New army uniforms...more like Marines?...LOL

[Sgt Leprechaun]

St. Louis Post-Dispatch
August 11, 2007
Pg. 2

It's Impossible To 'Read' New Uniforms Of Army Officers

By Harry Levins

Now that we're at war, you see something you rarely saw in peacetime - soldiers wearing field uniforms in airports and hotels.

And if you look closely at Army officers, you may notice that the new uniforms lack something found on older uniforms - branch insignia.

Time was when an officer wore his rank on his right collar. On the left collar, he wore his branch insignia - crossed rifles for infantry, for example, or a castle for engineers.

Now, the collar is bare. The rank has been moved to a tab dangling down the shirt's front. The branch insignia is nowhere to be seen.

The result: It's impossible to "read" an officer's field uniform.

I called the Department of the Army to ask why. Nobody had an answer, although they agreed (off the record) with my own theory:

Stripping away the branch insignia makes soldiers more like Marines.

Back when Army officers still displayed their branches, I asked a Marine colonel why his service made it so hard to "read" a uniform. Aviators excepted, Marines show no clues to their military specialities. Why?

"Because we're all plain-and-simple Marines," the colonel said.

He explained, "If you ask a soldier what he does, he'll say, 'I'm infantry,' or 'I'm airborne,' or 'I'm a tanker.' If you ask a Marine what he does, he'll say, 'I'm a Marine.'"

I suspect that the Army's decision to strip away the branch insignia is a way of prodding officers to see one another as soldiers first and specialists second.

Back in my soldiering days as a lieutenant in Germany in 1964-65, I proudly pinned the crossed rifles of the infantry on my left collar tab and donned a scarf that was colored the powder blue of the infantry.

Mind you, few of us going through the Infantry School at Fort Benning, Ga., had wanted to be in the infantry.

But even though few wanted the infantry, everybody respected the infantry. For the first time in my life, I was macho. I could look down my nose at captains and majors wearing the insignia of, say, the Finance Corps, or the Quartermaster Corps.

I'm guessing that the new uniform is an effort to dampen branch rivalries and get soldiers to thinking of themselves as soldiers.

Oh - those colored scarves are long gone. Too bad. On the day I learned that I'd drawn the infantry, I said, "Infantry? Aw, (bleep)!"

I was unaware that standing behind me was a major of artillery from the ROTC faculty.

He leaned over my shoulder and said with a malicious grin:

"Look at it this way, Levins - the scarf will go good with your eyes."

[3077India]

Too bad there isn't a pic to go along with the article. The Army's dress green uniforms are the most hideous outfits anybody could ever be forced to wear. I would love to see those retired from service.

[Sgt Leprechaun]

I think he actually means the current issue "ACU" uniforms. The old BDU outfits had the officers 'branch' on the left collar; enlisted folks wore just rank on both.

And, I agree...the "Army Green", or "AG-107" uniform looks like crap. There is a move on right now to dump that outfit, and go with the current army 'dress blue' uniform sometime in 2008, I think. It's not much better, though.

[RLeon]

I think he actually means the current issue "ACU" uniforms. The old BDU outfits had the officers 'branch' on the left collar; enlisted folks wore just rank on both.

And, I agree...the "Army Green", or "AG-107" uniform looks like crap. There is a move on right now to dump that outfit, and go with the current army 'dress blue' uniform sometime in 2008, I think. It's not much better, though.

The Army had some pretty sharp uniforms prior to Vietnam(circa 1940's), I guess becuase they resembled our service uniforms. Now they want to go back to wearing the blue uniforms they used prior to WWI.

[jetdawgg]

Whadaya mean, It's Army Strong.....

[rheinmark187]

how about they take all that "flash" off their uniforms. I call it flash because it resembles all that crap TGI Fridays servers wear.

[yanacek]

Too funny rheinmark187. They do have an awful lot of crap on their uniforms.

I never did understand why they dropped their khaki shirt for the mint-green one they now wear. And the beret just pushed it further over the edge.

I agree with RLeon. The Army had decent uniforms during World War II and they should seriously look at going back to them.

I also heard the Navy was looking into new uniforms. They are considering getting rid of their "Cracker Jacks" and replacing it with the below uniforms:

[yanacek]

Here's an image I just located on Stars and Stripes of the "new" Army dress uniform. It says that the Army wants to drop their Green "Class-A" uniform and replace it with a blue one-- virtually identical to the one they are currently using. Hopefully it will have much less of the TGI Friday's ornamentation:



I think they could really out-do us Marines by making a true fashion statement with the addition of the cover below:

[capmarine]

the MC is thinking of changing the female uniforms too.no little bowtie,but replaced with a somewhat solid collar.i have seen a pic,but dont have one available. nothing like the other service's though.

[yanacek]

capmarine: I read that too about doing away with the "collar tabs" on the female uniforms. Personally, I wish they would just go back to the field scarf (standard man's tie) like the Marine WRs wore in World War II.

[RLeon]

That male Navy prototype looks like a cadet uniform.

[Sgt Leprechaun]

There is currently much "fluttering" in the army about the changeover to the "Army Blue" uniform; note that there is no shoulder sleeve insignia on it. (That tab for being an 'honor guard' doesn't count, the models are from 'The Old Guard'..and yes that is a female wearing the tab but it's unlikely she's a tomb guard). Just about every unit in the army above Brigade level has a shoulder sleeve insignia, plus distinctive unit insigina, plus unit crests....(the DI's and crests would continue to be worn) but there is still no word on the SSI's.

The army sure loves its little trinkets. Also, BTW, if you, army Private Joebagodonuts, check into the 501st Airborne, belonging to the 101st (Air Assault) Division, you automatically look like an Italian oprey star, since they were awarded umpteen million citations and awards as unit in WWII. Well, guess what....sojers wear all the decorations the unit got since WWII or whenever, as long as they are assigned to the unit! So, Private Joebagodonuts looks like a war hero and never had to leave stateside!

"Army stronggggggg".

LOL.

[RLeon]

Since the Army wants to change to blue uniforms because thats what they used prior to the 20th century, it got me thinking.
Maybe the Corps should go back to this uniform ( http://www.usmcartist.com/art/large/1stunif.jpg ), the original Leatherneck, for field use and dress. That way you would eliminate the hassel of not being authorized to wear utes off base and save some cash.

Notice this is just an illustration, of course we wouldn't go back to using Charlevilles or Brown Bess muskets, that's silly.

[yellowwing]

This cover?

[Covey_Rider]

The Navy is actually getting rid of there cammies and moving onto a set that is the same design that Marines wear only they're blue. They're getting rid of their tropical white uniform and their working winter blues and making all of it blue digis. The change is supposed to go into effect by November of this year. Docs attached to Marine units will still wear Marine Corps greens as always...but the rest is blue.


They've gone with the dominant blue option with the 8pt cover...