Rules Eased for New Navy Working Uniform
4th July 2009
I have, I think, made clear that I think these new uniforms a striking illustration of Bureaucracy Gone Bad. Seaman has stupid idea = nobody cares; Admiral has stupid idea = everybody suffers.
Across military blogs, participants have blasted the uniforms for too closely resembling the combat uniforms of the Army and Marines that have become ubiquitous military symbols in media coverage of the land wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Others questioned the purpose of wearing a woodland camouflage pattern while aboard a ship.
Well, when you get knocked over into the water, you need a uniform that will make sure you can’t be seen or, you know, like, rescued.
The absurdity of wearing a camouflage uniform on board a ship ought to be obvious to the most retarded of people, but Admirals are apparently less bright even than that. We went through the same Happy Horseshit when Zumwalt was CNO; it took about ten years, but the Navy eventually went back to the old practical uniforms once the morons retired.
July 5th, 2009 at 14:02
What’s practical about having to maintain so many different uniforms in your seabag? Service Dress blues, service dress whites, dungarees, winter working blues, tropical whites, etc, etc. That said, I have no quarrel with the new working uniform, whose purpose and benefit is not camouflage, but its ability to resist visible soiling and staining. The round hat looks dorky, so I would vote for the eight point hat, which the Seabees already wear with their utility greens. With regard to the other uniforms, I think Zumwalt had a better idea, and was at least partially right. The new stuff still looks too much like Air Force and/or Marine Corps coloration. When I was in the Navy as both an enlisted man and an officer, there was a short period of time during and after Zumwalt when the “salt and pepper” (not the official name) service uniform was authorized. I liked the uniform because it was comfortable, the dark blue pants wore well without having to be cleaned that often, and the white short sleeve shirt was attractive and washable. The officer version with the shoulder boards was especially distinctive and attractive. There was no question that it was a navy uniform, since no other service wore those colors (navy blue, white and gold) together, especially with the gold devices and trim added. I didn’t like the straight pants and combination cover for enlisted ratings – except for chief petty officer. The standard white hat is traditional and unique, and the bell bottom blue pants were also, although a standard zipper and belted waist would be a welcome change. There was no reason, however, to stick with the cumbersome top, with or without the piping, and the kerchief. That was a pain to maintain and needed frequent dry cleaning, and should only have been required for full dress purposes. The pants of the all white uniforms, however, soiled and yellowed too easily and had to be changed often, sometimes even two or three times a day, depending on the command. I never really cared for the service khaki uniforms, either, since they were not all that utilitarian and the public never seemed to recognize them as Navy uniforms. I would have been happy to eliminate both items from my seabag forever. Nuff said.
July 6th, 2009 at 05:12
Well, for one thing, the number of uniforms hasn’t gone down appreciably. C’mon, in the Good Old Days, enlisted people had whites, blues, and dungarees, and 90% of the time (especially on board ship) you wore dungarees, whiich is pretty much like being a college student. I went through a six-year enlistment with 1 dress blue jumper, 3 undress blue jumpers, 3 blue pants, 3 white pants, 3 undress white jumpers (which became dress white jumpers with the addition fo the neckerchief), 3 tropical white shirts, and a shitload of dungaree trousers and pants, an amount of clothing that is less than what I have in my closet right now. Don’t give me any of this “so many uniforms” BS. We had no problems with “showing dirt”, and the chief had no problem taking appropriate action when dirt showed. This is all just some silly “Gee, wouldn’t it be nice if” idea on the part of some guy sitting in an office in the Pentagon and trying to justify his existence.