The Pentagon has clarified that troops will not be barred from wearing their uniforms at Veterans Day events during the government shutdown, despite an email screenshot circulating online that says otherwise.
Reports about uniforms not being allowed at Veterans Day events started spreading online Wednesday when the unofficial Facebook page Air Force amn/nco/snco posted an email from the public affairs department of the Air Force’s 70th Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance Wing at Fort Meade, Maryland, that said service members should not take part in Veterans Day events while in uniform if the shutdown were to continue.
“It has been advised that if the government shutdown remains in effect, military members should not participate in outreach activities around Veterans Day, while in uniform (this includes local community outreach),” the Tuesday email to personnel of the 70th ISR Wing began. “This approach is intended to ensure the public understands the reality and impacts of the shutdown.”
That email went on to say service members could still attend Veterans Days events in a personal capacity or be honored at gatherings, such as a sports events, as long as there was no “active outreach component” like throwing out a first pitch, giving remarks or appearing on the field. In those cases, the email said, service members must be out of uniform.
Some commenters on the amn/nco/snco post expressed confusion and frustration as to why the Pentagon would issue such restrictions.
“If you have earned the right to wear the uniform, and are doing so in a respectful way, then do whatever the hell you want,” one commenter said.
When contacted by Military Times on Wednesday, spokespeople with both U.S. Air Force public affairs and the Pentagon’s public affairs office initially confirmed the Defense Department had issued the guidance restricting service members’ outreach activities and uniform wear at the beginning of the shutdown. The DOD was re-emphasizing those rules as Veterans Day approached, they said.
But later, the Pentagon changed course. A Pentagon official said the department is not restricting service members from attending local Veterans Day events in uniform. The official said such events are seen as helping with recruiting efforts, and that recruiting is one of the activities that can continue during a shutdown.
In addition to appearances at sporting events, outreach events could include service members visiting schools in uniform around Veterans Day and talking with kids about military service, the official said — or marching in a parade — as long as the department isn’t spending travel money to transport them to the events.
“The public affairs guidance on Department of War community outreach activities during a lapse of appropriations remains the same,” the official said in a statement Thursday, using the administration’s preferred name for the department. “Service members are to wear their uniforms in accordance with their service regulation.”
Veterans Day is observed in the U.S. each year on Nov. 11, the anniversary of the armistice that went into effect on that date in 1918 to end World War I. It was first established as a national holiday in 1938, when it was called Armistice Day and honored WWI veterans, and was renamed Veterans Day in 1954 to honor all U.S. war veterans.
Since then, communities nationwide have observed Veterans Day with celebrations of all sizes that salute both veterans of past wars and current service members.
New York City’s annual Veterans Day Parade is the largest in the country, and one of its grand marshals this year will be former Army Staff Sgt. Clint Romesha, who received the Medal of Honor for his heroism during the 2009 Battle of Kamdesh in Afghanistan.
In past years, current service members and their units have been among the thousands marching in New York’s parade. Organizers said on the New York parade’s website that they expect more than 20,000 marchers this year.
Stephen Losey is the air warfare reporter for Defense News. He previously covered leadership and personnel issues at Air Force Times, and the Pentagon, special operations and air warfare at Military.com. He has traveled to the Middle East to cover U.S. Air Force operations.
