Rather than making a splash by unveiling the APFU on the Army’s birthday last month, details of the new Army Physical Fitness Uniform are leaked to no fanfare. Hopefully, the Army will see fit to announce the findings of the Camouflage Improvement Effort as well.
WTF over, haven’t you ever heard of the color Green? Or maybe a brown, but black? Are you freakin’ serious?
I totally agree with you Aaron. After WWII, when the new Army green uniform was created; it was to show that the Marines will wear brown (they land on sandy beaches), Army will be green (for protecting the whole green earth), Air Force will be blue for reference to the blue sky and Navy as well for blue sea and with their whites as well. This black and gold USMA look is ridiculous.
Honestly, I wish the Army would have remained with Brown/Tan/Beige with their uniforms.
Agreed but USMA wears the standard APFU. This would be ludicrous for even the cadets
They look like space cadets or something….. like a suit out of scifi low-budget made-for-tv movie idk….
Could you post the listed changes? Can’t read them off the picture that is posted, or where can I got to see the changes?
Click on the picture and it will open in a new tab with a zoom fuction already enabled
Congrates.. The US Army has produced another crap uniform.. That all black should be fun… Copy the Ranger Batts.. again… What’s next. Everyone get’s a free tab to wear over their Unit Patches…
As long as the tabs for S-6 say “GEEK SQUAD” I’m cool with that.
The Army rolled out the uniform in various colors and logo designs. This was what won the competition. No science involved straight beauty contest.
Mr. Free, the initial options were ludicrous and the colors were all bad. The people making these decisions have no visceral sense and pay no regard to colors in regards to tradition.
Is this on any offical Army sites yet?
What’s wrong with black? “The Ranger’s Bat’s wear black,” ok good for the Rangers, these uniforms don’t have a scroll on them that I can see. It wasn’t just a beauty contest; they removed the elastic waists so now we don’t look like 80’s mobsters in track suits, made the fabric lighter and quick dry, and added tagless labels. Those all seem like good improvements. Instead of looking like goofballs now we look like people who exercise. Now if only we could get a PT program that was an actual workout. Come on people open your minds a little bit here. The only change we should be fighting is the general lowering of standards that our military has been accepting. Stop sweating the small stuff and use that energy to combat serious organizational issues.
I actually don’t think it’s a bad uniform, but I would have kept the short sleeve t-shirt in a light color so it doesn’t get hot as balls for wear in hot weather.
Also, and this is not specific to the new PFU, but I hate, HATE, that goddam Army logo. WTF? Why don’t we use the Army Seal as our logo? Is there some reason why the Army is so allergic to historic symbols and symbolism?
Black is the new grey
I love black clothing. It does so well at keeping all that radiant heat in. REALLY good stuff for working out in, in Alaska, in the winter. As Josh said, beauty contest won it.
Hopefully though, the wicking materials on the shirts has been vastly improved? Please?
Interesting that they’ve eliminated reflective properties as a safety feature.
That’s what I was thinking. I suppose it will keep costs down. Why have it be reflective when your still forced to wear the aggravating PT belt.
Well if the army only trained troops in Alaska it would make sense. Broad based application is going to cause hell…doing a fitness test in mid summer with this is going to make things very uncomfortable, let alone getting caught in the tracksuit when the weather changes. It looks good, but is it fit for purpose? But then again…what military uniform changes made in the last 5 years by the US Military have made much sense at all????
Shaun,
You do realize my comment about it being good in Alaska, in the winter (the AVERAGE temp at Fort Wainwright for three of the seven months of winter there is BELOW 0 F) was sarcasm?
I like it no more than you.
Apparently those that selected this never ran a few miles in the GA/NC summer heat. But it looks great!! Oh yeah don’t forget your PT Belt..
Personally I think they look great!!! Its not a rip from Ranger Batts either. Army Colors have been Black and Gold for many years!!!! Yes they will be hotter than hades to workout in, but the more you sweat, the more you will lose weight, its simple chemistry. The Military in general has been complaining about overweight soldiers. Well, this a way for the ARMY to ensure that its soldiers will actually sweat and drop weight. Change is great! I support it! Love the design!
But gee, didn’t they want to not look like they were flourishing by spending money on new uniforms during sequestration so that’s why they didn’t announce the camo pattern….
IDIOTIC. THIS IS GOING TO STRAIGHT UP KILL PEOPLE, especially in commands where the leadership looks at the calendar and says, “Yup it’s 85° outside but we’re still 2 weeks away from the “summer” uniform–jackets and pants and heat exhaustion, oh my.” Because those of the kinds of leaders lots of the Army is nurturing.
I’m seeing a return to organizational PT uniforms, with all the logistical headaches and IG complaints that entailed.
The commercialised logo on the uniform is stupid. That’s my biggest pet peeve with the AF PTU.
I whole heartedly agree. The Army is not a corporation, it does not need a sterilized, mundane logographic, especially when it posesses an organization specifically set up to develop and maintain heraldry. Is there something wrong with the cannons and cuirass, or the eagle of the great seal, or even a simple “ARMY” on our uniforms? Why are we even developing new PT uniforms when we admit our combat uniform is sub-par? Why spend any money at all on ditching greens for blues when we have troops in contact? All this PT and Dress uniform mumbo-jumbo is wasted effort that could be focused on the combat uniform, the weapons systems, the vehicles we want/need other than those that are pet projects of congress critters. Wow, that turned into a rant faster than I anticipated.
+1,000
I HATE that stupid logo. Why do we need to put a logo developed by an advertising agency on our uniforms?
Hell, why don’t we just start putting other logos on them and charge for the ad space. At least that would bring in some much needed revenue.
PEO- Solider came to our base to show off the choices. When the CSM was asked “what makes this uniform different aside from appearance” he responded with “this uniform is treated with capabilities that give it additional capabilities”
The one good thing regarding their “research” was they explained since we have to wear PT belts, putting reflective material on the uniform was pointless and in taking it off, will keep costs down. The whoe uniform feels and mimics common civilian workout fear you’d usually purchase.
All in all…in a budget crisis they suspended TA and brought it back, but in the mean time they’re still finding a new PT uniform. Priorities seem to be order…
They haven’t released the new PT schedules though. Now everyone will muster at 0100 and PT through 0300 to avoid the sun. Great idea big army
Hey, SSD, any chance that leak came with some dates? Authorized beginning XXX? Wear out date for gray PT tshirts is YYY?
FY15 it will start hitting shelves. Fully fielded by FY18.
Sweet _ I will continue to wear my grey/ black PTs until FY18.
RETIREMENT!!!
Then I will buy ONE set of these to wear with a white tank top underneigth it with a thick gold chain, sapphire pinky ring, and diamond encrusted rolex.
NJ Mobster style.
Pinky ring FTW.
And a goblet.
Yet another way to make Soldiers pay to give the Army a recruiting boost. Because of course this won’t be issued, except to trainees and CSMs – it will come out of the already too-low Clothing Replacement Allowance.
Non-reflective? Whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaat? I was hoping to see the new APFU more reflective than a disco ball in Studio 54 – you know, for safety reasons.
This guy is disappointed.
It’s good (BAD actually) to see that in times of financial stress, and just as the last decade plus of war is drawing to a close, just as now is the time to ponder our lessons learned and plan for the inevitably bloody future of soldiering- The US like Canada is putting it’s resources into changing non-combat uniforms for show.
How the hell is anyone in NATO still alive? Honestly, if the insurgents spent the same percentage of their time as we do ours, developing the right colour of man-jams to wear we could have walked all over them.
Only if TB was required to develop a 40 page CONOP just to roll outside the wire….
LOL! So fucking true.
23 years of service and now I’m going to have to buy more PT uniforms to replace the ones I only wear on unit runs and PT tests. In Shah Allah the wear-out date for the current uniforms is after I plan to retire.
About sums it up. In an era of fiscal w/drawal, we’re worried about the PFU? Seriously… there’s a whole group of folks working on Ft Belvoir that should be taken out and executed on the parade field. And the USMS is looking at changing to a gender neutral service uniform… do the service chiefs of staff and sergeant majors not have anything else that captivates their attention other than trying to leave their mark by changing it? Leave it alone, it wasn’t broke (other than the shirt materials).
This was posted last year here: http://www.army.mil/article/89670/ here: http://www.army.mil/article/88674/ and here: http://www.army.mil/article/88622/. The big Army even gave Soldiers 20 days to vote on the new uniforms as well. So if they look like a POS, you can blame all the REMF’s and Fobbit’s for the new APFU.
I voted. Pretty sure nothing I voted for is in the new uniform.
I didn’t vote for this uniform. Everything I selected or my friends selected isn’t here. It’s going to be insanely hot in the summer and in those warm countries they are sending us to. We are all going to look like a bunch of idiots again.
When I participated in the Marine Corps survey back in 2000 about our new cammies, just about everything my friends and I selected came to light. Now that I’m in the Army I am continually disappointed in the uniform choices they make with every new uniform they come out with.
Big Army doesn’t listen to a single one of our soldiers. From the ACU, A2CU, combat shirt, ASU’s and now the APFU. Not a single one of those uniforms is loved by the soldier who wears it. The only check in the win column for us was the beret.
I loved every uniform I wore in the Marines and was proud to put it on. The only uniform I’m proud to put on now since I’ve been in the Army is my underwear and socks because the Army didn’t design those.
Marines wish they had the Army’s budget, Soldiers wish we had the people the Marines use to decide on uniforms.
I have often wondered what was wrong with a plain shirt and shorts in the summer and sweats when it gets cold.
Can’t wait to be runned over running around in my neighborhood streets.
Pt Belt brother!
This is quite possibly the most stupid choice of colors w/ which they could have come up. It confirms my belief that the officers and NCOs who work at PEO Soldier are adding nothing to the Army other than excess CO2. They should honestly be the 1st ones looked at for the upcoming retention boards. Which genius overlooked the fact that we do PT in the dark during late-fall thru to early-spring? I remember a female MAJ quoted in the Army times as saying, “We’ve always worn reflective belts,” in response to a question as to why the reflective material was removed from the jackets and shirts. No we haven’t, sweetheart. If you’re too young to remember, do some research — there are enough of us still around that remember NOT wearing them as late as the late-90s. Black. What a load of BS. Guess it’ll make the fatbodies look skinnier, eh? Wonder if they’ll get the sizing normalized this time around?
Even if the sizing is normal most of the Soldiers will buy the wrong size and it will be two sizes too big for them.
Honestly, we just got done testing them not more than two weeks ago here at Fort Bragg in the middle of summer. We were interviewed for PEOSoldier and we were told that nothing is for sure yet. They have to go through all the surveys from us and see what they can do. Nothing, NOTHING is for sure yet. They have lots of work to do before its official. Here at Bragg, we ran our buts off in the heat. Honestly, they aren’t too bad even as black. I would prefer a different color however, the moisture wicking DOES work. The shirt is a lot more comfortable than the grey PTs. The shorts and new pockets are AWESOME. I personally use a climbing style clip for my keys and even that fits with my car keys and fits comfortably. They also had a sewn in liner in the shorts and you do not need spandex anymore. For me, a male soldier it is more “freeing” so to speak. Don’t knock it until you try them yourselves. A lot of people had issues with the color of the T-shirt. It was brought up in the feedback survey quite a bit. So, Soldier Systems, as much as I love following the information you guys release, you have received a bad leak this time. There is still quite a bit of feedback process and development left to do on this one.
If they had any sense of efficency – PEO soldier would make the PT uniform T shirt tan. Thus multi use.
I thought the same thing. It doesn’t matter though. It may be multi-use. However, you would still be buying the same amount of shirts. PT shirts and then work uniform shirts.
PEO soldier must be run by trained chimps! Another winner!
Really BLACK?? we PT in the dark most times. Could not find a lighter color for safety. Of course we will still have to wear those silly safety belts. Why couldn’t enough reflective be included? What about a name tag on the front or back…..
It’s a bad time to be in the army.
Aren’t units still permitted to make organizational PT T-Shirts? I mean we had the “ARMY” shirts but we also had battalion and company PT shirts.
Yes
Oh, and what watch cap/fleece cap are you supposed to wear with this?
Black is the new Foliage green
Yellow. Yellow cap, yellow socks, yellow gloves. Jk they never told us.
Wait a BLACK PFU?! (rolls eyes) Have they never ran miles in the hot Southern sun in summer? Idjuts.
We tested the prototypes here at Bragg. It’s not as bad as you think. Still pretty hot though.
Once again the Hudson High influence on Army color selection. Anyone else like the idea of using the colors from the Army flag? Oh wait, that’s Red, White and Blue. Too radical……
The old Grey PTs came from West Point as well.
Funny how many people are bitching about the black shirt. What color is your BN shirt? And honestly, who’s command forces people to wear winter PT’s? Fuck that.
What I want my SQDN shirt to be and what it is are two different things…eff black.
Trying to get the Star Trek look lol
Could be worse! Most of you rookies do not remember the banana suit!
I came in 1983 when we PT with the new BDUs lol
Go to the 15 minute mark
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F6Z4YWlFUCs
Dang! Where’s the Warrior look? it looks something anyone can pick up at the mall. Talk about Space troopers, lol.
Now running in the wee early morning is going to be that much more dangerous (BLACK), and the need for a reflective belt…hah! Besides, it’s not like we need to be saving or spending our money on things that are actually going to improve our performance…not our looks.
I really really really hate the Army star logo.
What a waste of money. Who give a flying F about the color of the uniform for PT.
Wow. All this crying from our nations most honorable men and women. Its black, get over it. It has bright yellow reflective areas so there is no need for wearing a pt belt. Also, take a look at the design of the bottom of the jacket. no more annoying bunching and pulling down after each exercise. Tradition is great but some times it hold you back from doing something new.
My only thoughts on this are that in this fiscally constrained environment, we could have made the same “up grades” to the current APFU. No need for a color change, just make the material and fitting improvements to the current uniform, which looks fine. Would have saved time and money, could be issued faster to give soldiers the more comfortable material. The jacket and pants could have been upgraded faster as well, I do like not having the bunching elastic.
But, much like the “new APFT” we spend millions in development, only to not implement what we paid for and what common sense and/or science dictates. So its no surprise this is a leak and not an announcement. And instead of making the easy decision and going to multicam, we will probably go to somthhing even more expensive and spend billions more to outfit everyone, when multicam has already been issued to the army, navy, and air force in afghanistan. Would be too easy to just implement that uniform and go to it. Would be able to transition immediately, save money, and works. Sigh….
Well, I guess its time for another change!!!! We all know “leadership” is about influencing behavior. It appears someone high wants to leave a mark (SORTA LIKE SPARKY ON THE FIRE HYDRANT). Not to worry though, the PT suit will change again (as it always does). Perhaps you will see the next one and it will appease you. You really need to focus crying about the active duty entitlement cuts and the retirement cuts you will face.
woof woof.
Well im glad its black and yellow i voted for those colors and i dont mind the pt belt i love it know if you are complaining its probably because it wont fit arround your waste fat ass also stop complaining about uniforms just accept it and wear it and shut up already with complaining all the time grow up it could have been pink i would still wear it i have know issues with what uncle sam provides for me also you voluntered to join so suck it up and drive on .