Why is Robert Montgomery wearing an A-2

Maybe he won it in a poker game?

That bothered me to but I wrote it off as Hollywood, even though John Ford and Robert Montgomery were Naval officers and knew better.

I just watched this again. Several other navy people (those who were evacuated to Australia) also wear A-2 jackets. And the admiral wears a civilian sweater with his uniform in one scene. I guess the uniform police were off duty. Either that or mix and match was tolerated.

Sorry, to Add this reply but if anyone can help,IDE appreciate it greatly! There was a scene in the movie where the duke and donna feed danced in the dark, the music was very stirring and. Beautiful, would anyone know what it's called and where I could get a recording of it?

Officers up to and including WW II seem to have had a great deal of latitude in what they could wear. Look at photos of General George Patton wearing riding pants, boots, and carrying pearl-handled revolvers. Even when I was in the army 45 years ago, I would occasionally come across American officers wearing reproduction 19th-century cavalry hats. All gone now, I think. It still amuses me that on my first day at my new post in Germany I saluted what I thought was a German officer only to discover that it was our local postman. (He did have a very spiffy uniform, much nicer than our old green dress uniforms; the new blue ones harking back to the Civil War are much more attractive. Thinking back to all the strange decorative objects and medal ribbons I wore, and continue to see today on serving officers--I call it Medal Creep--well, I've always suspected that there are some very odd people living in the basement of the Pentagon obsessed with wardrobe.)