Military styles (among civilians) first became popular
during the 60s, in protest of the Vietnam War. Parts of military clothing were
first worn by military veteran protestors, then -- as time went on -- by more
and more of the protesters. The "fashion" spread to even non-protestor
"hippies," of the times.
After Vietnam, the Military became an all-volunteer
force. Other than a few left-over 'hippies" here and there, the fad kind of
died. The military had negative connotations, and was not held in very high
esteem by the public.
The botched hostage rescue of the Carter administration
didn't do anything to alleviate this reputation.
During the Reagan years, starting with the Libya
confrontation, and continuing with the Grenada operation, then Panama, the
public started to be proud of their military again. Recruiting numbers shot
through the roof.
A few military-action movies were made. Military-style
"high and tight" haircuts replaced long hair in the civilian
world.
Military popularity shot way up during the Gulf war, and
-- to a lesser extent -- during Bosnia and Kosovo. The Press got on the
band-wagon and started doing news-shows about the military that were, in the
most part, positive. Even when the reports were negative in nature, they always
showed the G.I. (the person) as a good person, a volunteer, just trying to get
by.
Enter Tom Hanks and "Saving Private Ryan." Follow that
up with "Terms of Engagement." Young folks often follow the movies when they
develop their trends, and these two movies had a great impact.
Wearing any distinctive part of a United States
Military Uniform is a crime. It's a felony under 18 United States Code. By
"distinctive," it means tags that say "United States Air Force," or "United
States Army," or stripes or insignia. Unfortunately, it's not a crime that local
DAs or police are very willing to spend any time on.
Additionally, there is very little that makes a *real*
service-member more angry than seeing someone wear the stripes he/she worked so
hard for, to earn.
