What would your reaction be to a service member on crutches wearing tennis shoes with color?

I can't speak to your exact command, but I would have the following general thoughts:

1) If you are in crutches and needed to buy new shoes, they should have offered to send somebody with you to get those new shoes. Being on crutches makes transportation and getting around quite difficult. This would have tactfully addressed the 24 hour window you were given (assuming somebody was to drive you).

2) Correcting somebody over shoes is one thing, but verbally berating somebody over shoes is just unnecessary and unprofessional. Saying that you don't respect those who have died in uniform is doubly unprofessional. I'm glad that your chain of command apologized on behalf of that chief, but unfortunately those statements are toxic to the military and without that person being corrected, he/she will continue to spew toxic drivel to more military members, which in turn does nothing but degrade morale and cause resentment. It is an episode of complete lack of tact that I'm sorry you had to experience.

In general, this type of petty stuff is what drives a lot of people out of the military. In the end, we can just do the best we can and help change the system by a positive example and by not standing down when we are right.

I believe that what you experienced was well defined by WWII veteran and author, Paul Fussell:

"Chickenshit refers to behavior that makes military life worse than it need be: petty harassment of the weak by the strong; open scrimmage for power and authority and prestige; sadism thinly disguised as necessary discipline; a constant "paying off of old scores"; and insistence on the letter rather than the spirit of the ordinances... Chickenshit is so called -- instead of horse -- or bull -- or elephant shit -- because it is small-minded and ignoble and takes the trivial seriously."

OK, I haven't had the opportunity for one of rare rants in sometime now, but here goes on this one: Bare with me, you're gonna be here for a minute.

STORY TIME: I had a similar experience with one of my Soldiers back in the early 90s. One of my Soldiers who was on crutches due to a broken leg came to see me after, I quote, "getting my ass chewed out by the Battalion Command Sergeant Major because my athletic shoes were not black!" I already knew the shoes the Soldier had on were the same shoe's he wore to PT every day before his accident. I told the Soldier I would take care of it, not worry about it and if the CSM said anything to him again, to inform him that I ( First Sergeant) had instructed him to continue to wear them and that I would take it up with him at my conveinence.

I talked with the company commander and informed him the CSM was butting into unit business and wanted him to know I was going to see the CSM and that I expected him to back me up. He asked what was I going to say. I told him, I was going to tell him, that he was not in that Soldier's chain of command, and I authorized him to wear those shoes. CPT M... said, OK,Top, it's your ass, but worked for him.

So the next morning at PT, I went up to the CSM and brought up the subject. He started to get into his CSM antics about it and then I asked him, Sergeant Major do you own a solid pair of athletic shoes...answer was no! I asked if he were to wind up on crutches would he go out and buy a new pair of solid black athletic shoes to wear instead of the gray/red/white shoes he wore to PT everyday. He said , Yes I surely would. I said, Great, since you don't need crutches, PFC xxxxx wears a size 10.5; you can go out and buy him a pair, then he will meet your personal standard; but until then he will continue to wear the athletic shoes he's worn to PT since he got here. That is company leadership issue and decision and even though his personnal preference is known, it's not being considered. Next time, talk to me before you jump on one of my Soldiers, I got this!" Yeah he stayed pissed at me for about a week, but he got over it.

Unfortunately at times, some leaders choose to NOTapply what I call "common sense leadership", and then just go off the deep end because they feel they have the authority to do so.

Unless things have changed since my days in uniform, the Chief's Mess is an NCO Support Channel and fill an advisory role to the commander. They advise, commanders make decisions.

In my honest and maybe a lonely opinion, I (me, NOT YOU) would have told that Chief and the Chief's Mess to go take a long walk off a short pier: that it was a decision for me and Commander to determine and we had already made it.

Now with that being said, I may have personally agreed with their not liking the shoes, however, my common sense would have told me, we will not incurr the addtional cost to you of buying a new pair of athletic shoes because it was not in tune with his personal touchy feely sensibilities. If the Air Force feels that black athletic shoes are the only shoes to be worn when in ACUs or whatever when on crutches....then the USAF should either issue or pay for them.

Now one last thing and then I'm done and moving on: I hope you will put this incident in your memory bank for later on, when you become the supervisor or CPO and something like this happens to one of your subordinates. Remember that there are specific links in the chain of command and there are specific links to NCO support channels. They may not always agree, only one has the final say. When your time comes....advise and decide carefully! Right decisions are not always popular, but when you make it you have to stand behind it, take the heat and not fold under outside pressure, regardless!

I disagree with the Chief's action and the way he handled it, however Ii'm even more disappointed in your unit leadership (1SGT/Cdr) in not coming to your support due to their earlier decision. That bites my rear-end more than the Chiefs action.

And LTC Yinon Weiss also hit a grand slam with his comment.

As long as it's a legit profile, as far as the Army is concerned, AR 670-1 does not specificy color for running shoes. The only ones that are not allowed are the toe-style shoes that were popular a few years back.