What is your biggest pet peeve?

Boot laces sticking out. Not sure why but it never fails that I will see them sticking out from across the room.

My biggest pet peeve is being corrected for hands in the pocket. It's only happened once, but I find this enforcement of the rule the most annoying. I see higher ups do it all the time, but when a Joe does it, it's the end of the world.
I came in as a smart, older man. If your hands are cold, fix it! You have pockets! Use them! There is no reason to have cold hands if you can help it.
Common sense should be the rule, then the rules. Not the other way around.

I have been out for a while, but I had an issue with headgear. It seemed like I had more styles of hats than anything else. For one I was a Bradley Scout so I had a CVC, also a Kevlar, soft cap, and beret. Now I think the beret issues is something of the part, but when it first came about we were wearing that hot rag in the middle of summer while working in the motor pool or even field training. So What I did was use my CVC bag to try to carry my CVC helmet and my 2 soft caps and beret while I wore my Kevlar. For some reason no matter where I was if I had on the Kevlar people would not ask why. SO I got used to it and wore it everywhere it seemed for a while. So my biggest confusion was what hat, where and for how long. Seemed like we took a lot of time with hats.

But to get a little off topic (even though it is related)...

Now a thread inside of a thread for the best uniform mistakes.

My best story comes from two friends who were coming back from lunch one day.

They said they were walking back to the command from the galley when they came across this young sailor (an E-3, if memory serves) with an impressive rack of ribbons on his chest. They stopped said sailor to discuss the ribbons he had. This kid had the usual National Defense and Overseas Service Ribbon (this was at Naval Station Yokosuka, Japan in the early 90s). But he also had some rather questionable ones like the Purple Heart, Good Conduct Medal (could happen, but most likely not at that time), Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal, and the best..... The Medal of Honor!

So my friends asked this kid where he got such an impressive rack. His answer (you're not going to believe this)....

The Uniform Shop on base.

Really?????? o_O

They asked him if he knew that he had to earn all those ribbons he had on his uniform. They said that kid actually told them he didn't know that he had to earn them!

Yes... I know some Company Commander (aka Drill Instructor) felt a tremor in the Force and instantly flew off the handle over that answer.

But then I also had a kid report to his first training command in his dress blues wearing a garrison cap. When I asked him why he was wearing that and not his white hat, he said that his Company Commander told him he could. I wanted to send that kid back to boot camp to do it all over again!

Covers....

Wearing them where your not supposed to or not wearing them when you are.

Improperly wearing the cover.

Take the NWU cover, which is the 8 point cover like what the Marines wear. I can't tell you how many sailors I've seen with that cover pulled down near their ears so it fits like a ball cap. Sorry, but that's not how that cover is meant to be worn. And the white hat.... This isn't WW II, so cocking it to the side or wearing it on the back of your stupid head is just plain wrong.

The improper wearing of head gear makes me want to smack it off their head in Jethro Gibbs style, just as wearing a ball cap with the bill off to one side does.

Covers....

Wearing them where your not supposed to or not wearing them when you are.

SSG Christopher Adame, it's really hard for me to say. I served as a tactical officer at OCS for three years and as a detailed inspector general for four years. I could quote AR670-1 "ad nauseam" and could see uniform discrepancies from a great distance, much to the dismay of officer candidates! Any uniform transgression bothered me, but if I have to select one, I'll say "hands in pockets". While attending OCS, we sewed our pockets shut and to this day, I still don't put my hands in my pockets and generally try to keep them empty! Old habits die hard!

SSG Christopher Adame, my biggest pet peeve is bad breath and being up in my face. That why they make toothbrushes and tooth paste.

I'd have to say my biggest irk (see it with all ranks in the service) is the "PUD POUNDERS" that run for there car to hide from standing and showing honor to our flag at during Retreat everyday. When I was in and seen somebody do it I would confront them no matter what rank they held.

Lets add some more. How about when one is wearing a fleece top and their ACU top is longer than their fleece top? That's usually some soldier pushing the limits of AR 600-9 and looking like a damned Tele-Tubby. Or when you see pens/pencils poking out on the sleeve. Tips of the collar curled up. Tips of the cargo pocket flaps curled up. Or when the neck of one's t-shirt has migrated down inside their ACU top.

I guess I just have a lot of uniform pet peeves.