Have you tried making the pockets with the seams turned in? I did that on a vest and it cut down on bulk. The fabric lays smooth now and no stitches to pick out.

Wait, a missing bolt spec can really stop a whole crew?

Seriously, what a shame. I was just reading about how they kept the graffiti in that old brewery basement from the same time period, because it showed the actual names and thoughts of the men stationed there. @jessica_baker is right that pictures help, but it’s not the same as being able to stand in front of the real thing and feel that link. Once they clean it, that connection is just gone forever. It turns a place with a story into just another empty building.

In my suburb, fixes spread quietly like that, no meetings.

Yeah, when they're "without a clue," I just change the SUBJECT fast.