Caveat Imperator

The military cracks down on the dress code. Now, I'm not about to second guess what it takes to command troops, because frankly it's not my area of expertise.

I will say however, that this reminds me of an executive I used to work for at a large company (boss's boss's boss's boss kind of executive). He issued a dress code that called for business-like apparel: button up shirts, dress shoes, and (most disappointing to this then 23 yr-old) skirts of modest length (below the knees only). Some months after the memo came about we were audited by the government. The company's performance on this audit was bad enough to have business ramifications. And those were severe enough to call for the head of a big boy. The executive was relieved of his position and escorted off site (they do that at big companies to make sure you don't steal anything on the way out). The general consensus was if he had focused on more important issues he might still have a job. Said consensus wasn't terribly sorry to see him go.

Again, it's not my place to opine on what the military brass decides to do. Just pointing out that a lot of soldiers are losing faith that command knows what's important.