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Yes, This Was An Issue PT Uniform

Commonly referred to as the “banana suit,” this 70-era track suit saw service well into the late 80s when it was replaced by a Grey ensemble that absorbed stains.

Prior to its adoption as a measure to help professionalize the post-draft VOLAR, or volunteer Army, a soldiers wore fatigues for physical fitness trining. Initially with boots, and eventually with running shoes.

The banana suit consisted of yellow top and bottom along with yellow shorts with black piping and a reversible yellow to black t-shirt. That last item was so that units could conduct sports, with one team yellow and the other black.

14 Responses to “Yes, This Was An Issue PT Uniform”

  1. The Banana suit! The best PT uniform there ever was! 🙂

  2. straps says:

    I think this might have been the biggest ripoff ever. I had one that shrank diagonally, my squadmate had one that shrank so badly the bottom of the jacket was at the base of his rib cage (fit fine through the shoulders, and the arm length didn’t change either. The shorts had zero room for glutes or junk. The reversible t-shirt was two layers of cotton jersey that was boiling hot in the summer and freezing cold in the winter.

    I think I wore these ONCE when we got a new brigade commander, who didn’t like the organizational uniform (actual Dolphin brand ranger panties) because it wasn’t his design, and he wouldn’t get anything off the top. Other than that, it stayed rolled up in my “display” drawer…

  3. J says:

    Never wore these when I was in the U.S. Army in the 1980s. My infantry units did not allow these to be worn and I am thankful they did not allow these banana suits. My first unit we did PT in our M81 woodland BDUs, and other units in the authorized summer PT uniform. But, it was always the M81 woodland BDUs for PT and not the banana suit.

  4. Todd M says:

    No worse than glow belts

  5. AbnMedOps says:

    I just missed the Banana Suit era – heard about it but never saw. In ROTC camp at Ft Lewis in 1986, we were issued, and turned back in, but never once wore, the grey zippered sweat top. Coming on active duty in Germany in 1988, there was NO prescribed PT uniform – we all wore an assortment of individually purchased sweats in all colors. Around 1990 there was a surprise gratuitous issue of the grey shorts, grey “ARMY” shirt (short and long sleeve), and the grey sweat bottom and that top I had last seen in 1986.

    Once had a female commander who had been one of the last WAC’s in the 70’s. She said they had a PT uniform with shorts, but it was modestly covered by a sort of wrap-around skirt. They would march to the PT field, remove the skirt, fold and ground it. Then after PT, put the skirt back on over their shorts, and march back to the barracks. History!

  6. Jk says:

    Oh my God… it’s like a giant PT belt… WTF! And I thought the pt belt madness was bad enough

  7. Unimog says:

    Please bring this back but with yellow sillkies, knee high white and yellow band socks, yellow reflective sweat wrist and head bands..

  8. Erick says:

    The shirt and shorts were like junior high school gym clothes – not bad, not great.

    The sweatshirt & sweatpants were terrible. They shrunk at the mere mention of water and more if a dryer was nearby. Just a terrible PT uniform.

  9. Matt in Oklahoma says:

    Na man y’all gotta show the shortie shorts that go with it

  10. Vince says:

    They must have opened up a box of banana suits and those guys are wearing the ones right out of the box. After they wash ’em, it’s pure clownery.

  11. Papa6 says:

    Brings back some memories . . .

  12. Attack7 says:

    Issued the Greys in Sep ’87. Arrived to 5th ID after jump school in January ’88 and was issued these. Remember my lower arms, waist, shins and anksles all freezing in 0630 formation…..wondering why we weren’t allowed to wear the new ‘greys’ I was issued at Benning. Horrible. PCS’d to Korea 16 mos later where we all wore the ‘greys’ in 2nd ID.

  13. m.j. says:

    In January 1987 we were issued these as P.T. gear when I went to Fort Bliss, Texas for BCT. They only seemed to come in two sizes: too big or too small. I was tall, and my set was like a short-sleeved PT track suit jacket and the bottoms came up almost to my knees. My friend, who was considerably shorter, had a set which he had to roll up. Our Drill Sergeants forbade us to trade or switch. I guess they figured we would screw up something. We wore the yellow side out on the shirt – cadre wore theirs black-side out. When I got to AIT we wore the civilian PT clothing and then once I got to my first duty station in Germany, we got the new grey PT uniform (I remember that took awhile, because we wore a plethora of different PT stuff until maybe a year after arriving).