Your reflector belt humor of the day

For those of you who are new, let me fill you in on a little running gag I have here on this site. In the military (and not just the US military--apparently everyone in NATO, plus even neutral countries) everyone must wear a reflector belt after dark in combat zones to avoid being hit by the enemy.

This asinine policy has spurred considerable parody, causing even the most reputable journalists and bloggers to join in. It's also inspired a page on Facebook, filled with hilarious reflector belt pictures, which I have dutifully posted for you below.

Our first picture involves something that has actually happened to many an aviator when, after pre-flighting the aircraft in the morning darkness (thus making wear of the reflector belt mandatory), he or she dons body armor and flight gear, completely oblivious to the fact that they are still wearing a reflector belt. Hilarity ensues...

The next few pictures represent the ultimate in aviation safety. While we were in Iraq, our OH-58D Kiowa Warrior squadron was quite stumped one week when asked to come up with their weekly "best practice"--a fun contest designed to spur innovation among units. With no other ideas seeming worthy of the award, they jokingly submitted a picture of an OH-58D wrapped in reflector belts as their weekly "best practice". Quite impressive. More impressive still was getting enough reflector belts to wrap around this Chinook helicopter.

Vwoom, vwoom...Luke, I am your father!

Force XXI concept Soldier gear with chameloid technology for camouflage. Yet, something is amiss...

I haz a reflector belt.