If I remember correctly, like a lot of manual changes, they cut and pasted without proofreading. The FOM formerly said something like "hat mandatory except when on the ramp." Then it said "optional except when on the ramp," which would mean it was mandatory on the ramp but optional everywhere else. Most of our FOM revisions came about because of a policy change that was cut and pasted from somewhere else without being actually read by someone above a third grade reading comprehension level. My theory was our manuals should be issued in yellow and revised in white. That way, by the time you were done, the manual would be all white instead of all yellow....