Army Dress Blues
This thread is useless without pics.
Army Dress Blues
What ever became of teh Air Force plan to emulate the USMC dress uniform with a Black and Silver color combo?
Blue is the most traditional dress uniform of the Army and goes back to before the Civil War. Blue vs Grey!! Also there is a touching song song called “Army Blue” which has been a standard at West Point for many generations. I have great respect for the Marines uniform, and this is not a personal response. It is simply a point of information.
Blather. Army BDU's have been obsolete since 2005 replaced by the FOLIAGE GREEN pixelated Advanced Combat Uniform.
The USMC has two different pixelated utility uniforms, a desert and a woodland, but the ACU only comes in one color. Green.
And the Class A uniform "without the jacket" (and tie) is the Class B uniform.
I have not seen the official directive on the new Class A, but it has been in the works for a very long time.
This despite when the Troops were surveyed, they wanted to return to the 1938 - 1944 WWII styles.
My son (a newly minted JAG lawyer) has this uniform. It looks great. At his graduation ceremony from the Army’s law school (they don’t teach military law in civilian law schools, so the Army augments their education) the school commandant (a Col.) and the JAG were notably different in dress greens.
If I’m not mistaken, BDUs have been phased out in favor of ACUs.
My sympathies to the Army on this. Yet no doubt, the respective eggheads in their infinite wisdom will find a reason to screw the their own services over again in short order.
Leave the damn uniforms alone! They're fine. Stop wasting money and time forcing these stupid changes on the Soldiers Sailors Airmen and Marines!
/rant
I think that the author of this article has a Marine Corps chip on his shoulder, but that’s his problem, not mine. The Marine Corps has the best uniforms of any of the services because they have changed them the least - there is a lesson here.
As for the Army decision, its been in the works for some time, but has been delayed for various reasons that have not, to the best of my knowledge, been resolved.
In the 21st Century, it does not make much sense to have several versions of a dress uniform. Soldiers wear the Army Combat Uniform day to day, even in the Pentagon, so why have both greens and blues for those rare occasions when you have to wear a dress uniform. The Army has worn the blue uniform since before the Revolution, and the Green uniform since 1955, so Blues seems a logical choice for a single dress uniform.
They Army will “dress down” this uniform for informal use with a grey shirt and some other minor changes. The gold stripe on the trousers is a bit of overkill in today’s world and I predict that this will go away at some point, but most soldiers will be proud to wear their Army Blues and won’t much care what Marines or anyone else has to say about it.
WASHINGTON (Army News Service) -- Army service uniforms will be streamlined to one blue Army Service Uniform, the Army announced today.
“World-class Soldiers deserve a simplified, quality uniform. The blue Army Service Uniform is a traditional uniform that isconsistent with the Army’s most honored traditions,” said Sgt. Maj. Of the Army Kenneth O. Preston.
“We have all of these variations of uniforms – green, blue and white,” said Army Chief of Staff Gen. Peter J. Schoomaker. “It makes sense for us to go to one traditional uniform that is really sharp and high quality and which Soldiers will be very proud to wear. And that’s what we’ve done by adopting this blue Army Service Uniform that reflects simplicity, quality, utility and tradition.”
Many Soldiers already own an Army blue uniform (now to be called the Army Service Uniform) and may continue to wear it. Improvements will be made to the fabric and fit. Reduction of the number of uniforms will reduce the burden on Soldiers for purchases and alteration cost.
Introduction in the Army Military Clothing Sales Stores should begin in fourth quarter of fiscal year 2007. Introduction in the Clothing Bag should begin first quarter 2009. The Mandatory Possession Date is expected to be fourth quarter fiscal year 2011. A wear-out date for the Army Green Class A and White dress uniforms will be determined at a later date.
The consolidation of Army service uniforms is part of a streamlining process. In 2004, the Army reduced the number of battle dress uniforms from three to one when it adopted the Army Combat Uniform in place of the Woodland Green Battle Dress Uniform (winter and summer versions) and the Desert Combat Uniform. That uniform consolidation has been a resounding success in terms of Soldier acceptance and reducing the variety of combat uniforms with which they must deal.
Army Blue as a uniform color traces its origins back to the National Blue and was first worn by Soldiers in the Continental Army of 1779.
Uhh, that doesn’t make it a “USMC Wannabe” uniform. It means the Army is returning to it’s traditions. Army uniforms were always previously blue. In the War of Independence, 1812, the Civil War, the Plains Indians Wars... all of those were blue uniforms. We didn’t change that until the last years of the 19th century and the Khaki uniforms.
Nor was Old Hickory.
I’ll be buried in my Dress Greens and jump boots!
The funny part about this whole thing is that as any Marine will proudly admit we got our blues because the Army decided they were obsolete and donated them to the Marines during the war with Mexico (The Halls of Montezuma).
Anyway it was because of that war that the Marines have worn them ever since. Our Dress Blues were once a Battle Uniform.