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thedrifter
04-09-07, 09:15 AM
Air Force’s new look
World War II-era uniform wins out as inspiration for new service dress
By Erik Holmes - Staff writer
Posted : April 16, 2007

When photos of prototype service dress uniforms being considered by the Air Force escaped the confines of the Pentagon in May for the freer terrain of the Internet — and, therefore, reached the media — there was no shortage of airmen eager to share their opinions.

Some liked the prototypes. Others, to put it mildly, did not.

Several airmen whose letters were published in Air Force Times, Navy Times’ sister publication, were called in July to meet with Chief of Staff Gen. T. Michael Moseley, who wanted to hear their ideas firsthand. They told him they wanted something with more style and panache, and leaders took that feedback back to the drawing board.

The latest version of the service dress will begin appearing in a limited wear-test this summer and a broader test at bases throughout the Air Force as early as fall. It looks similar to the Marine service alpha uniform for men.

Once finalized and approved, the uniform likely will not be widely available to airmen until summer 2009 as the Air Force goes through the laborious process of finding a contractor and starting production.

The new service dress — which leaders caution will still be tweaked before production — is essentially a modern take on the classic World War II-era uniform worn by Henry “Hap” Arnold, the aviation pioneer who became the first leader of the Air Force when it separated from the Army after the war.

Leaders considered a version of the World War I-era coat worn by Billy Mitchell, the Medal of Honor recipient regarded as the father of the Air Force. They decided that the tight mandarin collar made the uniform too uncomfortable and impractical for everyday wear.

Lt. Gen. Roger A. Brady, deputy chief of staff for manpower and personnel, said leaders decided to go with the Hap Arnold-inspired uniform because it harkens to the Air Force’s war-fighting heritage while being practical for everyday wear. More important, he said, the new service dress is part of Moseley’s drive to instill in the Air Force a shared war-fighting culture.

“This is about airmen understanding who they are ... and the nation understanding who we are,” Brady said.

“It’s about increasing the focus on combat operations. It’s about returning a bit more to ... the very best of a very rich heritage that we have.”
What’s different?

Perhaps the most common criticism of the first Hap Arnold prototype was that it looked dated, so the designers made some changes to keep up with the times.

“We wanted to capture the theme of our heritage without [copying all of the exact details], some of which were somewhat dated,” Brady said.

The original Hap Arnold coat and prototype had wide, rounded lapels and severely scalloped pockets with wide flaps, all of which designers have trimmed back. The lapels have been made more angular, and the pockets have been dropped down to make more room for ribbons.

The new service dress is made of the same blue polyester-wool blend as the current service dress, but designers have added a fourth button, four front pockets and a belt that wraps around the coat to give it a more military appearance than the current business-suit style.

These details all hail from the historic Hap Arnold-era uniform.

The new coat also has more tailoring than the existing service dress to give it a more form-fitting look.

The men’s and women’s coats are essentially the same, though the bottom two pockets on the men’s uniform and all four on the women’s are fake, giving the look of pockets without the problems of fit.

The necktie and dress shirt remain the same, and women will begin wearing the men’s necktie when they wear the coat. They will still be able to wear the current tab tie when not wearing the coat. Designers will create a new women’s dress shirt with a collar that can accommodate a traditional necktie.

The pants and shoes are the same as those worn currently.

The collar brass will also remain. Enlisted airmen will wear lapel brass with an encircled “U.S.” insignia, and officers will wear the “U.S.” brass with no circle.

This collar brass, another throwback to Air Force heritage, became mandatory Jan. 1.

When the earlier prototype first appeared, some airmen criticized the fact that the wide lapels might conceal their ribbons. Leaders said that will not be an issue because the lapels have been trimmed back and ribbons can be configured so they are not obscured.
Current, comfortable uniform

Anyone who has spent more than a few hours in a service dress coat — or a business suit — knows that moving your arms around freely can be a real hassle. To that end, the new coat features a special pleat, called a bi-swing, under and behind the shoulders to allow freer arm movement.

Brady said the bi-swing is probably the most significant functional improvement to the coat.

The new coat also requires more tailoring because it is more form-fitting. But that tailoring, Brady said, provides a better fit for individual airmen.

Brady, who was one of the wear-testers for the current uniform during the early 1990s, said he thinks these touches make the new coat more comfortable than the current one.

“I think this is more comfortable because it fits you better,” he said.

Brady said leaders and designers put far more emphasis on developing a uniform with women in mind than in the past.

For example, the women’s uniform has darts and other small tailoring touches to better fit women’s figures.

“I’m a little bit amazed how little attention we’ve paid [historically] to women’s interests regarding uniforms,” he said. “It’s critical to us, women being 20-plus percent of our force, that they look good, feel good, [are] comfortable in and proud of the uniform that they’re wearing.”

Brady and Senior Master Sgt. Dana Athnos, chief of the Air Force Uniform Board, wore the new service dress before Air Force leaders at the Corona leadership meeting in February.

“We got a good reaction,” he said. “At the end of the discussion, we kind of got thumbs up around the room.”

But Brady realizes no uniform will make everyone happy, and he expects that some airmen will have complaints. He said two elements of the uniform could be particularly controversial: the belt around the coat and women wearing a necktie.

The leaders at Corona had mixed opinions on the belt, Brady said, so the uniform will be wear-tested both with and without. Brady said he personally likes the belt because it provides a “crisp look.”

But ultimately, it will be Moseley who makes the call.

Athnos said she likes the necktie but expects that some women will not.

“I would not personally be crazy about wearing the tie at my desk” without the jacket, she said. “But there will probably be women who have completely different views on that.”

While women wearing a men’s necktie may seem odd for a military uniform, Athnos said it is in fact part of the heritage look for which the Air Force is striving.

“This is what women wore in the day when women wore the uniform of this style,” she said. “It is consistent with heritage.”

But Athnos said the necktie also makes female airmen look more professional.

“This just dresses it up a little bit, makes it a little bit more military, gives us a little more uniformity with the women and men when we’re all standing in rank,” she said.

The main wear test will involve from 100 to 200 airmen wearing the coats — across ranks, genders, commands and geographic locations. It will likely begin in the fall and end in June 2008. The uniform board will gather data from the wear-testers and make a production decision around September 2008.

That timeline would have the first production units on shelves around summer 2009. The mandatory wear date would not be until around three years later.

But the uniform board plans to get a few uniforms out in the public eye as early as this summer. These would be custom-made versions of the uniform that are much more expensive. The Air Force will select a contractor — the Navy uses Brooks Brothers — from whom airmen can order these higher-quality uniforms.

Brady said he expects mainly senior officers and senior noncommissioned officers to use this option because of the expense, which could run $1,000 or more, depending on the fabric quality an airman chooses.

That option will remain available even after the new coats are in wider production.

Ellie