tempo with their complex requirements and restrictions.

Air Force are flying focused and look after their aircrew. Army don't do it that well.

16 years on and we are finally moving to Apache. I said Tiger was the wrong choice from the outset. The British aviation industry has been killing it for overv100 years and they went Apache. Spoke volumes....

 

[ausreenactor]

Ok, gotcha. 15P is flight ops, right? Back before they realigned Aviation MOS numbers with combat arms, flight ops was a 93P. When they got rid of the OH-58A/C, they made many of us observers switch to 93P or 93C, but I rolled back into being a Huey crew chief.

I guess the E-9 to Commissioned officer part is totally foreign to me. It just doesn’t happen here. A quick Google of Australian Army ranks is telling me that your senior NCOs, like E-7 to E-9, are actually warrant officers. Is that right?

E-8 is Warrant Officer Class 2 and E-9 is Warrant Officer Class 1.

 

[Ed Rooney]

Apparently there is a new AR 670-1 dated 1/19/21 (today!) coming out soon. Hopefully we will get some guidance on the A-2.

 

[Ed Rooney]

Here it is, boys and girls. Those of you still in the Army will have to buy epaulets. No nametag.

https://armypubs.army.mil/epubs/DR_pubs/DR_a/ARN30948-PAM_670-1-000-WEB-1.pdf page 135

The Ike jacket looks pretty cool. Bomber, not so much.

 

[Ed Rooney]

Here are the epaulets. So, in addition to the baggy, $400, air forcey looking A-2, soldiers must spend an additional $30 on quite possibly the dumbest thing ever attached to an A-2 outside of a Cockpit Catalog.

 

[CBI]

I am be wrong, but it seems silly to not show actual color photos of the uniforms insltread on these silly line drawings. its that way throughout the entire manual.

in re the OP, I do think its cool that the easter A-2-ish jacket is coming back.

 

[ausreenactor]

Here are the epaulets. So, in addition to the baggy, $400, air forcey looking A-2, soldiers must spend an additional $30 on quite possibly the dumbest thing ever attached to an A-2 outside of a Cockpit Catalog.

View attachment 56131

Ludicrous...

 

[Ed Rooney]

It looks like soldiers are opting to buy $80 Coopers rather than $400 Excelled A-2s. Can’t blame them when even the generals do it. This guy wears it better than the goofball pencil sketch in the Army Reg.

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1369648755453145093

 

[rob20uk]

Believe it or Not, but Hasbro has secured the contract. But apparently there are major and significant design changes, looks nothing like the classic A-2 the Air Force readopted it the late 80's.View attachment 39717

It’s funny but honestly I would not be surprised if it was actually something like that that. The world is going to pot...

 

[Bremspropeller]

Funny they call it "(Bomber)" - are there any secret plans that the Army hasn't yet publicly spoken aout?
All those Kiowa-warriors being shoved over to some B-17 unit they forgot they still had somwhere?

Somebody's got it all figured out...

 

[Ed Rooney]

In theory you could roll a bomb out the back of a chinook, just like they do with C-130s.

I think they are officially calling it the “Leather Service Jacket”. Bomber was just the nickname as they were developing it.

Funny they call it "(Bomber)" - are there any secret plans that the Army hasn't yet publicly spoken aout?
All those Kiowa-warriors being shoved over to some B-17 unit they forgot they still had somwhere?

Somebody's got it all figured out...

 

[PaulD]

I sense a business opportunity for flight jacket makers to offer a better fitting, sub-$400 A-2.

 

[BIKERBILLY]

I have a question...Where WW2 crew chefs allowed to wear painted A2 of the fighter they where assigned to?

 

[Ed Rooney]

Here is another Army A-2 sighting, this time on the CG of the Army Aviation Center/Ft Novosel, at a conference. The most interesting thing about this pic is that he is wearing a USAF style 2-layer nametag, which was not in AR 670-1 last time I looked. I'm all for it, but I would also like to see the dumb rank on the epaulets go away.

 

[Chandler]

Someone please tell him to go down a size.

 

[mulceber]

IMHO, it's actually a pretty good fit. He just needs a short.

 

[Chandler]

IMHO, it's actually a pretty good fit. He just needs a short.

Maybe, but the sleeves look long and the epps seem droopy. They also look like they have that forward "roll." Just doesn't seem as classic to me as so many WW2 fits.

Should have called John.

 

[mulceber]

See, to me, droopy shoulders is a good look, as long as the shoulders aren't designed to be super square, like a Monarch, Star or Bronco. But tastes differ.

 

[Chandler]

See, to me, droopy shoulders is a good look, as long as the shoulders aren't designed to be super square, like a Monarch, Star or Bronco. But tastes differ.

Depends on the "depth of the droop" to me.

I still wear my 46 ELC 1401 (because it's a favorite), but since my prescribed weight loss the epps make me a little self conscious.

And the every other day dumbbell shoulder shrugs aren't helping much.

 

[mulceber]

GW Rough Wear from my profile picture. Definitely some shoulder droop but, not to brag, I think it looks good. Rough Wears look great with a bit of shoulder droop.