B5 Systems

Pinks and Greens On The Hill – Part II

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SMA Dailey was on Capital Hill earlier this week, showing off the latest versions of the proposed ‘Pinks and Greens’ service dress uniform. The name of this World War Two-inspired uniform comes from the popular name for the private purchase officer’s uniform which had an OD coat and Rose trousers.

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This is also the first time we’ve seen a maternity version of the uniform.

This is the latest information we have on the uniform components:

Male Coat:
Dark drab green, four-button design with a belt and likely with a bi-swing back. Officers have ½-inch brown braid

Female Coat:
Similar to the above, but without the top pockets (PEO Soldier acknowledges the difficulty of aligning accouterments without top pockets, but struggles with how to maintain a bust line that lays well when it incorporates top pockets or flaps). The prototype coat is about 2 inches shorter than the current ASU Coat

Male Trousers:
Taupe color and similar to current design, but without trouser braid for enlisted and NCOs. Officers’ braid is still not decided

Female Slacks:
Incorporates side-seam pockets, but no back pockets. Likely will have some hidden waistband pockets to provide added utility for Class B wear. Will likely incorporate a comfort waistband

Female Skirt:
Pencil design with comfort waistband, likely cut with a “V.” Skirt will incorporate a “V” or kick pleat at back hem

Male Shirt:
Currently proposed as a poly-wool plain-weave tan cloth. Tapered design will have the similar pockets as the ASU shirt, but no creases. Enlisted will not have shoulder loops, but will wear sleeve chevrons. Officers might have shoulder loops, but may also wear collar rank (TBD)

Female Shirt:
Similar to the untuck version of the ASU shirt in general design

Ties:
For both males and females, likely the same color as the coat

Headgear:
Unisex Service Caps with “walnut” brown leather visors and chin straps, incorporating the iconic “crushed” look of WWII. The uniform will also have garrison caps

Footwear:
Brown leather with brown socks

Overall CSA Guidance:
Make the uniform as functionally comfortable as possible without giving up a sharp, military appearance. Make the female uniforms as close as possible to the male uniforms without compromising female anatomical fit. Reduce the “bling” on the uniform by limiting pin-on items, perhaps incorporating subdued buttons, etc.

43 Responses to “Pinks and Greens On The Hill – Part II”

  1. Moshjath says:

    Looks good! Will provide a great intermediate level uniform to fall between the ASUs and ACUs.

    Cue certain members that share a name with a captain of the USS Enterprise commenting to complain about this being a waste of resources and time in three, two, one…

    • Kirk says:

      I’m done commenting on this stupidity and waste of resources. Y’all can be the ones explaining to the Congressional investigations and next-of-kin after the next Task Force Smith just why it was more important to have a pretty-pretty dress uniform that hardly ever gets worn, than to actually do our fucking jobs and prepare for war.

      I did my bit fixing the Army after the decay of the 1970s, only to watch a lot of that work get pissed away during the ’90s. The burden is on other shoulders now, and they’re apparently more concerned with appearance than substance.

      Good luck, with all that.

      • Erin says:

        I love the look, except for that garrison cap, nasty.

        But it is a complete waste of resources in a sequestered military currently involved in several conflicts and short on funds for training and equipment.

  2. Rayforest9 says:

    Not bad but that maternity outfit looks like they found a use for all the old OD GI wool blankets.

  3. ThatBlueFalcon says:

    My wife’s ecstatic because they made the female version with pockets so that the ribbon placement doesn’t shift if you change bras.

    I’m still a crusty old man over here who’s railing against this distraction from real problems, like our inability to publish and adhere to basic weapons manipulation doctrine as evidenced in the clusterf–k that was the M17 fielding and firing at Ft. Campbell…

    • Maroon Beret says:

      Amen but that issue started well before now with Shenski and the black beret nonsense. It only got worse when someone in Army leadership decided that the more fruit salad on your uniform, the more that means you must be a real warrior. Then it spiraled out of control when someone else who needed more fluff for their efficiency report came up the idea to desecrate the dress blue uniform. More pins, and ribbons on your uniform doesn’t mean you fight, and win wars any better. I agree that this shouldn’t be done at the cost of focusing on real issues but along with many other things like lower standards to achieve some professed level of equality at the expense of performance, today’s uniforms need to change as well.

  4. Maroon Berer says:

    Interesting effort to redeuce bling. Why not stop awarding decorations for everything from a clean room, to being capable of doing basic skills soldiers should have anyway? The bling is nothing more than a reflection of today’s society where kids get participation trophies, and graduation ceremonies are held for moving from kindergarten into first grade. However these uniforms look way better than how today’s Army looks. Uniforms now days look like they were put together by a drunk Ru Paul. The only thing missing from the blues are a fuchsia scarf edged in teal. However whatever uniform is chosen, it can’t be deployed fast enough to get rid of those dumbass black berets that makes everyone look like Belgian cheese makers.

  5. Strike-Hold says:

    Conspicuously absent is any mention, or inclusion, of the black beret. Does that mean its going away?

    I’ll also say again that I hope they bring back the brown Corcoran Jump Boots for the Airborne troops as well.

  6. Rob says:

    They look like reenactors at a 40’s swing dance.

    • Bob says:

      Yup.

      Just let me wear the green uniform I have hanging in my closet, instead of making me pretend I’m an extra on Band of Brothers.

  7. PPGMD says:

    I like it. The ASUs always looked a little too much like business suit to me.

  8. Current says:

    Great another uniform that everyone will have to buy. Whats the point. Just leave the ASU alone for the next 10 years and call it good. Its bad enough they changed the PT uniform and everyone had to go buy those. Why not just give additional money for their clothing allowance so people can wear civilian PTs and wear business casual clothes to work when not wearing their OCPs. Oh wait its the army and everyone needs to spend more money than they earn buying all the dumb shit they don’t need for their actual job. My bad 😛

  9. Farragut Jones says:

    Does this mean Air Force will be the only ones left riding the Metro to the Pentagon in camo?

  10. Pablo says:

    During the obamanation I read that military personnel in the White House were not allowed to wear their uniforms.

    Has this changed?

    • Gerard says:

      You got a source on that uniform ban in the White House?

    • ROY says:

      I don’t know what the policy was during Obama, but I do know that Hillary prohibited military uniforms in the White House when Bill was president.

  11. Robert Goepp says:

    No Sat-Brite anything, leave it all with that more subdued look it has at Clothing Sales. Cut down on the badges, the ribbons and medals. No more foreign awards on uniforms. Clean the whole thing up.

    • M Ellis says:

      I agree about the medals/ribbons. Of mine 18 are basically “I didn’t go AWOL ribbons” — My great grandfather won the medal of honor during WWI and he only had a total of six, including MOH and Silver Star. Too many participation ribbons…IMHO. I would like to see a Ike jacket added with ribbons optional. I also agree they shouldn’t make soldiers buy the uniform. If they need it, issue it. No more $50 allowance for a $150 outfit kind of thing. Personally, I Hate the ASU. Way too formal. No one knows its Army. And what is wrong with looking like Band of Brothers. My father loved the Pink and Greens, and there is no problem using a uniform that looks back on history. Marines and Navy have uniforms that represent their history. Sequester will soon be history. I agree on priorities, but I think the P&Gs put the whole uniform to rest for generations to come.

  12. Dellis says:

    These are really nice looking uniforms, harkens back to when my dad wore a uniform.

    The maternity uniform though, looks like it was designed by an angry feminist .

  13. Northeast_Major_City says:

    Awesome… luv ’em!

  14. SPEC9 says:

    The uniforms look nice but, how will they look on someone not so lean and mean? I remember sitting in the master bedroom of USASMA 24 years ago listening to the then SMA telling us how he was going to make the Army Dress Greens of the day look so much better by adding a belt. I also remember how the army spent minimal money tailoring new soldier’s dress uniforms while other branches spent much more. I’m not sure about reviving the bus driver hat but, i’m not fond of everyone wearing a black beret either. If done right, brown jump boot could be a cool addition. Not quite as sharp as the khakis of olden days but, sharp. Good luck with all of your never ending uniform changes. I’m glad my present uniforms largely consist of jeans and Tommy Bahama shirts.

  15. 32sbct says:

    Want to reduce the bling? Top six ribbons and only two badges.

    Also, I hate to say it but the pisscutter looks better than the garrison hat or whatever they’re calling it. That hat looks horrible on the female SSG. And the maternity uniform is hideous.

    I still don’t like it, but it sure looks like it’s going to happen.

  16. Bob says:

    Ok, if we have to go down this road, if they bring back the A-2 flight jacket, it should be aviation only.

    Tankers get their strappy boots.

    Airborne gets wings, maroon berets, and jump boots.

    Aviators should be able to wear their leather jackets.

    And on the subject of uniforms, how about bringing back flight patches on the A2CUs?

    • Tony says:

      I agree with bringing the A-2 jacket back but for Air crew only. Bad enough i have to see refuelers wearing flightsuits. And just my personnal opinion, the service cap is fine but like the A-2 jacket only aviators should be able to wear it “crushed”. It started in the Air Corp when bomber pilots would wear their headsets over their hats.

      Also we still wear our flight patches on our A2CUs.

      • AbnMedOps says:

        Exactly: what they call “the iconic crushed-cap look” was specific to Army Air Corps/Force pilots, who (apparently in common sense defiance of regs), removed the inner-ring thingie from their service caps, in order to “crush” down their primitive headsets over the cap. Gads, that whole arrangement must have been uncomfortable as F!

  17. Bob says:

    And how about bringing back the Eagle Rising for Warrant Officers instead of branch insignia? The traditional Warrant Officer branch color, brown, would look great on this uniform.

    • xdarrows says:

      They still aren’t showing the solution for Officer Branch … is it going to be on the jacket lapel?

      What about the epaulets on the shirts?

      It would be cheaper and easier to have shirts w/o epaulets and have the rank and branch pins on the shirt collars.

      • Bob says:

        Why would you want branch insignia on your shirt collar?

        Just put it on the jacket lapels and wear shoulder boards on the shirt.

      • SSD says:

        The main image shows officer branch insignia, on the lapel.

  18. Eric says:

    Can we not do the belt on the jacket? The vast majority of the Army will not look good with the belted jacket…. Just saying.

    • xdarrows says:

      Maybe that means that the Army will have to invest resources (time and money) in ensuring that the Army doesn’t reflect the obesity of the American population.

      What I’ve learned in nearly 20 years is that unless it’s required on the OER/NCOER to make a certain block check, it ain’t important.

      A lot of problems would be solved with, for example, no officer or NCO with less than a 270 on the APFT gets a top block check. We could add:

      – No top block w/o expert on assigned weapon
      – Assigning weapons and requiring training for all Soldiers, including those on staffs
      – Requiring a certain level of hand-to-hand combat proficiency for promotions (don’t the Marines do that?)
      – Reimplementing the Excellence-in-Competition combat pistol and combat rifle matches Army-wide

      • HMFIC says:

        This ^

        • Attack7 says:

          Boom, repeat!

          Kind of like retro cars, they resemble the old ones, but with a modern twist. Love the concept of the uniform, but lose the old school folding sides of the service cap and never bring back that garrison cap….never!

      • Jose Garcia says:

        So effing happy they got rid of that cheap plastic name tag! (I hope)

        I think a tan tie with the shirt would look better. or a green shirt with green tie and green coat.

        The subdued buttons are sharp.

        THE BELT must STAY… When is the Army going to fight back against body fat?

        The pisscutter (if resurrected) should have the same cut and wear as it did in WWII, the modern interpretation of the pisscutter shown here looks like crap.

  19. Bobby davro says:

    Thought it was a capt America or a re-enactment advertisement mabye a bit too retro