Ooookaaaay...

[Haylie]

I just have to tell someone about this.

This just happened today. I'm outside my work (pushing carts at a store called Reasor's), wearing a camouflage coat with Air Force patches on either sleeve. Some old codger comes up to me (after I offer the obligatory "hello") and asks me accusingly, "What are you doing wearing that Air Force uniform?"
I say, "It's not a uniform, it's a jacket."
"Well, why're you wearing it?"
"It's cold out."
"Did you know it's illegal to wear that?"
"Seriously?"
"Yes."
"What makes you say that?"
"I'm a retired Air Force pilot, so I would know. It's against Federal law to wear two or more Air Force patches on your clothes."
"I'm not Federal, I'm Republican." Nobody ever said I couldn't be a smart-ass.
"Well, you need to take it off."
By now, I just want this guy gone, so I was just like, "Okaaay." So he goes inside, and I'm thinking, "He's senile, he'll forget, or he won't see me."
Sure enough, he comes back out and says, without approaching me, "Take that jacket off. I don't want to have to tell Mr. Reasor." So, figuring it won't hurt, I take it off and set in on some carts I was pushing. When he leaves, I put it back on and tell several others. You're just the latest.

Just had to get that off my chest.

[Ookalf]

That's just weird...

[Mitera Nikkou]

I've honestly never heard of such a thing. I can see where you could get in trouble by using the patches for impersonation, and I know that there are certain laws that prohibit the acceptance and/or use of certain official patches without the appropriate go-ahead, but I can't say that I've ever heard of a federal law that prohibits someone from wearing more than one air force patch. I know someone who may be able to tell me something about this, but they're at work right now, so... It would have to wait until tomorrow.

Other than that, I believe there are a few people around here who have been in the military, with at least one (if I remember correctly) being in the air force. Maybe they'll see this topic and drop a note.

[Sasha]

I asked a friend in it that i met on WoW and he says that's a lie. There is no such law. He is just senile.

[Mendi-chan]

It seems to me that there would be a rule against wearing Air Force patches unless you were trying to impersonate a soldier. With just patches on a jacket there wouldn't be much confusion as to whither you were in the armed forces or not. o_O

[Haylie]

That's what I was thinking. It's just a jacket that happens to be camoflauge with Air Force patches. That's all. Other than that, I was wearing jeans and a white button-up shirt with another white shirt under that.

[Mitera Nikkou]

Well, I asked, and they confirmed what I thought. The fact that the old codger thought it was a uniform, and not a regular jacket, was probably his original argument, since it is against the law to impersonate military personal. He probably added the detail about the patches secondarily because he didn't want to appear wrong, and thought that you probably wouldn't know better.

[Haylie]

Which poses another question: Why the hell would he think I was trying to impersonate military personnel when I don't live anywhere close to being near a military outpost of any kind or size to my knowledge?

[Mitera Nikkou]

That's where the senility comes into play, I'm sure.

Yeah, yeah; I know, I know: respect your elders. But I don't really believe in that. They can be pitied just like anybody else.

[muffinstud]

There's one other factor not...factored in yet.
Respect.
Being a retired Air Force member, he would have a great amount of pride in and respect for the uniform. Even though your jacket probably didn't look like contemporary BDU's, it might resemble a jacket worn in an earlier time frame. Still, there is no way that the jacket would be the same cut, because there is only one textile company that makes military cut clothing. No other company can legally make clothing with the same cut.

As for the patches, as long as you don't wear any that are earned, you're definitely within your rights. Unit patches and General Uniform patches are perfectly all right, even if people might ask if you have some connection with the unit on your patch. However, you're asking for trouble if you have a marksman patch or something like that. While not illegal, it is something that must be earned, and is highly disrespectful. I know if I saw someone wearing a purple heart medal who I knew never even went into combat, I'd smash their teeth in. Then I'd take them to the dentist, have their teeth fixed, then kick them in again.

[Sensei Kimiko]

From everything I had understood, impersonating military personnel is ilegal. From what I understand wearing medals is also ilegal, though context probably is taken into account (I seem to recall a picture of a young boy with his father's medals at the funeral).

Patches on the other hand. Well, the Marine base nearby sells the unit patches during open base days and you can buy these nice silk pilot's Jackets with the base information on them along with this really cool dragon. Several of my Japanese friends have one.

I would reasonibly conclude that if the base support organization is selling the stuff, it probably isn't ilegal.

[Mitera Nikkou]

Yeah, selling patches is done in America, too. They used to give them away for free often enough until the accumulated cost of them began to weigh in, so they're more conservative about that, now. I don't know about uniforms since they would certainly cost a lot more, on whether they are sold to the public.

Muffinstud:

Unfortunately not everyone can draw the line between respect and pride. There's someone out there (and there is no doubt about the reality of this fact) who takes pride in the air force, who will happen upon a civilian wearing an air force uniform (with standard patches, none of which need to be earned by duty, action and skill) and do to them pretty much what you described, in equivalence, or worse. Essentially it would be one person taking pride in the air force by wearing the uniform, and the other beating them down because they think they're insulting their own pride for the air force by wearing said uniform. Pride can be an ugly thing, and America seems to have a lot of this sort going around. The old codger Haylie characterized sounded rather piqued for such a casual, non-official jacket. Either he's a crotchety old guy, or he puts his pride in the wrong place. I mean, come on... Give a cart-toting guy a break. ;p

Of course, it could just be my dislike for authority talking, here. Eh.

[Haylie]

It's not even decorated at all. The only thing about the patches he really told me to get rid of are the angled stripes that surround the little star in the middle. There's only four or five of those per patch.

[muffinstud]

Congratulations! You could be a sergeant in the Air Force for the paltry price of 4 years of service! You've already got the patches for it. I can see why he got angry about it now, but it's still legal. There is nothing anyone can do to keep you from wearing a sergeant's stripes on a non-standard issue jacket.

[Lanzerus]

1 old and senile people are fun, thats why I hang out with my dad
2 never once, ANYWHERE in my studies of law have I came across two patches = law breaking, however yes, several laws can be found on Impersonation of an officer = several months in jail
Q I really don't need this last bullet/number/letter, but it just doesn't feel right y'know, 1,2,Q. thats how it works right?