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Editorial: Say yes to black, general

When Gen. Norton Schwartz takes over as Air Force chief of staff, a proposed uniform change will be sitting on his new desk: allowing airmen who work on the flight line or perform other dirty jobs to wear the old black leather boots with their new airman battlefield uniforms.

The new green suede boots might be fine for the pristine confines of the office, but they don’t belong where grease and grime come with the job.

it’s hard to believe anyone involved in the decision to switch boots thought green suede on the flight line was a good idea.

What was a good idea, however, was the decision to solicit airmen’s suggestions for uniform improvements online. Hundreds of airmen took that opportunity to ask that they be allowed to wear black boots with their new ABUs.

Many told Air Force Times they avoid wearing the new boots on their everyday jobs, where they’ll quickly be ruined, by shucking their ABUs and wearing the old battle dress uniform, with which black boots are OK. but that’s a short-term solution — the BDU will be permanently retired in 2011.

To its credit, the Air Force Uniform Board responded to the airmen’s input and approved a plan to let those who do dirty jobs return to leather footwear. Virtually all the other players — the Air Force personnel responsible for improving service uniforms, Defense Department and private-sector suppliers and the Army and Air Force Exchange Service — think it’s a good move.

And it is. By signing off on the uniform board proposal, Schwartz has an opportunity to show, early in his tenure, that he will put common sense and the needs of rank-and-file airmen high on his priority list. He should jump on it.

DISCUSS: Back to black