Keeping your hands in your pockets is a big no-no in the Army.
AR 670-1 (3 Feb. 05), 1-9, a(3), says, “While in uniform, personnel will not place their hands in their pockets, except momentarily to place or retrieve objects.”
However, PNN (Private News Network –the great distributor of consistently incorrect information) reports that you are allowed to put your hands in your Winter PT jacket pockets. “Why would they put them there?” is the common refrain.
Obviously it is to hold your cell phone to call Soldiers who are late to morning accountability formation. “Soldiers must project a military image that leaves no doubt that they live by a common military standard and are responsible to military order and discipline,” AR 670-1 says.
Having looked for an exception to policy (none found), and remembering the IPFU is the Improved Physical Fitness UNIFORM, the guidance in 670-1 about not leaving hands in pockets is clear and not the standard. In other words, remember to make on-the-spot corrections with tact when you see Soldiers with their hands in their Winter PT Jacket pockets.
