News From the Cause
Tailor-made suit program helps ease troops’ transition from uniform: (WASHINGTON POST)
August 16, 2011
There’s an old saying I just made up that goes, “You can take the soldier out of the military, but you can’t take the military out of the soldier.”
It sprang to mind one morning last week as I watched Marine Corps Master Sgt. Brion Thomas try on shoes at the Allen Edmonds store in downtown D.C. He’d sampled various dress shoes before store manager Freia Boeckelmentioned that she’d have a new model in stock next month: a boot called the Dalton. In the catalogue, it looked like a combat boot mated with a brown wingtip. Perfect, said MSgt. Thomas.
“It might be that I’ve spent my entire adult life in boots,” explained the 20-year Marine Corps vet. “I just like the way they feel. You don’t have to worry about your trouser leg hanging up on the back of your shoe. And if you say you’re going to put your boot in someone’s backside, you’re not just talking malarkey.”
The Dalton it was.
Not far away, Capt. David Peters tried on a pair of black monk strap shoes. They seemed an appropriate choice: For the past seven years he’s been an Army chaplain.
The two were getting fitted for a free civilian outfit: a pair of shoes courtesy of Allen Edmonds and a custom-made suit courtesy of Hunter & Lords. Master Sgt. Thomas expects to retire in a year and move with wife Alison from Quantico to San Diego. Capt. Peters has just transitioned from active duty Army to the reserves. Both were curious about what it would be like to hang up the uniform.
“I’ve been fortunate that somebody has dressed me for the last 20 years,” said Master Sgt. Thomas. “Join the Marines, and they tell you what to wear.” Click here to view more
