Navy's Service Uniform
The Navy’s Service Uniform will now be available for purchase at the end of July. Of course, it will be a slow push and only certain areas will be able to purchase at first. At three month intervals, more areas will be able to purchase the new uniforms as they roll out in a new area, and the first place to purchase these new uniforms are Great Lakes, IL, and California.
Apparently there are both positive and negative thoughts to the new uniforms. The positive is that it will clear a locker full of white and blue uniforms with a single service uniform. The negative, the ability to distinguish the khaki community, and that a khaki uniform was to be earned rather than just given to. I have no real opinion on the uniform. Okay, from reading the post over again, I obviously have an opinion on the new uniforms. I do agree with both sides, but really to me it is just another uniform. I don’t plan on wearing the uniform until I am told to, and I won’t argue it.
I have put in orders to San Diego, and since that will be one of the first areas affected by the uniform switch, more than likely I will have to switch over when I get there, so long as the command enforces it. I will miss wearing my rating badge to identify what rate I hold, but now I won’t have to spend a lot of money to update my rank with the collar devices. What does suck though is all of the money I have already put into buying and updating the uniforms I already have. The allowance to purchase these uniforms are definitely not adequate enough to buy these. It won’t be until two years after the roll out that the Navy provides the necessary allowance to buy these things, so I will hold on to my whites and blues as long as necessary. All of my uniforms are up to date, so there is no sense right now to buy new ones.
The Navy has set July 2010 as the deadline date for all commands to have the new Service Uniforms issued to everyone. Japan will be the last area to have the uniforms to go into effect, but I will be long gone when that happens.
The next uniform to go will be the utility uniforms, or what were dungarees. The NWU, Navy Working Uniform, are Navy blue digital camouflage pants and shirt, and Navy blue undershirt. What I don’t like about these is the digital part. The normal style camouflage uniform worn by those in the Air Force look a lot better. I can understand the blue part because in the Navy, we are out to sea so the color makes sense. But the digital isn’t appealing. If anything, we’ll look more like the Army or Marine Corps, and I didn’t join to be, or look like them.
The Navy is still working on the dress uniform. The dress blue uniform has been the traditional uniform of the Navy for almost as long as the Navy has been around in the US. I just hope I am out of the Navy before all of the uniforms are different than what the traditional Navy has used for so long.
If I can say anything about the new uniforms that are rolling out, is that the Navy is losing its sense of tradition. The Navy was unique for its uniforms. Now we are falling into looking like everyone else, and being unique is what made the Navy what it was.
Without tradition, what will the Navy be about?
I’ve noticed a lot of viewers searching about the new uniforms and directed to my site. If you have any inputs, please let me know what you think, positive or negative.
I’ve seen the blue camoflage uniforms.
They don’t look bad on.
or at least,
these guys didn’t look bad at all
haha
:p
I’m a reservist and I purchased the new SU when on a 6 week deployment to San Diego. I like the uniform because they are so much easier than whites to maintain. The khaki is odd, and I agree that it detracts from the ‘khaki community’. The funny bit is being on Lackland AFB in TX, where the uniform isn’t issued yet (though I’m auth’d to wear it) and getting salutes from junior Airmen who see the 3rd class crow on my collar! I actually had a LT Colonel (O5) say ‘Good morning, Sir!’ to me. I am only 21- No way I could be a grizzled old O6 (Captain/Colonel)!
All in all, I prefer the ease of wear enough to spend out of pocket for them.
I agree with IS3, I’m stationed in Monterey, CA in CTI a-school. I bought this thing almost immediately, seeing a couple of the LPO’s wearing them around convinced me. I really hate the white uniforms, and wearing a tie in winter. The new uniform is damn squared away, easy to wear and maintain, and totally confuses the other services. We get confused with Marines from time to time, and there isn’t one of us who hasn’t been saluted (always, it seems, by junior airmen). I’ve been grilled by a lt and a cdr who were wondering just what the hell was going on, and they seemed irritated by the khaki shirt, but in the end, they concluded, ‘but we’re still the Khakis.’ There’s a lot of positive reactions to this uniform.
IS3, I have been called Sir plenty of times by those higher ranking than me, but at no point was I wearing the Khaki uniforms. Maybe you and Chairzombie haven’t been in long enough to really enjoy the traditional sense of the whites and blues, but the Khaki uniform was something to be earned, not just given.
I can agree that the uniforms are a whole lot easier to maintain but I enjoy walking in my whites or blues and people seeing my rating symbol on my left arm. As an IT, I carry the former Radioman symbol and I’ve had a few occasions where I would be stopped by someone and referred to me as Sparky because that was the nickname given to a Radioman.
Tradition is slowly losing itself in the Navy.
I like the Johnny Cash’s better. I juss wish they had the option of wearing ties.
I think the New Service Uniform great! Now when sailors are off duty, they can moonlight as Mall Cops! Or when a member of the confused public asks them what service their in, they can respond that their Marines! Believe me, nobody will know the difference!
I’m all for tradition, but how much of it do we really need? If, like me, you are required to wear the working blues/whites on a daily basis I think you would have a different opinion. We still have the dress blues and dress whites, which are what the general public thinks of when they think of US Sailors anyway. And those are great for special occasions or ceremonies. Why do we need two other “traditional” Navy uniforms for everyday wear in an office environment? The blues are obscenely uncomfortable- painfully tight in the crotch and causing terrible breakouts on the neck for a lot of guys. The whites require you to keep 5 or more sets if you wear them on a daily basis. I don’t think it’s too much to ask to compromise by keeping the tradition of the dress uniforms and yet allowing a good-looking, comfortable service uniform for those of us that have to wear them everyday.
I’m 110% behind all of the uniform changes!
Oh, and one other thing, for the Chiefs that are complaining about the khaki shirt: first of all, it’s just a shirt, not the full uniform. Second, I have seen way too many Chiefs that think the khaki uniform means a lot more than it does. IMO, there are a lot of Chiefs that need to be more worried about being a good leader and mentor rather than whether their uniform is enough of a status symbol. Get your priorities straight.
How much tradition do we need? How much tradition do we have left. The uniforms are all being changed around from how they were for the last century, everything is being considered hazing. We have almost no tradition anymore, and I mean real tradition that made the Navy great. When I crossed the equator, when it was over I asked myself, was that it? Sorry, I guess I haven’t spent much time behind a desk to wear my service and dress uniforms often. I guess it is a real chore for you to have a set cleaned a week, during the whites season anyways. And I think you are the first person to mention break outs due to the collar on the working blues. Is that really an epidemic? And guess what? Those pants that are painfully tight, both blue and white ones were tight, but those blue ones don’t go away with the new service uniform. Enjoy the tightness!
I can agree that the Khakis have their priorities pretty messed up when it comes to what the younger guys really want. But those who’s jobs are specific in this, they could have chosen a different color for the top. The blue one’s were not really that bad.
i do not like the new uniform.the fit just brings up bad/unfavorable comments from guys.it is not very comfortable hearing what guys have to say to you or behind your back when you’re wearing the uniform all day at work.
I don’t like the new service uniform. I’m proud to be a corpsman, and i like wearing my patch. In addition to that we look to much like marines, I’m a Sailor and thats what I want to look like. Subordinates work hard to earn khakis, and to wear them is an honor and a privilege. I feel it takes away from the value. These new and young Sailors think its entertaining that they get saluted and greeted as officers, you are enlisted you should be proud of it. Be proud to correct someone and tell them you are enlisted.
URR! STAY MOTIVATED
I am a retired E-6 and not because I couldn’t qualify for the higher rank of E-7 or above. The reason is that I took the Exam 10 times and scored in the top 5 % each and every time. There was NO openings. I do believe that the new uniform will surely out last any summer white uniform. Therefore, it will be much more cost effective. Plus, allow easier stowage aboard ship. Chiefs, this is only a shirt. You still wear Khaki pants but, remember we all put our pants on the same way.
I love BDU’s, but these digitals give me a headache. They’re idiotic too. You’re on board a ship or on a shore station. The vast majority of sailors are NOT hand-to-hand soldiers. Who are you going to hide from?! And if you are in a special combat unit, you’re going to be wearing anything OTHER than blue digitals. You’re probably going to wear whatever the Marines are wearing. So what’s the use of giving these blue digitals to sailors? Just make it harder to find them if they fall overboard because otherwise this camoflage pattern will never come into play. So it’s more of a fashion statement, I think, by a bunch of officers and their yes-men to look more “army-like”. Ugh.
BDU’s? Love them. But come up with something different than these digitals.
I love the idea behind the working uniform. Much easier to take care of. But I’d rather we kept the rank on the sleeve along with the rate insignia. Hey, I had to work to earn that thing. I want to wear it.
How much money does the military spend on new uniforms being made all the time?
Seriously, I loved having my Machinists Mate Insignia on my sleeves. It was the one thing that distinguished us from the other services, I could tell exactly who you were, how long you’ve been in, whether you’ve behaved yourself or to captains mast in the last 12 years, if you’ve been to sea, across the equator – engineering is different from deck division – and now – well – rubber stamp everyone and throw them out. The whites were nice in the summer, the broadfall trousers (AKA bellbottoms) were pretty easy to maintain and were comfortable in all the very hot tropical/desert climates I was stationed in but I didn’t really like the Johnny Cash’s with the Luftwaffe garrisson cap – though I thought the dixie cup was better.
I don’t *really* mind the khaki working uniforms though in terms of being earned and the junior ranks not earning them. During my enlisted years I saw so many chiefs who looked like idiots in their khakis with their hats all scrunched up, either too large or too small….I don’t know….it just seemed like the chiefs went to pot when they got their khakis so many times. But at the same time, there’s a LOT of tradition there…..gone….
I haven’t seen what the rating insignia will be for E-2/E-3 though. Will they be colored for Airman/Constructionman/Fireman/Seaman still on the sleeve? Or just no insignia worn?
What’s up with the BDU’s now too? Are you gong to wear that on land as well for security details? I mean, who needs to be camoflaged out at sea? And how are you going to take cover (having had to take cover personally a few times) when you’re blue and everything else is green/tan? (love military intelligence).
Seriously though – that’s a lot of tradition lost.
Now I find suddenly I have a bunch of antiques hanging in my closet – maybe I can “grant” them to a naval museum (I never could just bag them up). Or, will this just be the “fall collection” and we’ll wait for the new “spring catalog collection” to come out next year while summer fashions are being announced by the CNO who keeps us in the latest fashions?
I wonder if these will go the way of the Salt N Peppers or Zumwalt uniforms….
(I’ve been out for 11 years and am now in an officer program becoming a naval medical officer – so this was a surprise to me).
I served in 1965 until 1970. I was proud to wear the “Cracker Jack” uniform and always thought it was unique. It wasn’t long after I got out that the Navy launched one of it’s uniform changes. They designed a Class A uniform which made the enlisted man look like a ticket taker at Disneyland.
Now, I see that some pencil heads are trying to turn the Navy into the “Chair Force”. Isn’t there some kind of test that can be administered to keep the wannabes out of the Navy?
I always thought the dungaree (or prison) uniform should have been trashed for BDUs but the 1930′s hitler youth brown shirt uniform c’mon
I like these new uniforms, I wish they had been thought of back when I was in. To anyone whining about E6-below wearing khakis, there’s no mistaking these “peanut butter cups” for anything other than E6 and below. Without even knowing rank, anyone can see from miles away that these aren’t chiefs or officers. That distinction remains 100% crystal-clear and intact, so what else is there to fuss about?
And one more thing, since we’re on the subject of uniforms:
Crackerjacks.
Worst. Uniform. EVER.