 London: Wear track pants instead of "intimidating" military fatigues. This is the message from London Olympic organisers to the over 18,000 troops who have been roped in by the government to secure the sporting extravaganza.
Organisers suggested the thousands of troops on duty to dress down because their regular uniforms were deemed "too intimidating", a senior military source was quoted as saying by The Sun.
Organisers made the request so personnel would appear less "aggressive".
"It`s essential that our people can recognise each other instantly if they are to provide security. Tracksuits are completely unsuitable - there isn`t a standard Army tracksuit anyway.
"They`re soldiers. They should be in uniform so the public know who they are and we`ve been very hard over that," the military source said.
Leaving the finger to be pointed at Whitehall officials, the London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games last night denied ever making a formal suggestion for troops to wear tracksuits.
Their discussion with the MoD centred solely on which uniform soldiers, sailors and airmen should wear, a spokeswoman insisted.
A London 2012 spokeswoman said, "Earlier in the year military uniform was discussed between LOCOG and the MoD - specifically whether troops would wear service dress or combat uniform while working at the Games."
A LOCOG spokesman had said what troops would wear was "still being worked through with the Ministry of Defence".
An MoD spokesman said, "A decision was made internally within the MoD that military personnel would wear uniform that is appropriate to task."
PTI
First Published: Wednesday, July 25, 2012, 17:09
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