ahhhhh...love muh job
So part of my training has been to see how they issue troops their uniforms.....PTs, ACUs, and Class As.....i.e. Physical Training sweats, Combat Uniforms, and their Dress Uniforms.
So I spent the better half of my day eyeing up half naked soldiers...men and women. After 5 weeks of basic, the soldiers are brought in to be issued their dress uniforms.
The only item the army actually "measures" the soldier for is boots and dress shoes. Everything else is done by looking at them and going from there. If its good, move on; if its bad, try again. The ladies that do this are right on about 95% of the time, the other 5% they get it on the second try.
All morning I worked at the station where we size them for short sleeve dress shirts and gloves. At this point in the line, all the soldier has on is his PT shorts and dress shoes.....shoes are the first item they get. First thing I do is eye up his hands and guess the size glove they wear...have them try the glove on and then do their short sleeve dress shirt. What I have to do is "eye" him up....neck size, shoulders, and waist.....and guess what his shirt size is. My accuracy today was about 80%. The soldier puts it on and I have to test how it fits. I have to be able to put 2 fingers in the collar, the shirt has to lay flat across the chest...no baggyness...and it cant be tight in the shoulders either....so basically Im touching, tugging, sticking my fingers down their collar, and pulling on their shirts to test the fit. If its good, I give him a second shirt and send him to the next station. If it doesnt fit right, then I go either one size up or down and start the process all over again. It usually takes about 2 minutes to do one soldier at this station. I did this for 165 men this morning. hehe
This afternoon I helped on the ladies side. They never do men and women at the same time. Same thing....only the women are in only underwear and bra and I have to "eye" them for size. Let me tell you how awkward that was.... Women are a LOT harder to fit shirts......neck, shoulders, chest, waist, and hips have to fit good. And if you get a woman who is really skinny and has a large chest.....or like today...one girl was maybe a size 1 but she had really broad shoulders......then you get fitting problems. And its the same thing....tugging, pulling, sticking your fingers in their coller, trying to get the shoulders right. I felt so awkward...but the female soldiers didnt even bat an eye. Apparently after they go through 5 weeks of basic on top of the physical.....they are stripped of their modesty.
I had one guy today compliment me on my sizing skillz...... "You had the perfect fit the first time...you must have been doing this a long time"
me: ummm..about 2 hours... LOL!!!
So yeah....days like these...I love my job.
So I spent the better half of my day eyeing up half naked soldiers...men and women. After 5 weeks of basic, the soldiers are brought in to be issued their dress uniforms.
The only item the army actually "measures" the soldier for is boots and dress shoes. Everything else is done by looking at them and going from there. If its good, move on; if its bad, try again. The ladies that do this are right on about 95% of the time, the other 5% they get it on the second try.
All morning I worked at the station where we size them for short sleeve dress shirts and gloves. At this point in the line, all the soldier has on is his PT shorts and dress shoes.....shoes are the first item they get. First thing I do is eye up his hands and guess the size glove they wear...have them try the glove on and then do their short sleeve dress shirt. What I have to do is "eye" him up....neck size, shoulders, and waist.....and guess what his shirt size is. My accuracy today was about 80%. The soldier puts it on and I have to test how it fits. I have to be able to put 2 fingers in the collar, the shirt has to lay flat across the chest...no baggyness...and it cant be tight in the shoulders either....so basically Im touching, tugging, sticking my fingers down their collar, and pulling on their shirts to test the fit. If its good, I give him a second shirt and send him to the next station. If it doesnt fit right, then I go either one size up or down and start the process all over again. It usually takes about 2 minutes to do one soldier at this station. I did this for 165 men this morning. hehe
This afternoon I helped on the ladies side. They never do men and women at the same time. Same thing....only the women are in only underwear and bra and I have to "eye" them for size. Let me tell you how awkward that was.... Women are a LOT harder to fit shirts......neck, shoulders, chest, waist, and hips have to fit good. And if you get a woman who is really skinny and has a large chest.....or like today...one girl was maybe a size 1 but she had really broad shoulders......then you get fitting problems. And its the same thing....tugging, pulling, sticking your fingers in their coller, trying to get the shoulders right. I felt so awkward...but the female soldiers didnt even bat an eye. Apparently after they go through 5 weeks of basic on top of the physical.....they are stripped of their modesty.
I had one guy today compliment me on my sizing skillz...... "You had the perfect fit the first time...you must have been doing this a long time"
me: ummm..about 2 hours... LOL!!!
So yeah....days like these...I love my job.