As to the leftie issue, I checked with the North field paraloft and was denied, the civilian contractor said it was an illegal mod and made the flight suit non-RFI. O well. And back to the patch thing, Ive seen a number of my fellow yut-yuts sporting American flag patches on their left shoulder, is this a freebie that doesn't count against two CMC-authorized patches?
Non-RFI? Who cares if it can get RE-issued? They're not giving used flight suits to anyone. Mod'ing a flight suit is probably something I'd wait to do until I got to the fleet though. I'm not a lefty, but is saving the extra second getting a pen really that big a deal? In any case, I never get pens from my flight suitin flight. They're already in my kneeboard on start up.
Those Marines are wrong. I never understood the need to wear the flag or the service patch on the shoulder. Flag? You're in the military, on a American base in an American plane, was there any doubt what country you are from. Service emblem? It SAYS "USMC" on your namepatch, if the ugly haircut didn't tip anyone off in the first place.
As for "fun" patches on the shoulder, your sense of humor isn't impressing anyone. Wait until you've got a deployment or det patch, which, BTW shouldn't be worn more than 6 mo after returning from said det. Same for chicken (WTI) patches. Unless you're just back from the class or are the squadron WTI, stop wearing that thing. Either you are solid and don't need the patch to prove it, or you aren't. If you went as a captain and are now a major or higher, you are just demonstrating a lack of self-confidence by wearing it. I've only seen one exception to that rule, and I worked for him. Oddly enough, he was cool and laid-back enough I wouldn't have guessed he was one unless he wore it. Hmm...maybe that's why he did....
