Is it advisory or now a regulation? It's just that as I said earlier for the past few years until quite recently I did sometimes see soldiers in combat uniform and kit bags at stations and on trains presumably to or from their base.
I really hope he's found alive and well.
On a related note, it's a very sad state of affairs when servicemen and women in this country are advised not to wear uniforms in public. In the past when I've seen them wearing their kit (usually on trains) I've often noticed people (and I've done it...