Description
Computer made/mounted on velcro 2.0 inch-50mm
MUSTACHE MARCH
Mustache March is an annual event occurring in March, where members in the United States Air Force grow mustaches to honor Air Force legend Robin Olds. As the name implies, it starts on 1 March and any participant who starts in the month of February is disqualified. The idea stems from an early Air Force tradition in which members of the USAF would grow mustaches in good-natured protest against facial hair regulations during the month of March. The act of growing a mustache as a gesture of defiance against dogmatic leadership is attributed to USAF triple-ace Robin Olds who grew an extravagantly waxed handlebar mustache which did not comply with USAF regulations.
Aside from being a triple ace, Robin Olds was known for the extravagantly waxed (and decidedly non-regulation) handlebar mustache he sported in Vietnam. It was a common superstition among airmen to grow a “bulletproof mustache”, but Olds also used his as “a gesture of defiance. The kids on base loved it. Most everybody grew a mustache.” Olds started the mustache in the wake of the success of Operation Bolo and let it grow beyond regulation length because “It became the middle finger I couldn’t raise in the PR photographs. The mustache became my silent last word in the verbal battles…with higher headquarters on rules, targets, and fighting the war.” Returning home, however, marked the end of this flamboyance. When he reported to his first interview with Air Force Chief of Staff General John P. McConnell, McConnell walked up to him, stuck a finger under his nose and said, “Take it off.” Olds replied, “Yes, sir.”
For his part, Olds was not upset with the order, recalling:
“To tell the truth, I wasn’t all that fond of the damned thing by then, but it had become a symbol for the men of the 8th Tactical Fighter Wing. I knew McConnell understood. During his visits to Ubon over the past year he had never referred to my breach of military standards, just seemed rather amused at the variety of ‘staches sported by many of the troops. (It) was the most direct order I had received in twenty-four years of service.”
The incident with the mustache is given credit as the impetus for a new Air Force tradition, “Mustache March”, in which aircrew, aircraft maintainers, space operators, cyber operators and other Airmen worldwide show solidarity by a symbolic, albeit good-natured “protest” for one month against Air Force facial hair regulations.