When in the squad selection screen, so when you see your friend who's just like you, you just know, you get that tingly feeling of: I look just as cool as that guy over there.... *sigh*

But as I remember, it was impossible.

"Munchkin: One who, on being told that this is a game about politics and intrigue in 17th century Italy, asks to play a ninja."
— Andrew Rilstone

Customisable appearance was a feature of BF Vietnam, but it was dropped from BF2 and BF2142 – presumably because not many players actually gave a damn. You can't see yourself in most FPSs, so how it helps with "immersion" is beyond me, but hey, whatever floats your boat!

All I needed to know in vanilla was that the orange guys were EU and the black (white in NS) were PAC, then I tried to shoot the appropriately coloured target. I played all the kits with heavy armour, because it made more sense to me to be able to stay alive rather than be able to sprint further. Looks absolutely did not come into it for me, but if you could see me, you'd know that's true in real life, too!

In the meantime, you'll just have to look around at the other players to try and figure out what you look like. Remember also that in First Strike the same faction kit has a different appearance on different maps.

Or you could just try the different kits and see which ones you like playing regardless of appearance. I like playing support, even though it makes my bum look big!

Mmm... vanilla!