ÿþ<HTML> <HEAD> <TITLE> Mustache March </TITLE> <body bgcolor=black lang=EN-US link=blue vlink=blue style='tab-interval:.4in'> </HEAD> <BODY> <FONT COLOR="#A6A6A6"><h1><center>"Bullet Proof" Mustache</center></h1></FONT> <FONT FACE="Times New Roman" SIZE="+1" COLOR="#A6A6A6"> <img width=250 height=293 src="images/Robin_olds.jpg" align=right hspace=13 style='margin-left:-1px; margin-right:1px;margin-top:5px;margin-bottom:8px' alt="pedro.jpg"> Mustache March comes from the legendary fighter pilot retired Brigadier General Robin Olds and his "bullet proof" mustache. <br><br> Here's a little wiki history:<br><br> "Olds was known for the extravagantly waxed (and decidedly non-regulation) handlebar mustache he sported in Vietnam. It was a common superstition among airmen to grow a "bulletproof mustache", but Olds also used his as a mark of his individuality. <br><br> Said Olds:<br><br> "Generals visiting Vietnam would kind of laugh at the mustache. I was far away from home. It was a gesture of defiance. The kids on base loved it. Most everybody grew a mustache."<br><br> Returning home, however, he discovered not everyone was fond of his flamboyance. When he reported to his first interview with Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. John P. McConnell (a former Strategic Air Command planner and commander), McConnell walked up to him, stuck a finger under his nose and said, "Take it off." Olds replied, "Yes, sir."<br><br> The incident with the mustache is given credit as the impetus for a new Air Force tradition, "Mustache March", in which pilots world-wide show solidarity by a symbolic, albeit good-natured "protest" for one month against Air Force facial hair regulations." <br><br> <p class=MsoNormal align=center style='margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; text-align:center;line-height:normal;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace: none'><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"; color:#A6A6A6;mso-themecolor:background1;mso-themeshade:166'> <a href="http://www.mustache-march.org/">Home Page</a><span style='mso-tab-count: 2'>           </span> <a href="http://www.mustache-march.org/history">History</a><span style='mso-tab-count: 2'>           </span> <a href="http://www.mustache-march.org/photos">Gallery</a><span style='mso-tab-count:1'>         </span><a href="http://www.mustache-march.org/rules">Rules</a><span style='mso-tab-count: 2'>          </span><a href="http://www.mustache-march.org/categories">Categories</a><span style='mso-tab-count:2'>            </span><a href="http://www.mustache-march.org/faq">FAQ</a><span style='mso-tab-count: 1'>  </span><span style='mso-tab-count:1'>          </span><a href="http://shame.mustache-march.org/">Wall of Shame</a><span style='mso-tab-count:2'>               </span><a href="mailto:admin@mustache-march.org?subject=Mustache%20March%20Photo">Submit your photos</a><o:p></o:p></span></p> </FONT> </BODY> </HTML>