Airmen at Nellis Air Force Base are out of luck for now. The head of Air Combat Command, Gen. Kenneth Wilsbach, denied a request from the commander of the 99th Air Base Wing to let troops at the base wear boonie hats during the hotter months of the year.
When Col. Joshua DeMotts, head of the 99th Air Base Wing based out of Nellis Air Force Base, wrote to Wilsbach requesting permission to let airmen have the option to wear Operational Camouflage Pattern boonie hats instead of the regular caps they currently wear. Demotts’ letter notes the need for better protection from the heat between April 1-Nov. 1.
“Due to the extreme heat at Nellis AFB that tops 120 degrees during the summer, it is imperative to adjust aspects of the uniform to ensure appropriate protection is afforded to our airmen performing their duties,” DeMotts wrote in the July memo to Air Combat Command. “The boonie hat will allow the relief of excess body heat and protection for the neck and face from the intense summer sun.”
The memo and Wilsbach’s denial was posted online by the Air Force amn/nco/snco Facebook page earlier this week. Nellis, located in Las Vegas, Nevada, has to deal with oppressive, but dry heat. This past week temperatures regularly broke 100 degrees Fahrenheit. The week ahead sees similar forecasts.
Wilsbach, however, said no.
“I […] disapprove the wear of the boonie hat at Nellis AFB from 1 Apr – 1 Nov,” Wilsbach wrote in response.
Boonie hats — the wide-brimmed floppy hats technically called sun hats — are great and effective at providing more shade and cover for service members’ ears, neck and face than ball caps. However the military has strict rules for when troops are allowed to wear the hats. For the Air Force, regulations dictate that airmen can wear boonie hats while deployed or when authorized by a command. For the 99th Air Base Wing and approximately 20% of the Air Force, that’s Air Combat Command.
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It’s not clear why Wilsbach denied DeMotts’ specific request, given the succinct response. However, Wilsbach has proven to be a stickler for certain dress and appearance rules. In June he announced a ‘back to basics’ on several aspects tied to troops’ appearance. His memo outlined plans for uniform inspections and a review of shaving waivers issued to troops for religious or medical reasons.
While the 99th Air Base Wing is unable to wear boonie hats, other commands in the military have been more approving. In recent months, the head of the 1st Armored Division and commander of Fort Bliss, located in Texas which is also experiencing extreme heat, approved letting soldiers wear the floppy headgear.
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