I hate the Aquaflage uniform. With a passion. I am so glad I did not have to wear it-having retired before they became mandatory. I do regret not getting to wear Service Dress Khakis however.
Now it would appear that the Navy may be coming to its senses.
Or may be not?
Now, there are high-level talks among senior officials to shelve the Type I Navy Working Uniform, replacing it fleet wide with the woodland pattern Type IIIs or a combination of the woodland NWU and the desert-pattern Type IIs.
“There are some in the Navy’s leadership who think it makes sense to eventually shift everyone into the Type III or possibly a mix of the Type II and Type III, sometime in the future,” confirmed a senior Navy official who is also a member of the uniform board. The official would speak to Navy Times only on condition of anonymity.
In speaking to deck-plate sailors, this official said they are asking for a better-fitting uniform, and many praise the NWU Type II and Type III, which are made of a thinner material.
“The fit of the Type III is so much better,” said Logistics Specialist 1st Class (EXW) Jennifer Almero in an interview with Navy Times. “It’s something in the sizing and how it’s cut that’s different.”
Almero is from the San Diego-based Mobile Expeditionary Support Unit, which falls under Navy Expeditionary Combat Command. Sailors under this command wear the NWU Type III as their full-time working uniform.
Logistics Specialist 1st Class (SW/AW) Mark Needham, also with the MESU, agreed that the Type III uniform fits better. He also said it stands up better than the Type I after repeated washings.
“Both uniforms are wonderful in that you can pull them out of the dryer and wear them,” Needham said, “But the Type III is a lighter uniform to begin with, and it doesn’t seem to be susceptible to fading as much as the blue camo does over the long haul. The bottom line is the Type IIIs just seem to be put together better.”
Ending the wear of blue NWUs would also save the Navy millions, the high-ranking official said.
Uh, I don't think you are getting the f*cking point here-there is no need for camouflage of any type to be worn by Sailors on ships at sea!
Simply swapping to another camouflage simply compounds the crime. What the hell is wrong with a nice snappy set of SWO coveralls? Hmmm? They seem to be the perfect uniform for shipboard duty ( after a flight suit of course!).
Why is it so damn hard to see? The coveralls are practical, tactical, and they look nautical. Plus its not so damn hard to tell who to salute or not? Plus it looks good with a ball cap which everyone likes-and it can be worn the same by men and women:
Are Navy flags really this stupid? Let the Seabees and other small groups of Sailors wear the damn cammies if you insist-this would at least consistent with former fleet practice. But the majority of shipboard and soon to be shipboard Sailors should be wearing these blue coveralls. As a daily uniform.
I get it-and I bet the fleet gets it too. Why is it so hard to give them what they want?
I'm sorry. "Uncle Vern?" Vern Clark?
One and the same. I believe Vern Clark is the second worst CNO -EVER. What he did to the Navy was unconscionable.
I agree with you that the Navy did not flourish under him. What are your reasons? I couldn't find a post where you really described what you didn't like.
Whatever uniform is decided upon, do not follow the lead of the Coast Guard and make them out of nice meltable polyester…an even dumber mistake than the aquaflage.
I've written on Uncle Vern but only on the edges. I have three main objections to the man. 1) He created the current deployment cycle based on the idea of "surge" capability. This was a huge mistake-because he threw away the last check and balance against 9-10 month deployments. The Navy didn't need 5 carriers for OIF. 5 CVW's maybe-but to do that in a way where you keep the Lincoln on cruise for 11 months, and then turn her around again 5 months later is unconscionable. 2) He was so desperate to show that he was "transformational" he had the Navy do a whole lot of pointless reorganizations. The net result was commands that should not exist (CNIC and 4th fleet being two glaring examples). The Navy is now trying to undo those and finding it hard to do so. 3) LCS. Its just one of many aquisition disasters that can be laid at his feet.
I could go on-but I think you get the drift. The Navy did not need to become "expeditionary" or "littoral" it needed to remain a balanced blue water fleet able to project presence in a manner that does not break Sailors or ships.
Skippy, if you go over the side in coveralls, can you take them off and make a floatation device out them? My Dad was always partial to dungarees and crackerjacks. Of course, he is spinning his grave over the changes to his Navy.
I never had a problem with shipboard khakis and dungarees-but for some reason a lot of people object to them. I was raised in the time when, if you were not on the flight schedule, you better not be in a flight suit.
The move to the real camo uniforms is, in my mind, more subversive. It would be to prove even more that we are ready as a Navy to fill Army positions in Afghanistan and elsewhere with our folks. Which is bullshit. Back in the '90s, I did not see any Army guys on my Submarines when we were short-handed on deployment. Oh yeah, did I say Fuck the Army yet?
To those folks who are complaining about the NWU I being too heavy, it was supposedly designed that way because it is a WORKING uniform and was supposed to get dirty and beat to shit and be durable where the dungarees and wash khakis were not. "It fades after a few washings." Shut the fuck up. It is a WORKING uniform, wear it as such.
That being said, I do agree that we do not need a camo uniform for the Navy. The Submarine coveralls are just fine (yeah, we wore 'em before the SWOs fucked them up with rules and regulations about what you have to wear on them). This whole "Task Force Uniform" is such bullshit.
I remember sending guys to the fire fighting school in SAN DIEGO!!!!! who got sent back to the ship because their dungarees weren't squeeky clean and brand new. No, the asshats who ran the fire fighting school in San Diego declared them unready for instruction. Stupid stupid stupid. And then, one got to explain to the XO who had to explain to CNET why a training billet wasn't filled after it had been requested and approved. Of course, any uniform worn to fire fighting school was destroyed by the COI.
All my ships I wore wash khaki or blue or green coveralls. Coveralls didn't need a belt; didn't wear one. They didn't really need anything since we all knew each other. Of course it led to some interesting fun moments from time to time when walking from ship to shop at SIMA or to the Tender at 32nd St. I guess I wasn't one of them that put their rank on their ship's ball cap either. I miss the 80's.
Aquaflage is pure stupid.