One more time. This time, it’s not a draft and has actually been published. The only additional info we have on this new ensemble is a year old.
soldiersystems.net/2013/07/26/more-on-the-new-army-physical-fitness-uniform
FOR SITUATIONAL AWARENESS
PLEASE DISSEMINATE TO ALL MILITARY PERSONNEL.
SUBJECT: THE NEW ARMY PHYSICAL FITNESS UNIFORM (APFU) AND THE NEW BLACK MICROFLEECE CAP
EFFECTIVE IMMEDIATELY, REQUEST THE WIDEST POSSIBLE DISSEMINATION
1. (U) REFERENCES:
A. (U) OPERATIONAL FORCES INTERFACE GROUP REPORT, DATED 3 MAY 12, SUBJECT: TOTAL ARMY SURVEY OF THE IMPROVED PHYSICAL FITNESS UNIFORM (IPFU) TO ALL 50 STATES AND VARIOUS WORLDWIDE LOCATIONS.
B. (U) OPERATIONAL FORCES INTERFACE GROUP REPORT, DATED 7 JAN 13, SUBJECT: IMPROVED PHYSICAL FITNESS UNIFORM (IPFU) PHASE II.
C. (U) OFFICE OF THE DEPUTY CHIEF OF STAFF G-4, MEMORANDUM DATED 26 AUG 13, SUBJECT: IMPLEMENTATION OF THE CHIEF OF STAFF OF THE ARMY (CSA) APPROVAL OF THE 144TH ARMY UNIFORM BOARD (AUB) RECOMMENDATIONS.
2. (U) THE PURPOSE OF THIS MESSAGE IS TO PROVIDE INFORMATION ON THE INTRODUCTION OF THE NEW ARMY PHYSICAL FITNESS UNIFORM (APFU).
3. (U) SOLDIERS’ FEEDBACK PROMPTED THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE NEW APFU. TO GAUGE ACCURATELY THE SOLDIERS’ OPINIONS, THE ARMY CONDUCTED AN ONLINE SURVEY FROM 6 FEB TO 7 MAR 12. THE SURVEY GENERATED MORE THAN 76,000 SOLDIER RESPONSES. THE SOLDIERS’ RECOMMENDATIONS INCLUDE MODIFICATIONS TO THE APPEARANCE, THE ADDITION OF HIGH PERFORMANCE FABRICS, AND MEASURES TO INCREASE COMFORTAND FIT. FROM 9-29 OCT 12, A SECOND SURVEY CONDUCTED TO DETERMINE SOLDIER PREFERENCE FOR COLOR AND DESIGN OF THE FITNESS UNIFORM. MORE THAN 190,000 SOLDIERS VOTED ON 64 DESIGN AND COLOR COMBINATIONS. SOLDIERS ULTIMATELY RECOMMENDED THE BLACK AND GOLD ENSEMBLE.
4. (U) THE PROGRAM EXECUTIVE OFFICE SOLDIER WORKED WITH NATICK SOLDIER RESEARCH DEVELOPMENT AND ENGINEERING CENTER TO REDESIGN THE CURRENT IPFU. THE GOAL WAS TO USE HIGH PERFORMANCE FABRICS WITHOUT INCREASING THE COST OF THE NEW APFU. THE NEW APFU FEATURES 34 IMPROVEMENTS: IMPROVED ID/KEY POCKETS, A REDESIGNED STRETCHABLE LINING IN THE TRUNKS, HEAT MITIGATION, AND FEMALE SIZING (PANTS/JACKET). ALL OF THESE CHANGES WERE INCORPORATED BASED ON SOLDIERS’ INPUT. THE ARMY CONDUCTED EXTENSIVE TECHNICAL TESTING AS WELL AS USER ASSESSMENTS IN VARIOUS CLIMATIC REGIONS TO OBTAIN SOLDIER’S FEEDBACK AND TO VALIDATE THE APFU FORM, FIT, AND FUNCTION.
5. (U) THE NEW APFU ENSEMBLE CONSISTS OF THE FOLLOWING ITEMS:
A. (U) APFU JACKET: BLACK W/GOLD ARMY LOGO
B. (U) APFU PANTS: BLACK W/GOLD ARMY LOGO
C. (U) APFU LONG SLEEVE SHIRT: BLACK W/GOLD “ARMY” LETTERING
D. (U) APFU SHORT SLEEVE SHIRT: BLACK W/GOLD “ARMY” LETTERING
E. (U) APFU TRUNKS: BLACK W/GOLD “ARMY” LETTERING
6. (U) THE NEW APFU EMSEMBLE IS QUICK DRYING, MOISTURE WICKING, AND USES LIGHT-WEIGHT FABRICS. THE APFU ENSEMBLE IS NOT REFLECTIVE. THE T-SHIRTS AND TRUNK LINERS WILL NOT HAVE ANTIMICROBIAL CAPABILITIES AT THIS TIME. AFTER FURTHER RESEARCH, THE ARMY WILL CONSIDER ADDING ANTIMICROBIAL CAPABILITIES.
7. (U) THE ARMY PLANS TO INTRODUCE THE NEW ISSUED APFU OVER SEVERAL YEARS. THE NEW APFU WILL BE AVAILABLE:
A. (U) FOR ARMY MILITARY CLOTHING STORES (AMCS) IN 1QFY15. DURING THE APFU INTRODUCTION, DRILL AND ADVANCED INDIVIDUAL TRAINING (AIT) PLATOON SERGEANTS AT CLOTHING INITIAL ISSUE POINT (CIIP) LOCATIONS ARE AUTHORIZED TO OBTAIN THEIR SUPPLEMENTAL ISSUE OF APFU ITEMS FROM THEIR LOCAL AMCS IN 2QFY15.
B. (U) FOR CIIP FOR INITIAL ENTRY TRAINING (IET) SOLDIERS IN 3QFY15,
C. (U) FOR THE ARMY NATIONAL GUARD, ARMY RESERVE, AND SENIOR RESERVE OFFICER TRAINING CORPS SOLDIERS IN 4QFY15.
D. (U) THE WEAR OUT DATE FOR THE IPFU IS 30 SEP 17. THE MANDATORY POSSESSION DATE FOR THE APFU IS 1 OCT 17 (1QFY18).
8. (U) THE ARMY IS INTRODUCING AN OPTIONAL COMMERCIAL APFU ENSEMBLE, WHICH WILL BE AVAILABLE IN AMCS’ STARTING 1QFY15 (DEC 14). THIS WILL ALLOW SOLDIERS AN OPTION TO PROCURE AN APFU IN ANOTHER FABRIC WITH THEIR PERSONAL FUNDS. THE OPTIONAL APFU WILL BE IDENTICAL IN APPEARANCE TO THE NEW ISSUED APFU, BUT WILL BE MADE WITH HIGHER PERFORMANCE FABRICS AT AN INCREASED COST TO THE SOLDIER. SOLDIERS MUST PROCURE THE OPTIONAL ITEMS WITH THEIR PERSONAL FUNDS. IN ADDITION, THE OPTIONAL PURCHASE APFU INCLUDE THE JACKET AND PANTS IN UNISEX AND FEMALE SIZES.
9. (U) SOLDIERS ARE AUTHORIZED TO WEAR A MIXTURE OF ISSUED AND OPTIONAL APFU COMPONENTS. SOLDIERS ARE UNAUTHORIZED TO MIX THE WEAR OF NEW APFU COMPONENTS WITH THE IPFU COMPONENTS.
APFUS ARE AUTHORIZED FOR WEAR ON AND OFF DUTY, ON AND OFF THE INSTALLATION, AND WHEN AUTHORIZED BY THE COMMANDER.
10. THE ARMY IS CHANGING THE COLOR OF THE MICROFLEECE CAP FROM GREEN TO BLACK FOR WEAR WITH THE NEW APFU AND THE NEW ARMY COMBAT UNIFORM. THE NEW BLACK MICROFLEECE CAP WILL BE AVAILABLE:
A. (U) AT ARMY MILITARY CLOTHING STORES (AMCS) IN 1QFY15. DURING THE BLACK MICROFLEECE CAP INTRODUCTION, DRILL AND AIT PLATOON SERGEANTS AT CIIP LOCATIONS ARE AUTHORIZED TO OBTAIN THEIR SUPPLEMENTAL ISSUE OF THE BLACK MICROFLEECE CAP FROM THEIR LOCAL AMCS IN 2QFY15.
B. (U) AT CLOTHING INITIAL ISSUE POINTS FOR IET SOLDIERS IN 3QFY15,
C. (U) AT THE ARMY NATIONAL GUARD, ARMY RESERVE, AND RESERVE OFFICER TRAINING CORPS SOLDIERS IN 4QFY15.
D. (U) THE WEAR OUT DATE FOR THE GREEN MICROFLEECE CAP IS 30 SEP 18. THE MANDATORY POSSESSION DATE FOR THE BLACK MICROFLEECE CAP IS 1 OCT 17 (1QFY18).
11. (U) HEADQUARTERS, DEPARTMENT OF THE ARMY (HQDA) POINT OF CONTACT IS MAJ DANNY PADELLO, OR MS. BRYANT-HARPER.
12. (U) THIS MESSAGE WILL EXPIRE IN MARCH 2024 UNLESS SUPERSEDED BY OFFICIAL GUIDANCE FROM HQDA.
CLASSIFICATION: UNCLASSIFIED
CAVEATS: NONE
The fact that an ALARACT mentioned “new army combat uniform” with the black watch cap has me all giddy.
You noticed that too. I’m quite pleased as well.
I guess… I never saw anything wrong with the Foliage Green ones, or our dinky Coyote ones, but at least they’ll have a uniform other than ACU in the near future.
New ACU yes! Now where’s the bit about reflective belts?
Don’t jinx it.
I noticed a curious omission of a PT belt as well and though that interesting.
6. (U) THE NEW APFU EMSEMBLE IS QUICK DRYING, MOISTURE WICKING, AND USES LIGHT-WEIGHT FABRICS. THE APFU ENSEMBLE IS NOT REFLECTIVE. THE T-SHIRTS AND TRUNK LINERS WILL NOT HAVE ANTIMICROBIAL CAPABILITIES AT THIS TIME. AFTER FURTHER RESEARCH, THE ARMY WILL CONSIDER ADDING ANTIMICROBIAL CAPABILITIES.
If this stuff isn’t reflective the PT belt could conceivably be replaced by a vest…
And it’s all black, so yeah, they’ll probably go with the vest…
Reading your reply, I just realized that part of the specs call for the trunk liners to have anti-microbial properties, now what are they trying to say there? Are they trying to suggest that our young soldiers might have some nasty stuff on their junk, hence the anti-microbial liners?
They’re saying that PT uniforms aren’t washed everyday and our troops work up a sweat.
I second that. Any word when we will be able to see pictures of the modified scorpion pattern?
No
what is an ALARACT?
All Army Action message.
AL(L) AR(MY) ACT(IVITIES). It’s how information was disseminated before the internet.
All caps from the teletype days. Now just imagine a bunch of E-9s screaming it from the steps of the Pentagon.
Interesting note:
The Navy recently mandated that these sorts of messages *NOT* be in all caps.
Seems the young swabbies thought they were being yelled at.
:MASSIVE eyeroll:
All caps are just more difficult to read. The brain recognizes words by their shape. The ascenders and descenders, help to denote words. All caps are fine for a line or two to indicate something more noteworthy, but an entire message like that? Glad I don’t actually have to read it.
It’s the same with a website that has text that runs from screen edge to screen edge. Very hard to read.
Black Shirts, really? Has any of these people ran in the hot Ga or NC weather?
It’s what they chose. I’m expecting an optional grey shirt by next year. That, or units will authorize one locally.
They probably modeled them after the tapout shirts everybody wears to the gym.
You DO know where Infantry School is located, right?? 😉
You mean the School for Wayward Boys, why yes, I’m an Alumni..
…cue unit shirts (and the requisite IG complaints when someone suspects that you and your new best friend the printing guy can clear some nice coin if you mark ’em up a buck for a battalion-sized formation) in 10… 9… 8…
When they solicited input I voted for PT uniforms in a tac color that reminds everyone WHY functional fitness is important, hides dirt better than gray and is more comfortable in sun than black. I guess that was too “Marine” like for too many people…
Well, thanks for trying. The Corps isn’t much better about it, but copying us isn’t that terrible. Basically any tactical color with smartly chosen printing would have worked brilliantly, instead huge sums of money will get spent on this.
I concur. Black and Gold sucks. Forget branding. If we are to emulate the pt duds at West Point, we might use their dress uniform as well. Much sharper than the ASU.
Can’t wait for retirement.
I’ve never been subject to Army uniform regs (Marine Corps), but I’d much rather live in a world where Army cats are only jealous of our immense sexual prowess and slight edge in crude humor, not having to be jealous of having a usable uniform in addition to that. I’m sure it’s difficult to measure what effects that has on retention and esprit de corps, but branding > effectiveness should have made heads roll in the first place, as it’s the exact sort of wrongheaded thinking that gets good warriors killed and useless brass promoted.
lol i wonder where these fucktards come up with this shit.
Why not green shorts and the ACU undershirt? or something. Or leave the PT uniform alone.
Branding. The Army has decided, and quite intelligently mind you, they want black and gold(yellow) to be their identifying color scheme. It began with the stylized Army logo, continued in the transition from the greens to the ASU, and is now being reflected in the PT uniform.
Black and gold are bold, eye catching colors. by having all the uniforms outside of the combat uniform reflect this scheme the Army is establishing a visual brand much akin to the Marine Corps’ use of black and red.
Take it from a professional marketer, this is the right thing to do. “Keep the Coke can red” is one of the most worn out axioms in marketing. The Army has transitioned from using several different emblems (DoA seal, Unnofficial seal with the national crest), and color schemes (red white and blue, green, black and gold) to using one color scheme and one emblem in their marketing campaign. There is a reason this APFU is being allowed for wear off post. It is free advertising.
There’s two things that come to mind with Black and Gold: Ranger Tab and painting rocks around the company area as the flavor of the month for the 1SG, BN CSGM, BDE CSGM, DIV CSGM.
I find your comment lacking because the majority of Rangers are stationed in Georgia, and they wear Black PTs. In addition, there are some other people who wear black PTs down there as well. I never had an issue running around in the Georgia heat with my black shirt and black shorts, so long as they were of a superior fabric than cotton.
Lil’ gem for those willing to allocate personal funds for better gear:
8. (U) THE ARMY IS INTRODUCING AN OPTIONAL COMMERCIAL APFU ENSEMBLE, WHICH WILL BE AVAILABLE IN AMCS’ STARTING 1QFY15 (DEC 14). THIS WILL ALLOW SOLDIERS AN OPTION TO PROCURE AN APFU IN ANOTHER FABRIC WITH THEIR PERSONAL FUNDS. THE OPTIONAL APFU WILL BE IDENTICAL IN APPEARANCE TO THE NEW ISSUED APFU, BUT WILL BE MADE WITH HIGHER PERFORMANCE FABRICS AT AN INCREASED COST TO THE SOLDIER. SOLDIERS MUST PROCURE THE OPTIONAL ITEMS WITH THEIR PERSONAL FUNDS. IN ADDITION, THE OPTIONAL PURCHASE APFU INCLUDE THE JACKET AND PANTS IN UNISEX AND FEMALE SIZES.
I never understood why UA never tried to get into the market for a passable t-shirt that didn’t have a dry weight of 10 lbs.
What ALARACT number is this because I don’t see it on any official Army site.
Looks like a draft to me.
There’s no ALARACT number, no DTG, and it’s missing the standard “HIS MESSAGE HAS BEEN SENT BY THE PENTAGON TELECOMMUNICATIONS CENTER ON BEHALF OF DA WASHINGTON DC” you see on just about every published ALARACT.
At what point did the uniform board decide that that color was the right choice for soldiers stationed in places like Ft. Huachuca? That logic seems to be the trademark of the Army uniform board.
Gents, it does not matter if the APFU is reflective, flourecent, or has strobing lights, the Army will be wearing PT belts. PT belts are a risk mitigating factor for PT at every level; the leadership will have their asses covered. Assinine as these SOPs may be, your chian of command’s careers are more important to them than not looking like an eight year old with down syndrome. As far as the uniform itself goes, these things seem like a huge leap in the right direction. Lighter fabrics, a more taiored fit, and less elastic all sound awesome. Black is a fine color too, remember we do PT early in the morning before the sun gets too nasty and that you only do PT for an hour or two.
Why about we keep the APFU reflective and get rid of the PT belt? Black and “gold” is already eye catching by itself, add reflective stuff to it, and bam, now you can be spotted easily from far away. It would make the PT belt unnecessary from a “safety/risk” perspective, and if the Army cares so much about looks/branding, getting rid of the PT belt would be a priority, since it looks stupid to say the least.
We were saying that back in the mid 90’s when some retard decided that closed roads and MP’s at intersections was not enough and rolled out the original reflective anklet we were stuck using, of course the unneeded crossing guards still wore the vest, it’s gotten ridiculous to force a belt on Soldiers when siply printing a reflective ARMY or stripe on the shirts and shorts would have made 100% more sense
black? out of all the colors for exercising gear they chose black. Running on a humid, sunny day is gonna suck more than a day at the beach without sunscreen
But you’ll look fabulous.
My unit wears black PT shirts, it’s honestly not that bad.
im guessing your pretty far north?
Mine does too, we’re in Kentucky. It’s not as bad as you people are making it out to be.
I’ve worn black for PT in the tropics, sub-tropics, and equatorial areas for years; not to mention NC in summer at noon and VA, same time of day; your clothing color is not an issue, your body composition, hydration, and fitness level are.
Jon, OPT
How about we REALLY save some money and just do PT in our ACU’s?
I heard through the E4 mafia that not only will we keep the PT Belt, but the belt will now have little boxes to be checked off for: SHARP, EO, MRT, GAT, Command Climate survey, Information Awareness, PII, AAC, etc.
Sorry. Couldn’t resist.
Armytimes dropped pictures. Here you go
http://www.armytimes.com/article/20140731/NEWS07/307310083/UPDATE-New-images-show-details-new-Army-camo
Looks a lot like multicam so hopefully multicam kit won’t stick out.
“Looks like Multicam”. Wrong thread, brother.
And SSD has talked ad nauseum about the origins/history of Scorpion for what? the last six months.
Just to help the people out asking why the “Leadership” chose black: The army had an entire survey sent out to every soldier. There were multiple choices for the PT uniform color. The SOLDIERS chose black on black, not the leadership.
They didn’t have much to choose from; 2 variations of black & grey or black & gold. They should of asked them what colors they wanted versus making them choose from a pre-determined list.
Correction: 3 variations.
Morons couldn’t have picked a worse color combination. They should of chosen something like RG or OD for the both bottoms and jacket color, and tan 499 or coyote for the shirt color; shit even a white shirt or kept it grey.
i still don’t see why they changed it in the first place. The IPFU works great in almost any environment and is made of the appropriate materials needed for working out. I’ve personally used it in Snow and Sand, rain or shine, and have felt perfectly fine. Army, quit wasting time and funds on side projects when you should be tackling more important issues!
Comments on here are pretty hilarious.
I’ve been wearing black PT’s since 1999, seven of those years in sub-tropic Okinawa, as well as all over Southeast Asia, suck it the fuck up buttercup. If you think your PT color is going to make you burn in, you are wrong, it’s your body composition that will do you in far sooner. The only issue with black is before the sun rises, and cars are involved.
Look at what the Army was wearing back in the banana suit days, count your damn blessings. Yellow T-Shirt with red shorts, or some equally lame shit, look it up.
The jarheads got it right years ago, and SF has been doing the same thing for decades. Take the issued T-shirt, throw on lined swim trunk like shorts, and tennis shoes, you have a PT uniform. Some units authorize team shirts or what RGR RGT does with black on blacks. Posts are going to require reflective shit anyway.
Just glad they got rid of those gnome hats, honestly I thought that was some kind of punishment for people who forgot their headgear.
It’s PT, not a catwalk.
Jon, OPT
Banana suit was Yellow track suit (1979s styling included), reversible black/yellow t-shirt (yes, it was double thick but looked awesome when you could wear it with BDUs) and yellow shorts (short short track shorts) with black piping. I came in just as they were going out and had one as a PVT. For a short while in the mid-80s, there wasn’t an Army PT uniform and local units issued/authorized their own. Most of those were grey. The old Grey West Point PT uniform came in in the late 80s. It go featured bell bottom sweat pants and a pointy hood on the jacket.
I miss those grey PT shirts… most comfortable t-shirt I ever owned. Not very good for PT, but damn comfortable for everything else!
The aforementioned ALARACT is not in the official ALARACT list. I also noticed it does not have a message number or DTG listed above. Is this some sort of preview message or was is conjured up by someone with nothing better to do? Is sure doesn’t appear to be an official message.
It was released but I don’t have the DTG.