Singing the blues: ASU letters - Army Community - Army Discussions - Army Times

Singing the blues: ASU letters

Third World dictator. Mall security guard. Nutcracker doll.

Readers have responded passionately — and critically — to the new Army Service Uniform.

The critics may represent a vocal minority. But in dozens of letters to Army Times and message board postings on ArmyTimes.com, soldiers and veterans blasted the new dress blues.

The new uniform goes on sale in clothing stores next summer and will replace the green service uniform, which has a 2014 wear-out date.

The Army says uniform surveys of soldiers helped guide the changes to the new Class A’s and B’s, and that a consensus among soldiers indicates the new ASU is the right uniform.

“The new blue Army Service Uniform reflects the input of hundreds of thousands of soldiers and leaders from all Army components who have told the Army for the last two years what they want and expect in the ASU,” Lt. Col. Lee Packnett, a spokesman in the Army’s media relations division, said in a statement. “Soldiers want a uniform that reflects their pride of service, service traditions, and functionality.

“The wear policy for the blue ASU is intended to give soldiers what they have asked for in a service uniform while maintaining the traditions of our service — combat service identification, overseas service bars, black jump boots for paratroopers.

“The Army leadership will continue to listen to soldiers and soldier forums, and solicit their input as soon as the uniform and accouterments become available for wear.”

In their responses to Army Times, soldiers weighed in on everything from the color of the uniform to the placement of unit insignia and combat badges. Here is a selection of the responses received.

From our mailbox

The Army has successfully destroyed every uniform we have. There is nothing about the ASU that says, “Army.” I am a recruiter. How in the world am I supposed to represent the Army while wearing that hideous uniform? Has anyone ever heard of the phrase, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it?” I don’t know which soldiers took the survey, but I haven’t met one fellow soldier who likes that new uniform. In my opinion, we need to go back to the old khaki uniforms.

Hate it. So much for tradition. What happened to unit patches? If we are wearing subdued patches on the [Army Combat Uniform] and no patches or unit patch pins on the A’s, when will we see the large colorful 1st Cavalry patch or the Big Red One of the 1st Infantry Division ever again? So much for tradition, history and pride.

Don’t like it. Our soldiers now look like something out of the Nutcracker.

They should have stayed with the greens. Now this is just more things that have to go onto a simple uniform, making it more complex than it has to be. I remember looking at my grandfather’s greens and seeing one patch, a row of ribbons, a few overseas stripes and the branch insignia. Now we have to clutter our uniform with chaff to call ourselves qualified to be a soldier.

Should have asked the German army to design our new duds. [Gen. Peter] Schoomaker’s legacy is a lame uniform.

I think it’s a good idea. Go Army!

The photos of the new Army uniforms turned my stomach. Does anyone like these new uniforms? We are soldiers, not Christmas trees with colored decorations wearing snow-white shirts. I feel sorry and embarrassed for anyone having to wear this rubbish. Thank God I’m retired.

I hate it. It is that simple. Very tacky. All of it is bad.

There is a reason we wore green: because we are the largest, best-trained, best-equipped military ground fighting force in the world. The Navy and Marines are on water, which is blue; the Air Force is in the sky, which is blue; and we are on the ground, which is green! Somebody somewhere needs to rethink this idea.

The other services laugh at us daily because we are starting to look more and more like a band leader than a soldier. There is a reason the Marines are so respected, they stick to tradition. Why don’t we do that too? Stop going back, and don’t fix what isn’t broken.

The powers that be have decided that they need to try to combine the two uniforms to some how “lighten the load” on our soldiers. Many soldiers, including this one, would gladly carry more weight if it meant we would continue to look like professional soldiers and not like mall security guards. I strongly feel that the new proposed dress uniform is, in all honestly, not what we as an Army need and does not keep the Army traditions alive.

My first reaction to seeing the new Army Service Uniform has not improved with time. This is an incredible example of a uniform board that has run amok and incorporated every imaginable recommendation to ruin a perfectly elegant dress blue uniform.

The result is something we might see off the back lot of a Hollywood sitcom that is doomed for cancellation after one season. This new uniform now has more decorations dangling from it than a Christmas tree, and when considering a special operations beret, more colors than a circus clown. With the new Class B’s, uninitiated civilians will think they are looking at a customs agent or local law enforcement officer.

Sgt. Maj. of the Army Kenneth Preston’s declaration that this uniform will showcase the Army is woefully mistaken. It is showboating — an idea a Third World dictator would love. I’ve got my 30, so I don’t have to wear it. But I feel sorry for those who have no choice.

From our message boards

I guess the Air Force “Blue to Green” program will now be the “Blue to Dark Blue” program.

— CrustySMSgt

I saw the pictures of the new Class B. Ugly! Oh, well, you don’t join the military for the fashion show.

— AIRFORCEAGGIE

Terrible! The dress blue was a “dress” uniform. Now it’s some kind of TGI Friday hybrid what with all of the “flair” on that freakish-looking thing. ... Didn’t think uniforms in the [Defense Department] could get worse than digital tiger stripes. Boy, was I wrong.

— leroybrown2k5

If they were going to change the uniform, they should have gone back to the brown World War II Class As.

— ElCid_05

Fantastic. Olive drab from 1908 was for combat uniforms and not dress uniforms. The traditional uniform of the Army from 1775 on was always blue. ... Without refer¬ence to traditions, we fail to tell the new recruit what the Army has always been about.

— IMMI(R)

The new Amy blues look so stu¬pid. The combat patch pin-on is probably the [dumbest] idea I have ever seen, especially since [women] have them on [their] stomach.

— kevin.geis

I really think this was a good idea. I had to spend $400 on a new set of dress blues and I still need¬ed to buy a new set of Class As so you end up saving lots of money.

— elnavarro

That is that most god-awful thing I have ever seen. We’ve gone from looking like a bus driver to the ice cream man. Bloused boots with blues? We are still doing uri¬nalysis, right?

— CEWACK

As a warrant officer, I know I have to support our leadership when issues such as these are im¬plemented, and act all positive and gung-ho, but I can’t hide my discontent for these changes.

— LQUINONE

I’d like to know where these “town hall” meetings were held and who attended them. I’d also like to hear from these people as to why they’ve made this uniform practically un¬wearable. The placement of these badges is not conducive to move¬ment; someone’s bound to bend this way or that and get one yanked off their blouse.

— simpdonny

This uniform looks horri¬ble! The blues look good if you add a belt and ditch the combat patch/badge thing. And get rid of the beret with it. Keep the oversized service stripes on the jacket. If you deploy to a combat zone, don’t you think you have enough badges and ribbons? The Bs look dumb. All we would need to add is a walkie-talkie and a hand mike and we will look like mall security guards.

— GRUNTPAIN1775

We look like a Third World dic¬tator. Three years and all the feedback from the field didn’t change a thing. Come on Army, we are better than that. Three of the four services have figured it out just fine, why do we keep doing this to ourselves?!

— JWENTWORTH

Why reinvent the wheel? The Marine Corps service green and dress blue uniforms are seeping with tradition, mostly because they never change. The new Army Service Uniform does not seem historically significant, in large part because all of the crap that is pinned onto it. The Class A and dress blue uniform are for differ¬ent types of events. Combining them, adding a white shirt and combat badge just looks terrible. ... Do we really need to have all of that crap on our chests to feel bet¬ter about ourselves?

— IED-Defeat Guy

I would like to thank all the personnel involved in making our new dress uniform the laughing¬stock of the world’s military. I know that there are some mili¬tias that have a more appealing dress uniform than this.

— SCOTTY101

Just another unneeded change for change’s sake. While the greens weren’t the best-looking service uniform in the bunch, at least they were functional as a service uniform.

— rgronovius

Does anybody remember the number to call for fraud, waste and abuse?

— ACE001

This new uniform is an atrocity and an insult to the Army. I refuse to believe that we voted for this piece of crap. This uniform would be hilarious in a sketch from Mad TV or Saturday Night Live, but now the joke is on us. I think I’ll have to drop my retirement packet and get the hell out of Dodge.

— jarnaes

Some things about the uni¬form are better than the greens. I am totally against the stupid combat badge thing. Did you look at where the female will wear this on both the jacket and shirt? ... Once again, the Army did not consider anyone in the ranks down on the line.

For the record, I hate this uniform just as much as the rest of you, but it’s senior NCOs who make the decisions on uniforms, not officers.

—roberttsf

If anyone reading this has any ability to stop this, please, please, reconsider this horrible decision.

— KBERGML