The well-intentioned motivation for this seems clear in the wake of the Frankfurt Airport shooting. But would it have made a difference there? They were on a military bus. Maybe we’re painting them over in Day Glo paints and attaching Grateful Dead stickers, so as not to drawn attention to ourselves in Europe?

Some insist they can spot our soldiers anyway. On the other hand, it sounds prudent enough. What’s your take?


US troops in Germany have been banned from wearing their military uniforms in public in the wake of the Frankfurt Airport shooting that left two American airmen dead and two seriously injured.

US military newspaper Stars and Stripes reported on Thursday that troops in Europe had been ordered “to the maximum extent possible” to refrain from wearing their uniforms off-base, even during daily commutes, in a bid to make them less conspicuous to would-be attackers.

“The directive specifically forbids the wear of uniforms for travel between duty and domicile, short convenience stops, conduct of physical fitness, travel between installations, and off-post messing,” the US European Command (EUCOM) has told personnel, according to the paper.