EUCOM bars troops from wearing uniforms off base - News

Chairs and tables sit empty at the Anatolia Kebab Home just outside involving RAF Mildenhall,
England, in the early afternoon upon Monday, Nov. 17, 2014. A New restaurant employee mentioned
staff members possess seen any drop throughout clients after U.S. Air Force bases throughout
England restricted your don associated with uniforms off base throughout October.

Adam L. Mathis/Stars and also Stripes

STUTTGART, Germany -- U.S. European Command has ordered most troops serving around the
continent for you to refrain coming from wearing uniforms off base except once they are generally
commuting to work inside their private cars as well as on base buses.

The directive, which has been sent in order to respective service components in Nov. 10, offers
progressively worked down the chain and also ended up being expected to be completely impact in
bases across Europe by Tuesday as a portion of an effort to become certain the safety of personnel,
EUCOM said.

In addition, EUCOM's enhanced force-posture measures incorporate a recommendation that

personnel review their own individual social media accounts to ensure geolocation capabilities and
configurations on his or her profiles aren't overly revealing, your command said.

"We continually assess threats to be able to our forces along with and alongside our host nation
counterparts along with just take appropriate measures depending on individuals assessments," U.S.
Navy Capt. Greg Hicks, EUCOM spokesman, mentioned in the statement. "We will not find to the
specifics associated with these threats nor the assessments. EUCOM has had this step depending on
our firm commitment to produce every feasible effort to guarantee the safety in our servicemembers,
civilians and their families."

Last month, EUCOM issued guidance towards the services, urging these phones consider imposing
any ban in wearing uniforms off base. The Actual guidance, however, had not really been the
mandate as well as did not bring about almost all bases' issuing blanket uniform bans. This specific
directive will be mandated regarding almost all troops inside the EUCOM area, Hicks said.

The sight of uniformed troops off submit isn't unusual inside military communities across Europe,
where policies in uniform put on usually vary.

The current mandate shouldn't adjust anything upon Navy bases within Europe. Your Navy currently
boundaries overseas uniform use to on-base activities or during travel for you to and also from your
base, any rule occasionally stretched simply by sailors that don physical coaching uniforms whilst
exercising off base as well as participating inside community relations events. U.S. Naval Forces
Europe-Africa issued a reminder of the rule to sailors last month.

In England, the actual U.S. Air Force adopted EUCOM's earlier guidance final month, banning
virtually all off-base wear associated with uniforms according to any publish on the RAF Mildenhall
Airmen family Readiness center Facebook page. A Range Of neighborhood organizations say they

have currently seen the effect of the policy within reduced sales. With the Spice Lounge, an Indian
restaurant near RAF Mildenhall and RAF Lakenheath, manager Jay Ali said that Americans were the
main clients during lunch along with that sales have dropped since the actual uniform ban was
imposed. Staff in the Japanese Oysy Sushi restaurant near RAF Mildenhall also reported a falloff
within business.

The decision to impose the brand new uniform restriction, that applies to all with the roughly 70,000
servicemembers stationed within Europe, can be unrelated towards the assault about three U.S.
sailors last week in Istanbul, EUCOM emphasized. Throughout fact, your EUCOM policy had been
issued a couple of times ahead of the attack.

Those sailors had been from uniform in the period of the assault, which in turn underscores that will
servicemembers can be specific even when they will usually are not wearing their own fatigues.

Still, the actual move through EUCOM appears directed at guaranteeing troops don't draw
unnecessary focus on by themselves at a time of developing concern about the prospective with
regard to terror attacks throughout Europe.

Islamic militants engaged within the fight throughout Syria and also Iraq have called with regard to
"lone wolf" attacks against Western targets.

It's not the initial time in which uniform wear continues to end up being able to be prohibited off
base with regard to military personnel serving within Europe. Throughout 2011, after a lone gunman
shot at a team regarding U.S. airmen at Frankfurt Airport, killing two and also severely wounding 2
others, EUCOM forbade U.S. troops to put on their uniforms off publish "to the utmost extent
possible," which includes every day commutes to always be able to as well as in the office. Much
Less when compared with 6 several weeks later, that policy has been relaxed somewhat, together
with both the actual Army along with Air Force permitting the put on regarding uniforms while
commuting to as well as from work.

Stars and Stripes reporters Steven Beardsley, Jennifer Svan along with Adam Mathis contributed to
become able to this report.

vandiver.john@stripes.com