I was just reading about the transition from “army green” to blue that is underway right now as the basic color of everyday Army service uniforms. A few links later, and I was reading about all kinds of colors used over the last century for everyday (non-combat, non-formal/dress, and non-specialized wear) – tan, olive drab, khaki, army green. Why has the basic color scheme changed so frequently? One would think that the color would be a matter of tradition and would maintained over long periods of time, even permanently.
The duty uniform has changed based upon what will work best in the area it is worn. Green works well in jungles and forests. Brown worked well in trenches and deserts. When camo came out, woodland green worked well on the Russian border. There were white camo uniforms, blue, eventually even desert tan. The Army discovered the digital camo worked better and there could be one camo uniform instead of 4. That is why the duty uniform has changed.
The service uniform, or formal, changes every few years to ensure Soldiers have to buy a new uniform every few years so we don’t get too rich.
SFC Schwartz
Perhaps an interesting follow up question might be why Marine Corps uniforms have not.
I was trying to take these out of the discussion with my disclaimer of “non-combat, non-formal/dress, and non-specialized wear.” I’m talking about the kind of uniform you wear on the subway to go work in an office. Why wouldn’t that color stay pretty much the same over the centuries?
I guess this is an answer to that question, but I’m also guessing it’s tongue-in-cheek.
Yeah, I am not so good about using the Smilies. There are only three types of Army uniforms, the Formal (now blue), the duty uniform (digital camo), and the physical fitness uniform. So as a serious answer to your question, Soldiers generally wear the duty uniform on the subway to work, whether they push papers all day or fix tanks. There are a couple exceptions, like cooks who wear whites all day, but in general there are no non-combat, non-formal wear.
SFC Schwartz
I think he means this: Remember seeing news photos of Army generals testifying before Congress in their distinctive green uniforms? Why is the Army now changing it to something rather less distinctive, namely to blue, a color shared with the Navy and the Air Force?
Is that a recent change? Because I have seen a lot of people walking around in the (now obsolete) green “Class A” uniforms.
I don’t know how you feel about it, but when I see guys wearing camo in an office building or at the mall, it looks a bit silly to me (gonna take cover behind that potted plant, soldier? Digital camo blends into modern office wall art?) or, alternatively, alarming (am I in a combat zone?). And also because of the loose cut of the digital camos, it looks “combat” rather than “military.”
The green uniforms used to be the formal uniform. The Army is fazing them out in place of the blue formal uniform, so if you look at C-SPAN now when they have Generals testifying before Congress they will all be wearing blue. The US Army had a blue uniform during the American Revolution, and I can’t recall why we are going back to it now.
Acsenray, I agree with you that it does kind of look silly in the mall, but Soldiers are not supposed to conduct personal business in uniform. Sometimes during your lunch break it can’t be avoided, or a quick stop at Wal-Mart on the way home. The reason the camouflage uniform is worn full time is because the Army doesn’t have a “go to work, non-combat uniform.”
There were a few office jobs that would wear the Class B uniform. The Class B is a modified formal uniform in which the awards and decorations are worn on a pressed shirt, in addition to the green jacket, so a Soldier could go without the jacket if desired.
The Army changed away from that a few years ago, because the Army was in combat, and all Soldiers, the line of logic went, are a part of the Global War on Terrorism, and should look the part. I have heard that the Army is going to go back to the Class B uniform in the next couple years, but they have to let the Blue formal become fully required.
SFC Schwartz
Basically, nothing was “replaced”. They simply did away with the Army Green uniform (a less formal dress uniform) and adjusted the Army Blue uniform (always present, but more formal) to fill the void. The Army Blue can now be worn as a Class B, Class A, Dress.
In an effort to cut back on costs and logistics, the Army did away with a ton of formal uniforms. We even had White dress uniforms and even a more formal Dress Mess uniform (like a tuxedo).
So don’t look at it as “changed” or even “replaced”. They simply discontinued a bunch of other options.
As for why the Army insists on wearing duty uniforms all over town and around the office? Well that is a seperate issue altogether. Whenever there is justification given, it is always “to save the Soldier expensive uniform costs”. I think it looks disgusting, personally. The Army has gotten away from it’s “professional and sharp” mindset and into a rag-o-muffin, “everyone is a Warrior! HOOAH” mentality.
When I run the Army, I am bringing back mandatory Class B (at a minimum) duty uniforms for all Soldiers behind a desk, and for all travel that is not in a POV or an International Flight.
Well, nothing was “replaced” perhaps in a technical sense. But from the point of view of an observer, there have been a series of major changes over the years, with a series of different colors playing a prominent role in the public presentation of the army. From the outside, it can certainly look like inconstancy.
The Army is big. North America is also big. The number of uniforms has always been huge and complex. When I was on active duty we had two white uniform, two blue, one green, one utility, two (winter and summer) physical training (with wide unit variations), creased and saucer caps, plus berets, flight uniforms, medical uniforms, cooks uniforms, various schools created their own uniforms (OCS blue helmets, West Point with tar buckets, Airborne with black windbreakers). You will note the Pinks and Greens and suntans were already out of service in the 1980s. (HOw did I forget the Dreaded Mint Green woman’s uniform? What were we thinking?)
Since then, things have simplified. But the path to simplicity has not been straightforward. We added the black windbreaker, raincoat and wooly-pully. Then they started cutting. The Whites (both mess and dress) went away, then the Mess Blues, then the Greens. There were many cooks and the broth was a complex brew.
The combat uniform is hardly a uniform at all. It is a bit of equipment that has changed as our wars have required them. We all have our opinions which is the best.
I vote for spandex.
But it seems it has become the de facto every day uniform, no? I ride on the elevator with majors and colonels wearing camo. That seems weird to me.
It’s a support issue. If they wear it, day in and day out, same as the guys out in the field fighting and dying, it shows solidarity with them.
The blue uniform did change a bit when they made it the new class a uniform, but not much.
If I were a guy in the field, I’d be insulted if a bunch of desk jockeys acted like they were just like me. A key element of combat troop morale is the belief that they are better than non-combat troops.
As a guy in the field, I like that they aren’t “suits” giving my friends and I combat objectives.
Well, spandex compression shorts are an authorized part of the PT uniform. I personally agree with you - forget this bulky nonsense with cargo pockets, let’s streamline things!
The way I’ve heard it explained is that we are officially a Nation At War and therefore must look the part, even when sitting at desks in office buildings or traveling within the US.
Are you kidding? With that tight, straight skirt and beret? I personally surrendered to soldiers who wore that uniform on numerous occasions, and it wasn’t my hands that reached for the sky.
It pays to be in the Air Force. I have 3 uniforms: my flight suit, a set of ABUs, and my Class A. That’s it. I could buy a Mess Dress were I so inclined, but it is not required until you get to be a Senior Master Sergeant or Chief where I’m at.
What I find more interesting is how the services largely take cues from each other. The ABU was a result of the Marines changing their uniform (MARPAT), then the Army took their cue from that, and the Air Force didn’t want to be left behind. The Navy marches to the beat of their own drummer so they didn’t follow along and (I think) still wear BDUs. Anyway, that’s the reason that the uniforms changed recently. They won’t say that but it is an opinion widely held, especially by people who had to replace their perfectly serviceable and razor-sharp BDUs out of their own pocket. Then again, I’m one of those people that think it’s absolutely asinine to iron a utility uniform, it’s there to get bitched up, so I’m glad for the ABUs on the rare times that I actually have to wear it.