US Navy to Test New Uniforms

[ccheese]

Navy to Test New Uniforms

Navy News | September 26, 2007

WASHINGTON -- Selected officers and Sailors will begin limited wear
testing of new uniform prototypes, service dress khaki for chiefs and
officers and service dress blue and white for E-6 and below, late this fall or
early winter.

"The service dress khaki uniform is in a traditional style, last worn during
the Vietnam era," said Robert Carroll, Head, Uniform Matters Office. The
uniform allows for chiefs and officers to shift from service khaki to service
dress khaki by adding a black tie and jacket.

The E6 and below service uniforms, which still look much like the
"Crackerjack" of today, will feature hidden zippers for ease of dressing
and new piping for service dress white. The fabric is polyester, which
allows for improved ventilation and can be washed with no dry-cleaning
necessary. The service dress blue will be for men only, he explained.

Uniform testing is expected to run for 90 to 120 days. The selected officers
and Sailors will evaluate the uniforms' functionality, appearance and
acceptability and provide their feedback to the Navy Uniform Matters
Office, according to Carroll.

Testing of the dress khaki and service blues and whites will be in Norfolk,
Va., Washington, D.C., Millington, Tenn., and Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. An
overseas testing site may be added later according to Carroll. The service
dress whites will have limited wear tests in Key West, Fla., and Pearl
Harbor. About 225 officers and Sailors are expected to take part in the
wear tests.

Carroll also said delivery of a single Navy working uniform for wear by all
Sailors E-1 to O-10, and a year round service uniform for all Sailors E-6
and below is on track to get to the Fleet in summer 2008. The new Navy
PT uniform is on track for spring 2008.

Charles

 

[Wildcat]

Coincidently the Royal Australian Navy is also about to bring in new uniforms for its personnel as well.

 

[lesofprimus]

God I hated all those damn buttons on service dress blues..... God help u if u really gotta piss...

 

[pbfoot]

I bet those buttons are a tough proposition for a sailor

 

[Nonskimmer]

You bet. We much prefer zippers, snaps, or velcro. Simplicity is the key, especially when ya gotta go.

 

[FLYBOYJ]

Those buttons sucked - but the ladies sure liked those "Cracker Jacks."

 

[ccheese]

I could never get used to just tucking your wallet over the waistband
if your trousers. Yea.... I know I did it for 21 years.... but I never got
use to it !

Charles

 

[Nonskimmer]

I only travel with the 'ole military ID, driver's licence, and a bank card, when I wear the good bib and tuck (and we actually have pockets in ours. ). Occasionally maybe a few bills, but no great wads of cash. No siree.

 

[mkloby]

Those buttons sucked - but the ladies sure liked those "Cracker Jacks."

Only as long as there are no Marines in blues around

 

[lesofprimus]

Yea, cause they come up, beat the woman around the head and neck area, and then drag away our prospective dipping pots...

 

[mkloby]

Yea, cause they come up, beat the woman around the head and neck area, and then drag away our prospective dipping pots...

I have navy friends that are absolutely convinced that Marines all beat their wives.

I thought that E-7 and up and officer khakis were the equivalent of the E-6 and below dungarees???

 

[DOUGRD]

:
I thought that E-7 and up and officer khakis were the equivalent of the E-6 and below dungarees???

Yes and No mk. The dungarees are a working uniform only and not allowed off base (unless that's been changed again like in the early '70's) The Chiefs and Officers khakis are also a "liberty uniform". I have a story about the old Crackerjacks. I was on a train going to Philly with a friend of mine for New Years Eve 1971. Like all good sailors we were in our dress blues and looking for the Bar Car. We found it and by chance joined a group of fellow servicemen which included a Marine Gunny Sgt, two E-2 marines sitting across from him and hanging on every word he uttered, one Army Cpl, one Air Force E-3, a Coast Guard E-4 and we two Navy E-4's. Now the Gunny was quite well on his way to being "Hammered" and pretty much letting everyone else know what he thought about their branch of service. So when he paused to take another swig of his beer I jumped up and said"Gunny, I don't care how these other guys feel about the Marine Corps but I like Marines. Matter of fact if it weren't for the Marines we sailors wouldn't have a name for part of this here uniform." The Gunny looked up at me and said "what part are you f--king talking about?" (This was just too easy) I stood there, grabbed the two upper corners of my dress blue trouser flap and pulled them down. The flap came undone and stood out horizontally and I said "Look Gunny, a Marine chow tray!" He sat there for a moment stunned and the two young Marines just stared at him. He finally told me to go f--k myself and that was the last thing he said for the rest of the trip. Me? I didn't have to buy a beer for the entire journey as I was supplied by the Army, Air Force and Coast Guard.

 

[mkloby]

Nice story Good old inter-service rivalry

 

[lesofprimus]

Below E-7, dungarees are allowed off base, a trend that was restarted around 95-96 at certain commands.... Think its all-Navy policy now to allow them to and from base duty...

Several of us went and had velcro strips sewed into our dress blues and the buttons sewed onthe front side of the flap.... Easy access to the gear, so to speak....

Good story Senior, always like bustin the Jarheads' humps... I remember this time we rolled three loud mouthed drunken Jarheads just outside the castle in Naples, Italy.... I distinctly remember the look in thier eyes when it was revealed who we were... They looked at each other with this look on thier faces, totally priceless....

 

[mkloby]

Below E-7, dungarees are allowed off base, a trend that was restarted around 95-96 at certain commands.... Think its all-Navy policy now to allow them to and from base duty...

Several of us went and had velcro strips sewed into our dress blues and the buttons sewed onthe front side of the flap.... Easy access to the gear, so to speak....

Good story Senior, always like bustin the Jarheads' humps... I remember this time we rolled three loud mouthed drunken Jarheads just outside the castle in Naples, Italy.... I distinctly remember the look in thier eyes when it was revealed who we were... They looked at each other with this look on thier faces, totally priceless....

Oh les and his "I whupped this jarhead's a** stories"

 

[lesofprimus]

Hehe...

 

[DOUGRD]

Below E-7, dungarees are allowed off base, a trend that was restarted around 95-96 at certain commands.... Think its all-Navy policy now to allow them to and from base duty

Well time for another story. During the early '70's Admiral Zumwalt who was the CNO, started to slack up on some uniform regulations in his famous "Z-Grams" At the time we E-6 and below types hated the "issue" dungaree pants and so bought the "Seafarer" brand from the Navy Exchange which were tapered down to the knees and looked much cooler than the issue dungs. There was a big flap Navy wide about if we could wear "Seafarers" off base since they weren't "Navy Issue" and bell bottoms were in style at the time. Word came down that we could IF they weren't stencilled with our name above the rear right pocket as was policy. Our shop chief, who was a really decent type, always checked to see if our dungs were stencilled when we reported to work and that they weren't if we were in "civies". Soooo one day I come into the shop to get my paycheck. I had on a "T" shirt and bell bottoms (Seafarers). The chief noticed there was a white stencil above the rear pocket. He blows a gasket and calls me over to where he's sitting and asks me why I'm wearing a pair of stencilled dungs with civilian clothes? I laughed and asked him to read the stencil. It said "For Civilian Use Only"

 

[mkloby]

Good story. Sounds like a really awesome chief you had.

 

[ccheese]

Zumwalt was the reason I retired. He took the Navy away from the chiefs
and gave it to the junior officers. Him and his Z-grams.....

Charles

 

[DOUGRD]

Good story. Sounds like a really awesome chief you had.

You're right, he was a good chief. Luckily his twisted sense of humor matched mine. Fortunately he transferred in at the right moment. Our previous shop chief had just committed suicide two weeks prior. Morale was in the sewer and no one wanted to be there. A tough spot for a new shop supervisor to walk into. I wouldn't want to have done it. He was one of several chiefs and officers I learned my leadership skills from over the years. I think I was a better Senior Chief because of the lessons I learned from them.