I heard something about starching or bleaching (bleaching sounds like bad results to me..) the ACU's in order to make them look really sharp. What does this do? Also, can ACU's be ironed? My Company Commander says we are Infantry, we can be kind of rag-taggish... but for me, appearance is a big thing I take pride in. Thanks and sorry for the dumb questions. Oh and any advice on blousing the pants so I won't have to push them down everytime I stand up?

Infantry "rag-taggish?" Years ago, Infantrymen were expected to be the Army's very sharpest troops -- lots of starch, Brasso, & Kiwi. Gettin' old ain't for wimps!

quote:

Originally posted by 13433578:
Infantry "rag-taggish?" Years ago, Infantrymen were expected to be the Army's very sharpest troops -- lots of starch, Brasso, & Kiwi. Gettin' old ain't for wimps!

i agree and i want to look real sharp. can you answer my Q's though if you know the answer? what does starch do to ACU's and can they be ironed? Thanks

The Infantry soldier should, and usually does look sharper than most other soldiers. In any case, When my unit got our ACUs we were told not to iron them, or starch them because it would ruin them. Don't know if that true or not. As for boot blousing, just tie them off so that the draw strings are sitting ontop of the bootleg, or use blousing cords so that the ACU pant leg is bloused no more than two eyelets from the top of the boot.

quote:

Originally posted by 13433578:
Infantry "rag-taggish?" Years ago, Infantrymen were expected to be the Army's very sharpest troops -- lots of starch, Brasso, & Kiwi. Gettin' old ain't for wimps!

With all due respect disregard this post as it has to do with BDUs and not ACUs.

Do not use starch, bleach or iron your ACUs, and do not use kiwi on your boots.

I don't know if you can starch them, but ironing hasn't harmed my ACUs any. I only give them a light ironing to get rid of the rumpled look, but it seems to work just fine.

Ironing, starching, creasing or any other attempt at looking like a recruiting poster is unuthorized. The ALARACT messages are out there telling you to wash (With detergents that dont contain Optical Brightners) and wear. If you wash the ACU and hang it up thats all you need to do, the days of spitshine boots and breaking starch are over. You will still find some troops and leaders that cant let go and that will cause issues that wil be addressed.

Thanks everyone. Advice is appreciated. I always tucked my pants into my boots but I will try tying them off. I won't iron or starch, just hang up ASAP after drying.

I have to iron my collar to make the stupid thing lay down, even that hardly makes a difference. One set I've given up on and safety pinned the freakin thing into place. I also do the pockets of my pants if they're particularly twisted. A few of the officers I see I would find it VERY difficult to believe their stuff wasn't ironed.

If the material doesn't want to play by the rules, I'll burn it into submission.

quote:

Originally posted by sheiks_2000:
I have to iron my collar to make the stupid thing lay down

I hate that.

If you take the ACU's out of the washer while they are still wet ou can shape them so that they dry the way you want. Sometimes they look like they were ironed or starched, it depends on how hard your water is.

Also another trick, before you go to bed at night lay your ACUs flat underneath your mattress. This helps to flatten out the wrinkles somewhat. Oh, and make sure your uniform is dry when you do this.

yes the lay them under the matress helps alot! i tried it before i would sugguest it and i had heard about the starch but never gave it a shot

There is a good reason why not to iron or starch...the digital pattern is SUPPOSED to be distorted. Ironing and starching make all your lovely little digital square line up nicely, defeating the purpose. Though I know of a couple of recruiters who still iron and starch before they go before their Top...it's not quite as important to avoid the whole iron/starch bit if you are not in a combat arms MOS or in the field.

Ironing lines up the digital squares? I dont know about that.

Hope this clears things up a bit.

4. THE ACU CARE POLICY.

THE FOLLOWING INSTRUCTIONS MUST BE FOLLOWED WHEN CARING FOR THE ACU IN ORDER TO MAXIMIZE THE SERVICE LIFE AND MAINTAIN OPTIMUM PERFORMANCE:

SOLDIERS WILL NOT STARCH THE ARMY COMBAT UNIFORM UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES. THE USE OF STARCH, SIZING, AND ANY PROCESS THAT INVOLVES DRY-CLEANING OR A STEAM PRESS WILL ADVERSELY AFFECT THE TREATMENTS AND DURABILITY OF THE UNIFORM AND IS NOT AUTHORIZED.

WASH IN COLD WATER AND MILD DETERGENT CONTAINING NO OPTICAL BRIGHTENERS OR BLEACH. TUMBLE DRY AT LOW HEAT (NOT TO EXCEED 130 DEGREES FARENHEIT). REMOVE IMMEDIATELY FROM THE DRYER AND FOLD FLAT OR PLACE ON A RUSTPROOF HANGER TO ENSURE HEAT FROM THE DRYER DOES NOT SET WRINKLES. TO DRIP DRY, REMOVE FROM THE WASHER/WATER AND PLACE ON A RUSTPROOF HANGER. DO NOT WRING OR TWIST.

So I guess you can't wear them in summer in Southern Iraq since tempretures exceed 130 regularly.

One thing I had done was have extra velcro sewn onto the uniform to keep the right hand lapel from rolling up. It was a cheap mod and it looks 1000% better.

Why can't I find a site that sells the blousing cords? Maybe I'll check an Army surplus store tonight.

They usually sell them at clothing and sales on post. Since you are in the Guard I'm sure it would be less convenient for you to find a clothing and sales store, but if you can, thats your best bet.