Is it socially acceptable to enhance your uniform for a military ball?

I double dog dare you to walk into that Military Ball with an orange bow tie while wearing your ASU's. Hell, I triple dog dare you.

For someone who has a "P" and you ask this question.....I am utterly amazed. But to stress what 1LT (Join to see) said, AR 670-1 says NO GO. I can guarantee that if you modified your uniform like that for any kind of function, then you would NOT have that "P" for much longer. I even dare say that your probably wouldn't be a SPC for much longer, as well.

I think the SPC(P) is getting responses that are overly harsh. I say that because there is a kernal of truth in his question. Yes, all that type stuff is unauthorized by the regs. But also yes, I have been to many military functions where field artillery officers wore red socks, red suspendrs and sometimes red bow ties, as well as the Order of St Barbara medals. So it's not like "enhancement" never happens and is always wrong.

For the artillery crowd, those items are normally worn only at artillery hosted events, like if there was a Division Artillery Ball or an artillery battalion dining in or dinng out. I've also seen the attached artillery officers wear that to their infantry battalion functions. Each time it was authorized by the commander hosting the event. So I can see hiw a young soldier would hear about those events and wonder if they apply to their branch. Now, I've never heard of a commo person wearing orange the way artillery wears red. But maybe they started that tradition after I got out, for commo unit events.

But definitely they aren't worn for generic military functions vs a branch specific function. I think it was smart for this poster to ask. Better safe than sorry.

You want to ignore uniform regs around military members more senior than you? Maybe I'm old school, but that seems like dropping your pants and mooning leadership!

AR 670-1 says no.

Fashion police says double no-go for orange bow tie.

If you're junior especially, it's very important not to tickle the Dragon. An exception would be if it is accepted custom upline. That would be rather rare, except for AF, where the Zipper Suited Sun Gods exhibit more variability. In the Seabees, a tartan was created and registered. So if you wore the tartan cumberbund and bow tie in lieu of the gold crumb catcher and black tie, it wasn't a big deal. I remember going to an Army Engineer Ball as a guest and made a big noise about how the 3 Star was out of uniform. Seems he was previously made an Honorary Seabee over in the Sandbox. We had the MSGT remove his boring Army tie and it was properly replaced with great fanfare by a Seabee Tartan bow tie. It demonstrated the "Good of both Corps". That said, the about the only time you'll see "authorized" variability is when you're respected enough to have it bestowed on you.
Back in the day, we'd have custom white tux shirts embroidered with dragons, crushed Soviet flags, etc. on the back. They were totally hidden until the head table departed, the music shifted colors for the younger crowd, and we took our jackets off. But that was when we had real balls. The senior types around will understand. Bottom line, being junior and different is like being the long necked turkey around Thanksgiving. Best to avoid the axe.

If AR 670-1 states its unauthorized, you'd need clearance from the chain of command. Signaleer to signaleer, the best way to enhance that ASU for the Signal Corps would be go for the Bronze Order of Mercury.

https://sic.memberclicks.net/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=81&Itemid=216

https://sic.memberclicks.net/awards

Lot of angry people here who've never heard of Ball Shirts before... it's been a tradition for decades...

Why is anyone from any other service even responding? I have been to balls where Artillery men had their "Red Legs" and it WAS acceptable. Spus and Stetson are not authorized, but more than welcome in the Cavalry Units. If you want advice on whether you can wear orange socks and bow tie, contact your chain of command.

SSG (Join to see) If you peer closely at my photograph, that is not a T-shirt showing at the neck of my cotton fatigues. It was an Orange Scarf! As the mission in Korea was winding down in 1954, the 'command' fretted that we young Soldiers required excessive BS, harassment, twice weekly haircuts - by a Korean with hand clippers, after he had a lunch of well aged Kimchee - that wearing Orange Scarves would keeps us on edge and inside the wire. The scarves were to be worn everywhere, excepting inside the 4 holer, or while on a telephone pole! No more Orange for me in my lifetime!

I hope you like grog, young man, because the Vice will rake you over the coals hard if you show up wearing such nonsense to an official military function.

But that pales in comparison to what your NCOs will have for you afterwards.
Don't do it.
Just... don't.