Air Force complains, gets new uniforms

[Semper Fi]

ARLINGTON, Va. — After hearing a planeload of complaints about the “bus driver” look of the Air Force’s dress blue uniform, Chief of Staff Gen. T. Michael Moseley has launched a project to find out what airmen might like to wear instead.

To start the discussion, the Air Force Uniform Board has created two prototypes for airmen to critique, each based on the garb favored by two of the service’s most famous men: Billy Mitchell, who is often called the “father of American airpower,” and Hap Arnold, the modern Air Force’s first general.

Airmen have almost universally loathed the dress uniform since 1991, when Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Merrill McPeak overhauled the jacket to reflect what he said was a “cleaner” appearance.

The most common complaint is that the resulting uniform looks “like a cheap business suit,” Senior Master Sgt. Dana Athnos, a member of the Air Force Uniform Board.

“When a Marine walks through the airport, everyone knows he’s in the military,” Athnos told Stars and Stripes on Thursday.

“But when [airmen] walk through the airport, people think we’re wearing business suits, or we’re flight attendants — it just doesn’t have a military appearance, compared to the other services.”

After Moseley was sworn in as the Air Force’s chief of staff in September, he directed the Uniform Board to begin the long process of adopting a new uniform, “using our heritage as a starting point,” Athnos said.

The resulting Mitchell prototype includes a distinctive stand-up collar, similar to the collar on the Marine Corps dress mess uniform and reflective of the World War I, Prussian military influence that dominated U.S. military uniforms in Mitchell’s time.

The Hap Arnold prototype has a belt, a vented back, wide lapels, and is “stitch-for-stitch identical” to the World War II Army Air Corps’ “pinks and greens” uniform, Athnos said.

The Uniform Board will select a new dress uniform using the same process it used to choose the new Airman’s Battle Uniform, Athnos said.

The next step is send a survey to hundreds of airmen, asking for their opinions on the dress uniform. The survey should be out within the next 60 days, she said.

The Air Force is also planning to set up a Web site that will be open to anyone who wants to comment on the issue, either inside or outside the service.

In the meantime, the Air Force has set up a special feedback e-mail address just for Stripes readers: [email protected] (see more details at end of story).

This fall, the Uniform Board will meet and discuss all of the feedback, Athnos said. The prototype uniforms will then be changed accordingly, and the results sent to a select group of airmen for wear testing, and the feedback process will begin again.

Like the utility uniform, the dress uniform will go through many changes before Air Force leadership decides to adopt a final look, Athnos said.

“The important thing for people to remember is that nothing is set in stone yet,” she said. “Absolutely everything is on the table,” including the precise color of the fabric, the color, shape, and design of the buttons, pocket placement, the belt question, the collar – “gazillions of details.”

“We can go anywhere or nowhere with this,” Athnos said. “Gen. Moseley is very concerned with making sure this us what the service wants.”

[follow link for pictures of the prototypes]

The “Billy Mitchell” prototype

This uniform is based on the U.S. Army’s “Standing Collar Coat,” which the Army authorized for use in 1911. The coat was the standard service dress uniform of Army Air Service and Army Air Corps personnel until 1926.

The “Hap Arnold” prototype

This uniform is similar to the U.S. Army’s “Service Coat with Lapels,” authorized for wear in 1926. U.S. Army Air Service pilots also wore the coat unofficially during World War I in France.

Army designers developed the design from the service coat used by the British Royal Air Force, but modified it for comfort. It remained the Army’s service dress uniform standard until 1947.

As a SNCO (soon to be officer on Saturday) in the Civil Air Patrol, I'll vouch for the feel that the 'bus driver' uniform needs to be changed. However, the standing collar has no real place in Air Force history. The Marine Corps (and perhaps Im just partial) used standing collars to protect their necks from swinging swords on ship-to-ship melees. These collars were made of leather, thus earning the moniker of Leathernecks. Just my $0.02, anyone else?

 

[Hobbit]

Whatever they choose, it will end a generations old Navy joke.

 

[theHawk]

I always hated wearing the Blues. You can wear them without any ribbons and thats when it looks like a McDonalds uniform or bus driver. The covers are either the McDonalds style (most common) or the round hat with short black brim....thats the bus driver look lol.

They were supposed to change the BDUs to the new "utility" uniform, which is a blue/grey camo with lots more usable pockets to stuff tools in. The BDUs the AF has been using for so many years wasn't very functional because we weren't allowed to use the pockets. Alot of people actually sewed them shut so they ironed nice and flat, it was all appearance.

 

[theHawk]

Whatever they choose, it will end a generations old Navy joke.

The Navy guys could never get the better of us. All we had to do was crack a joke about their names being sewed on the hump of their ass and they would shut up.

 

[dmp]

hehe...hehe...seamen...hehe

 

[JOKER96BRAVO]

I think the Marine uniform is sharp.
In highschool, I considered joining the Marines when I saw
two Alumni walking the campus in dress.
You think they do that on purpose?:teeth:

 

[dmp]

Did you know the Army Green uniform is going/gone, joker? I paid for Dress Blues - now that'll be the A-uniform +/-. About f'in TIME!

 

[JOKER96BRAVO]

I did not know that, but I'll never wear em again anyway so.
Do the new ones look something like this???

 

[Hobbit]

The Navy guys could never get the better of us. All we had to do was crack a joke about their names being sewed on the hump of their ass and they would shut up.

Well, since the women are already looking there, it saves their eyes a trip. Sailors are all about serving the public, after all.

 

[JOKER96BRAVO]

Well, since the commanders are already looking there, it saves their eyes a trip. Sailors are all about serving the officers after all.

How humble of you to say so.

 

[dmp]

Sailors are all about Servicing MARINES, after all.

 

[JOKER96BRAVO]

Good lookin out!

 

[theHawk]

Well, since the women are already looking there, it saves their eyes a trip. Sailors are all about serving the public, after all.

There's not many women on a boat! :food1: