Army Men Must Hold The Umbrella

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - Male soldiers in the U.S. Army are not allowed to carry umbrellas when they are in uniform.

While the official regulation banning the tactical rain-diversion device - Army Regulation 670-1, paragraphs 26-28 - may seem silly, there's a good reason for it: Umbrellas might startle the horses.

Of course, critics would argue, so might a 60-ton Abrams tank.

The no-umbrella rule also applies to men in the Marines. Their female counterparts, and women in the Army, may hoist umbrellas - but only black ones. Women and men in the Air Force and Navy can use umbrellas, too.

Lt. Col William Harkey wishes the Army wasn't so darn strict.

He remembers one of those East Coast days when the wind-whipped rain was pounding. Harkey, clad in Army dress greens, had a choice when he walked out of the Pentagon: Wait out the storm or make a wild dash for his car at the far reaches of the massive parking lot.

He decided to attack.

By the time he reached his vehicle, his uniform felt like a wet sponge.

Harkey, an Army spokesman with 25 years of service, said he once asked an instructor about the origin of the regulation. The answer: Umbrellas startle the horses.

Today's Army doesn't rely too heavily on horses. But regulations die hard.

"It's just one of those things," said Harkey. "If the policy wasn't in the books, I would definitely carry an umbrella."

His wish could be granted this year. Officials of the Army and Marine Corps are thinking of scrapping the regulation.

Some soldiers don't seem to mind it though. "If we start carrying umbrellas, we might as well strap on purses," said tough-as-nails Sgt. Maj. Terrance McWilliams, a battalion commander at Fort Carson, Colo.