New Dress Uniforms
Navy NewsStand is reporting that a few "lucky" Sailors are going to start wear-testing of the new dress uniforms; here's a picture:
Long-time readers will know that I'm quite curmudgeony when it comes to the new Navy uniform initiative, but I'll admit that I like the concept of the Service Dress Khaki -- and I'm not alone. Unfortunately, in all the pictures of the new uniform, everyone is wearing pisscutters. I'm sorry -- not to be too metro here, but pisscutters do not look good with a jacket. Come to think of it, they really don't look good in any situation. (The only halfway decent thing about them is that you could stick it in your belt and not lose it in situations where you had to carry your cover around.)As far as the new Service Dress Whites for E-6 and below -- I like that they've made it machine-washable, but the new piping on the cuffs and flap just doesn't look right. It's not bad, it's just not an improvement, and probably detracts from the overall look -- but it's still way better than the damned dress dungarees.
posted by Bubblehead at 10:32 PM
20 Comments:
Scene: CNO addressing SWOSCOLCOM staff and students, 1980.
Q (from Combat Systems instructor LCDR Twit): "How come we got rid of the service dress khaki uniform?"
A (from ADM Hayward): "Didn't happen on my watch. Next question."
9/25/2007 5:58 AM
So we're coming full circle back to the old WWII uniforms. What's next, Chiefs in dungarees with a khaki combination cover? (OBTW, Operation Petticoat was on TV this weekend)
9/25/2007 6:11 AM
Is this really a stunt to court closer naval relations with India? Afterall, the cap and jacket combination look suspiciously like Nehru's usual wardrobe. (Nehru was the first Prime Minister of Independent India, kinda like our George Washington).
9/25/2007 6:50 AM
I had the World War II reaction as well. One thing that might help this post is a picture of current uniforms, so we can see the difference. Might help those of us who weren't in the military or haven't seen the exact detail of current uniforms.
9/25/2007 7:08 AM
I like the Cracker Jacks. When we moved back to them in the early 80’s, I thought it was great. Women loved them and the hat was a lot cheaper to replace when it got traded for services rendered.
I like the dress khaki but I hate the idea of shoulder boards for Chiefs. That one thing would distinguish between a Chief and an O-Ganger when approaching from a distance and easier to spot for salutes. In an earlier post, Bubblehead wrote “It was already difficult enough to tell a CPO from a LCDR at a distance”. One answer to that is that the Chief is the good looking one!
That Damn Good Looking Aganger From Iowa
9/25/2007 10:09 AM
Interesting choice of models...unqualified LT and a decorated CDR...nice pick Team Diversity.
As far as the uniforms go, I say we toss whites and wear SDB's year round. By far the best uniform in the Navy's Arsenal...or perhaps we can stop wasting money researching uniforms (between this, the PT Gear, and the digital garbage, I've had enough) and build a few more of those sexy Virginia Class Submarines...
9/25/2007 7:00 PM
Boy, am I glad to be retired. No more of this chicken**** garbage of changing the uniforms. My sympathies to the active duty readers of this blog.
9/25/2007 9:24 PM
Cracker Jacks are indeed the best Navy uniform. Women loved them, in my experience. The whites, on the other hand, were bad - looked like pajamas. This should be an improvement.
On the Service Dress Khaki side, I'm undecided. I like reverting more to the WWII uniforms, cutting down on the number of uniforms, and eliminating seasonal changes.
9/26/2007 12:13 AM
I lived out of a pan locker and took home $240 a month. The idea of crisp white uniforms and the effort and the expense required to maintain them make me want to hit somebody.
Dress uniforms always look great. Walk through some machinery spaces and climb up through a few hatches, then see how they look.
9/26/2007 3:58 PM
It is almost like the Navy keeps people around just for such stupid shit. When I was in they had just changed to the fire feeding dungaree's and bus drivers uniform dress blues. At least the Army, whith the exception of the chinese berret's, makes changes based on performance in action. If you try to attend any ceremony in uniform after you get out of the Navy, it looks more like a "period costume" than a uniform.
9/27/2007 2:39 PM
I have no problem (as most don't appear to) with the appearance of the service dress khakis, my question though is thus (officer specific):
-we're keeping the current dress khakis (I think anyway)
-we're getting the great new digitized pattern working uniform
-we've got Service dress blues
-we've got whites
Unless the service dress khakis are to replace the current khakis, what are they for?
Which brings me to a larger point, just having finished an exchange tour with the RN, their officers have got:
-an 'office uniform' (black trousers, white short (long and short sleeve w/ or w/o tie)
-a seagoing uniform (navy blue trousers, light blue shirt)
And that's it. (They also wear the 'tropical whites' in warm climates. White shoes, knee high socks and shorts...always makes me think 'stand-by to be colonized.')
Does anyone not think that makes too much more sense? (I mean aside from the tropicals.)
9/28/2007 3:58 PM
Gawd awful! Glad I no longer have SECNAV as my fashion consultant.
Frank Morris AWC, USN(Ret)
Orange Park FL
10/02/2007 7:02 PM
Hey, I'm gonna be in that wear test. Little background on the selection of the models... E-mail flys out from the front office requesting volunteers to model the new togs with the tagline, "must look good in uniform." Well, up here in DC, there are more old farts manning a desk than svelt aviators, and the few four- stripers that look like Kevin Costner are either at the gym or way to busy in the office to fit it in. Needless to say, the photo dudes had to make do with what they could scrounge. Honestly, I don't think they did that bad a job with the material that they had to select from.
Oh, by the way, just because the LT isn't wearin' a warfare device doesn't mean she's not done her duty. There's quite a few 1100 designated officers that do a lot of good things here in DC and are being sent "over there" quite often on IA tours. There are 3 out of my office in Kuwait and Iraq right now -- and they don't wear warfighting pins.
E.P., ever gaze into a Brit Officer's closet? Frightening. Suffice to say, there's a lot more tradition packed in mothballs than you might routinely see on display.
10/04/2007 7:43 PM
Old Weps, I'd say the most frightening thing I've seen are the British Officer's (both Navy and Army)fascination with red trousers. Now that is truly shocking. So shocking in fact I thought it was a joke the first time I saw it.
10/11/2007 5:53 AM
Can civilians buy something like this "Service Dress Whites" uniform? (just for fun costume party, but I want it very authentic) If so, where is the best place to buy it?
bruce@brucewagner.com
5/22/2008 6:38 PM
I think maybe what I'm looking for is called an authentic "Crackerjack" uniform.
Any ideas where I could buy one?
bruce@brucewagner.com
5/22/2008 6:42 PM
Uniform dress are best for any industry and schools. They creates unity and there won't be any discrimination. I also remember my school uniform till now.
______________
Hulia
Sreevysh Corp
9/22/2008 12:13 AM
The only uniform that should have been changed or done away with was the service white, and y'all know why. The new service greys look like the Air Force and the mix match look like the USMC. I whole heartedly agree with the poster that the khakis belong to Cheifs. The pisscutter is fine with the service uniforms (besides, I always liked it on the females better than any other cover), but the dress uniform needs the combination cover. The shoulder boards need to be only for officers. The dungarees weren't only 'stylish' they were functional, I don't see the new BDUs being pulled off over your boots and inflated to help you float...Go figure.
10/17/2008 8:14 AM
Aloha...
I'm trying to find 1950's + or - a lil Navy white bells...
Do you have any resources you'd like to share?
MAHALO...RAJA
feastonthebeach@yahoo.com
7/23/2009 9:10 PM
I think they look super sharp.
10/29/2011 8:39 PM
Post a Comment
<< Home