Gunny G: About Those New Army Blue Uniforms and The Hand-Me-Down “Marines” Blues…. (via ~ BLOGGER.GUNNY.G.1984+ ~ (BLOG & EMAIL))

Wednesday, August 27, 2008 Dress greens out, dress blues in for Army By Lisa Burgess, Stars and Stripes Mideast edition, Friday, August 22, 2008 S&S file photo The Army's dress blue Army Service Uniform, which just replaced the dress green and white versions, will look subtly different from the existing dress blue uniform, shown here, which soldiers will be allowed to wear from now until 2014, the blue ASU's mandated wear date. ARLINGTON, Va. … Read More

via ~ BLOGGER.GUNNY.G.1984+ ~ (BLOG & EMAIL)

Gunny G: About Those New Army Blue Uniforms and The Hand-Me-Down “Marines” Blues….

Wednesday, August 27, 2008

Dress greens out, dress blues in for Army By Lisa Burgess, Stars and Stripes Mideast edition, Friday, August 22, 2008 S&S file photo The Army’s dress blue Army Service Uniform, which just replaced the dress green and white versions, will look subtly different from the existing dress blue uniform, shown here, which soldiers will be allowed to wear from now until 2014, the blue ASU’s mandated wear date. ARLINGTON, Va. — It’s official: The Army’s blue Class A uniform will become the single approved Army Service Uniform, triumphing over the less popular dress greens and rarely seen mess-dress whites. The decision was announced Wednesday in an all-Army message from Chief of Staff Gen. George Casey and Sgt. Maj. of the Army Kenneth Preston. The greens and whites are being phased out over the next six years, with the Army mandating dress blues as the exclusive Class A uniform by 2014. The Army began looking at the issue of consolidating its three existing dress uniforms into a single version two years ago, after Gen. Peter Schoomaker, then Army chief of staff, said he wanted to streamline the number of uniforms soldiers purchase and maintain throughout their career. The dress blue uniform, which features a dark blue jacket and light-blue pants, has roots in U.S. Army uniforms that date back to the Revolutionary War, and is usually worn during ceremonies and formal occasions. In contrast, dress greens date only to the 1950s, and are the Army equivalent of a civilian business suit. Dress greens have never been popular with soldiers. Many criticize what they say is an un-military, suit-like appearance and a thick, all-polyester fabric that is sturdy but has an unflattering, stiff drape. The tropic-weight dress white uniform, meanwhile, is so rarely worn that a soldier can easily spend an entire Army career without seeing it. It is passing into history largely unnoticed.