Adoption of the back-to-the-future Green Service Dress Uniform has been a multi-year project for Sergeant Major of the Army Dan Dailey. Now that the Army has formally announced adoption of the World War Two-inspired uniform, they don’t want it to be referred to by its original nickname.
Rather than “Pinks and Greens” which stems from the hues of the fabrics used to tailor the original private purchase uniform reserved for wear by officers, the Army will refer to the updated style as “Greens” which unfortunately is the same name used for the dark green business suit adopted in the 50s to replace this one.
Instead, I recommend the Army call this uniform the “OG” which was long used by the Army to denote the color Olive Green, but also gives a nice tip of the hat to the “Original GIs” who wore this uniform while crushing the enemies of freedom.
Why do I have a feeling that name is going to catch on!? Lol
Maybe the SMA is a fan of Ice-T’s music? He’s about the right age for when that album came out and Ice-T is former Army. Could make for quite a Victoria’s Secret fashion show style roll out show
Call them Alpha’s.
Soldiers aren’t Marines. Consequently, they wear dress uniforms, but don’t wear blouses or covers.
I must spend too much time with former Marines…can’t remember calling my patrol cap anything other than a cover in years.
It’s still wrong. It’s like being in the Army and saying you went to boot camp.
I wouldn’t say being it’s wrong…more like “wrong.” I’ve never called my leg hat (patrol cap) a cover, but I’ve always called my uniform top a blouse and boot camp seems pretty universal to me.
“Pinks and Greens” was always kind of an odd nickname anyway – the color of the old trousers was more of a taupe shade than “pink”.
I agree that calling them just “Greens” could cause confusion with the old “Dress Greens” that we wore back in the 80’s, but calling them “OGs” could also cause confusion with the jungle fatigues worn in ‘Nam (and later) and the “pickle suits” of the ’70’s.
Why no just call the uniform what it is, the Army Dress Uniform (ADU). And if a nickname is really required, call it the “Army Greens” or the “Tans and Greens” (TAG)?
No one serving now even knows what Jungle fatigues are, let alone green fatigues.
Not having been issued something is not the same being ignorant to its existence. I’m pretty sure this topic is evidence of that.
Well, it’s been spoon fed over and over again for the past two years. And yet, people still regularly ask why they’re called “pinks” so I don’t have any faith in the notion that the 95th percentile soldier would know that fatigues were referred to as OG 507’s.
By that same token, I think its equally unlikely that the average millennial would think the the 1980’s Dress Greens if the new uniform is referred as “Green”.
At any rate, the whole ensemble is tan and green, so I would still go with “Tans and Greens” as my preferred option. 😉
Greens were the uniform until 2015.
Taupe?
Pepperidge Farms remembers!
Beg your pardon? It’s not like they were the uniform of the day at JRTC until the ACU-cut replacements or anything.
I am still serving since 83 and was issued the old OD field jacket with the new BDUs.
We have plenty of nicknames for military stuff that the SMA would probably prefer we not use. Pick your battles, Sarn’ Major.
If there is a better example of Senior Enlisted being Senior Enlisted than this I don’t know what it could possibly be.
Let’s not kid ourselves. I’m sure the official name will end up being something lol Army garrison Uniform (AGUs).
Meant “like” not “lol”….stupid phone.
Uniform, Garrison, Olive Green, Supplemental (UGGS)
Jebus H. Crackerjack…..
Dan Dailey must be demented…..
The Army doesn’t need a new uniform. It doesn’t need to worry what the hell it’s supposed to be called.
If this is the best the CSMArmy can come up with, what the hell is one needed for?
A fine looking garrison uniform (hope it’s made in the USA) and the HQ and Base folks will enjoy a classy new appearance oozing a proud history while the rest of the Army (the part that trains and fights) will dread wearing it twice a year for inspections, parades and the like. Cannot blame SMA for putting his stamp on it of course but generally, it’s far easier to throw up a slide for the GO’s showing neatly checked blocks for new uniforms, camouflage and complex PT test than to address training and operational shortfalls….it’s unimportant low hanging fruit and the stuff careerists are made of. It would be great to see Army leadership really raise the bar for individual and small unit training, develop a capability and then build on that (you know, get ready to win against an enemy who understands and employs combined arms, armor, specops, nbc, cyber for combat where every US soldier is going to be outnumbered at least 5:1) but that doesn’t lend itself to PPT as elegantly.
It has to be made in the USA.
Also, in case you haven’t noticed, standards are going up and close combat forces are beginning to focus more in their core missions.
No nameplate? NO NAMEPLATE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Please no one kill my joy and tell me this uniform will be ruined by that stupid plastic nameplate.
Yeah I’m pretty excited about that too. I hope they keep that plastic crap off this one, and if we must have a name tag at all, make it a metal one. A metal one for the dress blues would look a lot better too.
I hope there is a nameplate, of whatever material. As I understand it, the name plate/tape originated in the early Airborne forces, in part to underline the critical importance of each individual, initiative-taking, paratrooper to mission accomplishment. It was later adopted by Big Army.
AbnMedOps,
You are exactly right about name tapes. However, the practice was confined to the field uniforms and did not apply to the dress uniform. The name plate for dress uniforms did not appear until the Dress Green uniform was adopted in the late 1950s as far as I can tell. My personal preference is more in line with Jack and G and I would be happier if the new dress uniform AND the ASU/Blues no longer sported nameplates.
TLB
Just a historical note. If we really want to tip our hat to the “Original GIs” we should call it OD for Olive Drab. All of the WW II clothing whether wool, HBT, or cotton (41 & 43 field jackets and 43 trousers) were all dyed various shades of Olive Drab per the uniform color specifications used in WW II. Olive Green 107 (OG) was first introduced in 1951. The various shades of OD were much browner than OG 107 which is more green than brown.
Elsewhere I suggested OD, like in “Dog Faced Soldier” but I figured younger Soldiers would appreciate the OG name more, as in Original Gangster.
SMA is a leg.
1. +100 for no plastic name card
2. +100 for good look and confusing the German population
3. Just please for the love of god don’t give it some absurd 3 letter acronym title. We don’t need more acronyms. I don’t call my civilian suits JTF (JACKET & TROUSERS FORMAL).
Actually trying to control what people casually call this uniform is peak autism. I’m sure this will go well just like when the WH said to not photoshop that picture of Obama shooting a shotgun.
I also enjoy how this somehow became a conversation about how millennials don’t know shit.
I don’t care what they call them as long as for once there’s a uniform that stays around longer than a tv season. Ironic how after 20 something years of going through a chain of stupidity thanks to Shinseki and the Swedish baker look of the black beret the Army reverts back to a uniform that is about 60 years old. Someone PLEASE tell me that awful beret is on its way out now that we have decided we don’t need to look like NATO anymore and it’s ok to be American soldiers again.
Beret is mostly dead I think. As soon as they made the leg hat (patrol cap) the order of the day, I stopped wearing the black beret. I have a bus driver hat for the rare occasions I wear my ASU’s.
ASU. Army Service Uniform. Unless you wear more than one ASU at a time or your ASU is claiming ownership to a non-stated noun.
It’s like “civilians”. “You can wear civilians to work on Friday”.
What the hell does that mean? Do these civilians congregate at “Clothing and Sales”?
The pinks and greens were really an officer uniform. The enlisted uniform was often referred to “ODs” as in “Olive Drab”. Even then, in the WWII through Korea time frame for some reason OD was turned into a plural.
Harumph.
Mark my words, the uniform (and the current ASU) will receive an acronym. We’ll have the Army Greens Uniform (AGU) and the Army Blues Uniform (ABU). Just you wait and see!
How about we start naming all the uniform by the SMA that invented them. These would be called the Daileys. The OCP could be the Chandlers. The current ASUs would be the Preston’s. Now they would all have cool names like clothing company lines. Problem solved!
Best suggestion so far.
+1 Assign the name of the individual responsible for the success …or, failure of said decision.
Perfect.
Instead of “Pinks and Greens” how about “Franks and Beans”????
Everyone’s just gonna call it the WWII uniform so why not go with it?
Hey Sergeant Major,
I get this is a bit of a vanity project for you, but you know what would improve more Soldiers’ day-to-day lives faster?
Get that Improved Hot Weather Combat Uniform out into the real world!
-Mick.