Army Strong, but Not on Spelling

Usually, a misspelling on a clothing label is a dead giveaway that the item is a fake. But when the name brand is the U.S. Government's largest bureaucracy, the mistake might actually confirm the garment's authenticity.

Politico reported earlier this year on grumbling over a deal the U.S. Army did to put licensed Army 1st Infantry Division insigniawear in Sears stores. Well, the gear is in, just in time for Christmas. But there's a glitch.

Here's the label on the hooded Army sweatshirts in a Virginia Sears store:















Yeah, you read it right.
"MADE UNDER THE EICEN SE OF THE UNITED STATES ARMY."

At a time when the Army is sensitive about increasing its reliance on high school dropouts, sending spelling errors from coast to coast is probably not the kind of holiday-season public relations message Army leaders were banking on when they signed the unusual clothing deal.

Of course, the garments are made in China. Again, not a strong P-R point, but perhaps an economic reality these days. The China sourcing might get the Army folks off the hook to a degree, except for this quote in David Rogers's Politico dispatch a few months back:

"Robyn Kures, a Los Angeles-based spokeswoman for the fashion launch, said 'every tag, label, design and final product sample must be approved by the Army before it is sold.'"

Oops.