New Uniforms

[jazzdude]

maybe they'll incorporate reflective belts into the uniform

[ 17. June 2006, 06:45: Message edited by: Toro ]

[HerkDerka]

That is one of the best pics posted in a long time.

HD

[Guest thebronze]

That pic screams for a caption!

"Where is your reflective belt Sergeant, don't you know we're at war!"

[Guest TheBurt]

Caption contest:

GO that is pointing : "I had perky ones like hers once, but decided to cover them up, because I wanted to break through the glass ceiling."

GO obviously checking out the Sergeants boobs: "Yes, yes, me too, but this Sergeant does have a nice rack."

[ 26. May 2006, 11:43: Message edited by: TheBurt ]

[HerkDerka]

Here's some video of the one-star doing the Frankenstein impression.

HD

[Berry]

From AF Times...

Uniform survey response overwhelms system

Staff report

If you e-mailed the Air Force with your opinion on the prototype service dress uniforms unveiled in May and the message is bouncing back to you, it’s not because the Air Force doesn’t want to hear from you.

It’s just that the account officials set up to receive feedback on the Hap Arnold and Billy Mitchell model jackets is clogged with more than 1,500 responses and has been unable to accept any more, Air Force spokeswoman Jennifer Stephens said today.

Stephens said she expected that the current batch of e-mails would be downloaded onto a hard drive and the box re-opened shortly.

“We are happy to be getting the feedback, and a lot of it is constructive,” she said.

[Guest agood]

The longer I'm alive the more I'm amazed at the things that people find to gripe about. Every time my unit has to wear its blues, all I hear is how bad the jackets look. How they look like poor airline jackets. How we don't look military. How the other services laugh at us.

And then the new CSAF, who's been hearing this for the last umpteen years, decides to do something about it, and all I hear is even more griping about this, that, or the other thing. It's too military. It's too uncomfortable. It's too retro. It looks too Marine-like.

Jumpin' Jehosaphat!

Here are some facts regarding the two new uniform prototypes for those of you that don't bother to invest time into reading history:

1. These jackets are EXACT copies of older Air Force jackets, with the exception of the colours and the insignia. They are NOT National Socialist Party uniforms or Marine Corps uniform copies.

2. The mandarin collar is a style once worn by ALL the military services. The Army wore it first, then the Marines and Navy copied it. Only the Marines and Navy however have retained that style.

https://www.costumes.org/history/victorian/...nfantry1899.jpg

3. The more you make a uniform look military, the greater the chance that the comfort level will decrease. That's why you have a service uniform and a dress uniform. One you can wear every day with SOME level of comfort, the other for formal occasions when you need to sacrifice comfort for appearance.

4. The amount of R and D that has gone into these two uniforms has been a lot lower than previous uniforms because they're exact copies of earlier jackets. The government still has all of the old patterns from the early 20th century. Will there be development costs? Sure. But I suspect that the final costs will depend on how much tweaking is done.

5. The poster that said that costs will be rolled out over a 4-5 year period is correct. Yes, you may get hosed into buying one sooner, especially if you're an officer, but most won't.

6. And last. Uniforms are major recruiting and retention tools. They draw people into the recruiter's office, they instill pride, and they are the first thing the public sees when you're wearing one.

Personally, I hope the Air Force keeps the belts on these jackets. It's probably the one thing they can do to make the uniforms look more military. Yes, there are fat people that might make the uniform look less than flattering, but those of us that aren't fat shouldn't have to look like we're wearing gunny sacks simply to make the corpulant ones amongst us happy.

Also, it seems maybe a light khaki shirt and tie wouldn't look bad either, even with a dark blue jacket, but I'd have to see it first.

I think these jackets are a MAJOR step in the right direction for the Air Force. Do they need some work? Of course they do, but this is our chance to finally get our look RIGHT. I applaudd General Mosely for what he's trying to do, and hope people sent constructive criticism rather than simple gripes to the uniform board. I sure did.

All the best,

Alex

PS. The Hap Arnold jacket is worn quite a bit by Gregory Peck and cast in the movie 12 O'Clock High. Every time I watch this film I think what a stud Gregory Peck looks like. I for one wouldn't mind looking more like the greatest generation than the current corporate CEO generation

[ 15. June 2006, 07:09: Message edited by: Toro ]

[Guest scottaxelson]

Im sure if the USAF adopts these new uniforms Im going to have to shell out some big $$$ to get them. (just like the PT uniform) Why can't we just keep what we got? I honestly dont see these being any kind of step up or recruiting helper, but everyone is going to have an opinion on them. I still think they are 1940s German overkill....

[FlyAF]

Originally posted by iFlyTexans:

well that didnt work....

There ya go...

[Guest THE10MAN]

Those uniforms only look good if they are tapered and stretched over someone without an ounce of body fat. Otherwise look at the d-nozzles above with the material all bunched at the waist and the collars hanging off of their skinny chicken necks. That's why Marines USUALLY look sharp in their blues. They PT their @sses off (while I'm in my air conditioned office changing "happy" to "glad" on someones over-inflated OPR) and they have the physiques to show for it. I sit on my @ss sening e-mails and writing OPRs/e-SSS' all day. When I do get to fly, I sit on my @ss to do that, too and pull minimal G's. Gimme a break. And to all you sick little freaks that can eat whatever the hell you want and still have a 32" AF-approved waist...GFY. Get real. The "business attire" that is currently our service dress is appropriate IMO, since all the AF has become is a damn corporation with cool and expensive toys.

AF leadership: get your priorities straight. We've got terrorists to turn into HT&E. They want us, our children and our way of life DEAD. New uniforms will not stop them.

[Guest THE10MAN]

For clarification, my comments above are directed at those in the ivory towers making these dumbass decisions...not my bros down in the trenches hacking the mish. Sorry if I came off that way. I'm hanging out with my bud Johnnie Walker tonight.

[Guest SuperStallionIP]

Originally posted by Jacobite1745:

The Army wore it first, then the Marines and Navy copied it.

Nope. The Marine collar comes from back in the late 1700s when they had leather around their necks (hence the name, "Leathernecks") to protect from slashes from enemy cutlass' (swords). They retained that type of high collar to maintain discipline as it forced the wearer to hold their head up straight and maintain their military bearing.

[Guest agood]

Actually, I'm in the process of writing an article on British military uniforms of the American Revolution, and leather neck stocks you're talking about were worn by various units of both the British and American armies. They're an updated version of the horsehair ones worn beginning in 1768 by the British Army. And yes, the leather neck stock was also useful in keeping the wearer's head up. :^)

That's not what we're talking about. We're talking about the blue uniform with lighter blue pants with high collar. The Army adopted that in the late 1800s, and the Marines followed suit. The Army's jacket eventually evolved into a folded down collar, while the Marines kept their collar high. A brown version of this uniform was adopted around WW I for field use, and that's what you see Billy Mitchell wearing. The Air Force is looking at updating this.

It's not a bad looking jacket. It just needs some better fabric and a committment to tailoring, along with a white shirt tab to offset the collar itself. Both of the proposed jackets need some tweaking, but they're good starting points.

And if the Air Force gets it right, they might actually be around longer than 10 years.

AJ

[ 15. June 2006, 07:13: Message edited by: Toro ]

[Guest dpiddycanfly]

I personally would like to see the Air Force go back to the brown uniforms from the old Army Air Corps days of WWII. I still think that is a sharp uniform as long as you update the hats. Everyone else has gone away from brown, I think if they are wanting to go old school, let's go back to the browns. The brown would give us more of a traditional and military look, but let's let the Navy and Marine Corps keep the high collar. We need to do our own thing.

The one thing that I do like about the new ones is the prop and wings on the collar. They did get that right at least.

[iFlyTexans]

2

[Guest agood]

I could dig the old brown uni's. They DO look sharp, but the only problem is, the Air Force would have to commit to some better material than the crap used in the current blues. The officers in the 1940s bought their own clothes, usually from places like Brooks Brothers, and they used the best materials. Which of course hang much more nicely on the frame compared to the poly-wool flame-seeking stuff we've got now.

What do you think about the Hap Arnold jackets in the currently proposed blue, but with a light khaki shirt and tie, and the old dark blue shirt brought back as an optional item? IE, dark blue coat and pants, dark blue shirt, and light khaki tie? Would that make us look too mafia?

AJ

[ 17. June 2006, 07:15: Message edited by: Toro ]

[Guest dpiddycanfly]

I think the khaki shirt and tie underneath the blue might look pretty good actually. I don't know about the khaki tie with dark blue shirt, that would look a little too "gangsta".

There are two examples in the movie Pearl Harbor of uni's which I wouldn't mind wearing. The one that Rafe is wearing when he first shows up to England with the Eagle Squadron is one. The other is the one that Danny is wearing when he goes to tell Kate Beckinsale (freakin' hot) that Rafe is dead. I wouldn't mind wearing either one of those.

[Dewey...BoneDriver]

"It's not a bad looking jacket. It just needs some better fabric and a committment to tailoring, along with a white shirt tab to offset the collar itself. Both of the proposed jackets need some tweaking, but they're good starting points."

AND

"Which of course hang much more nicely on the frame compared to the poly-wool flame-seeking stuff we've got now."

Really, eight pages about THIS? REMF.net is taking over baseops.net just like REMFs are taking over the AF.

More energy has been spent worrying over what we are going to wear to work and how to properly wear it than actually doing the J-O-B in the Air Force and I guess this is just another example of that type of thinking.

[MD]

[Thread revival]

Latest on this uniform debacle...concerning suggestions on the uniform from AF members...

LtCol Derek Hirohata, a Judge Advocate General deployed to Iraq, wants a uniform that resembles the Billy Mitchell coat but with an open collar. That, he said, would allow airmen to wear ascots, which recall the silk scarves worn by pilots who flew in open-cockpits [WTF? Huh?....MD]

The ascot would bear the Army Air Corps logo, Hirohata said, and it's color would be linked to an airman's career field: blue for air ops, black for space, white for medical, purple for legal, and so on [like the deck of an aircraft carrier, I guess..MD]

"A closed collar does not make it a stiff uniform," he added. "An open collar, with an ascot, would be a little more comfortable."

Hirohata likes the idea of introducing a ceremonial dagger "to signify to everyone that we have a duty with weeapons." [JAG weenies too..]

[ 09. August 2006, 11:26: Message edited by: MD ]

[bucky60k]

Yeah ceremonial daggers thats a great idea. Maybe we can purchase them here.

[F-15E WSO]

Oh my gay,

I hope that Hirohito buys two, so he can poke both of his eyes out.

He's probably going to be on an upcoming fashion makeover show.

[Guest Rainman A-10]

MD,

Can you give me a link to the source of that stuff?

Does anyone know where this guy is stationed?

[Guest BC]

Does anyone know where this guy is stationed?

https://www.jaa.org/career_awards.htm#Hirohata

He's a Reservist in FL.

[Guest Rainman A-10]

Copy, reservist.

Is he the one on the right with more medals than a Mexican General?

Is there a chance I can find his email and the source of the article (if that's what it is)?

[jazzdude]

The article is off of this week's AF times.