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Army streamlines dress uniforms

The good old days of the green Class A’s and B’s are over. The Army’s plan to make dress blues the only Army Service Uniform is approved, and soldiers who own the uniform are encouraged to begin wearing it now.

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The move to eliminate the green service uniform and the more rarely seen white service uniform is aimed at streamlining soldiers’ clothing bags while modernizing the way the traditional blue uniform is worn.

The new wear policy was announced in an All Army Activity message Aug. 20 from Chief of Staff Gen. George Casey and Sgt. Maj. of the Army Kenneth Preston, who is president of the uniform board that meets once a year.

The most significant change, aside from the color, is the option to wear a Combat Service Identification Badge, something that was not permitted with the blues.

The new uniform will be available at clothing sales stores next summer.

“This uniform is part of a larger modular uniform system. It’s the culmination of a transformation effort that began back in 2004,” Preston told Army Times, referring to the development of the Army Combat Uniform and its introduction in May 2005. “The ACU really streamlined the impact on soldiers and, of course, that same thought process was really applied to our dress uniform.”

In fact, Preston said, soldiers had a loud say in choosing it by responding to several surveys over the past couple of years and discussing the issue in more than 150 live forums he conducted. He said the blue uniform was overwhelmingly the critics’ choice.

The vast majority of soldiers also expressed a desire to display combat credentials. The Institute of Heraldry is developing the pin-on combat service identification badges that will be worn with the Class A’s and Class B’s.

“Ninety-eight percent of soldiers wanted recognition for combat service ... the unit they served with. That was something they really wanted to showcase as far as their credentials,” Preston said.

The first badges being produced are for the 10th Mountain, 82nd Airborne, 101st Airborne, 1st Infantry, 2nd Infantry, 3rd Infantry, 4th Infantry, 25th Infantry, 1st Armored and 1st Cavalry divisions. They are expected to be available no later than December, and additional badges will be manufactured over the course of the following year.

The legacy of green

Many of the wear policies governing the green uniform have been integrated with the blue uniform and the look of some features traditionally showcased on the blue uniform, such as the large service stripes for enlisted soldiers, remain but have changed.

“The blue service uniform was generally worn for formal occasions,” Preston noted, explaining that policy prohibited unit affiliations, blousing for jump boots, and other unit accoutrements. “So as this uniform becomes a service uniform, we wanted to recognize all these past traditions.” The hybrid will replace the green Class A’s and B’s but will continue to serve as dress blues for formal events. The policies that governed wear of the dress blues will continue as before.

The Army Service Uniform is a 55 percent wool, 45 percent polyester blend, and it is heavier and more wrinkle resistant than previous uniforms. The coat will have a more tailored cut for a more fit appearance.

Here’s a look at the details:

• Combat Service Identification Badge. The newest item is an enameled, metal, pin-on badge for wear with the Class A and B uniforms. Unlike a sew-on patch, which was worn on the upper sleeve of the green Class A coat, this badge will be worn in the center of the right breast pocket of the Class A coat for men, and women will wear it on the coat’s waistline. The badge can also be worn on the Class B shirts in the same locations.

The CSIB ranks fifth after badges for presidential, vice presidential, secretary of defense and joint staff badges and would be placed to the left of those for soldiers who have them. All other badges can be worn in accordance with existing Army regulations.

• Headgear. Black, tan, maroon and green berets will be permitted with all uniforms. Men and women, corporal and above, may wear a service cap, for which there will be a stipend. Commanders will determine which headgear should be worn for a particular event.

• Shirt. The machine-washable white shirt is more tailored and heavier than the green shirt and is wrinkle resistant. It has epaulets for rank insignia and permanent military creases.

Enlisted soldiers who opted to purchase the blues had to buy commercially available white shirts to go with them; women were authorized to wear short sleeves and men had to wear long-sleeves. With the new Army Service Uniform, enlisted soldiers, male and female, will be authorized for the updated white shirt in the long- and short-sleeve versions and all will wear long sleeves with the Class A’s, and long or short sleeves with the Class B’s.

During the development of the uniform under former Chief of Staff Gen. Peter Schoomaker, a gray shirt had been chosen and modeled at several Army events. The white shirt that will now be part of the Army Service Uniform surfaced after Schoomaker’s successor, Gen. George Casey, took over in April 2007.

• Combat boots. Soldiers who wear green, tan or maroon berets, soldiers assigned to air assault-coded positions and military police on duty will be permitted to blouse their trousers with the black leather combat boot.

• Trousers. Junior enlisted soldiers in the rank of specialist and below will not wear the gold braid stripe on the outside seam, unless they are assigned to the Old Guard. Soldiers in those lower ranks who now own blue trousers with the stripe will not be required to remove it until the wear-out date in 2014.

• Service stripes. Enlisted service stripes, each indicating three years’ service, will still be worn on the left sleeve, but will now be the smaller size previously worn on the green uniform. Soldiers who own the current blue uniform will not be required to remove the large stripes until the wear-out date in 2014.

• Overseas bars. Officers and enlisted soldiers may wear overseas servie bars on the blue uniform coat. They had been allowed to wear the bars only on their green service uniform coats.

The costs

The new uniform’s basic elements — coat, trousers for men, slacks and skirt for women — will cost about $140, with about another $60 for accoutrements, Preston said.

The blue uniform has always been required for commissioned officers; they get a one-time stipend to buy it.

The mandatory replacement date is the fourth quarter of fiscal 2014, which gives enlisted soldiers six years to buy a set with their clothing replacement allowance.

“Their allowance is really a series of small little allowances put together, and those allowances are designed to maintain the clothing bag inventory from basic training. You get four ACUs, two pairs of boots, PT uniform, four T-shirts, four sets of drawers,” Preston said. “When you look at the service uniform, every enlisted soldier receives $50 in their annual allowance toward the purchase of the blue service uniform.”

The current clothing replacement allowance for soldiers with more than 37 months’ service is $529.20 for men and $619.20 for women.

The CRA for fiscal 2009, which begins Oct. 1, will be $543.60 for men and $633.60 for women with more than 37 months’ service. In fiscal 2010, the allowance for men will increase slightly, to $547.20, and for women it will drop slightly, to $619.20.

Soldiers graduating from basic training will begin getting the blue uniform as part of their clothing bag by late summer 2010.

“This is really going to showcase the Army and showcase who we are as soldiers,” Preston said. “I have no doubt this is going to be a very popular uniform.”

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