New Army Service Uniform Starting in 2014.....

OscarB63 said:

spit shined boots serve no useful purpose whatsoever if you are going to actually do any soldiering. They're great if you are a freakin office puke, admin clerk who sits behind a desk all the time or a recruiter.

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Actually, I took great pride in my spit shined boots. And I was in the Infantry.

However, I was also a Marine Security Guard who often worked the main and sub gates of a Naval Weapon Station. So I was the first person everybody saw when they came in the gate. Having starched and creased Cammies and spit shined boots (in addition to a metal blacked or spotless white pistol belt) was all part of that image that was presented that said "I am a professional and won't take any **** from anybody".

But yea, when I was with a grunt unit in garrison, a quick buff with black polish and Cammies ironed with water and no wrinkles was enough to do the same thing.

And in the field? Yea, my boots have seen polish in the last few weeks, and these Cammies are fairly clean. After all, they are not trying to run away when I try to put them back on, are they?

Jerry said:

I could care less about the boots. I don't see how Velcro was in any way an improvement. It wears out real fast. Buttons ftw.

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velcro wasnt an improvement,it was a recruiting technique.during oif and oef the army catered to the lazy crowd to get more numbers.they figured adding velcro and tan boots and making the uniform require no maintenance would convince more to join the army.

the velcro was so terrible,that the aviation in the army do not wear the standard uniform except for dnc,they wear a2cu's or flight acu's.which use zippers instead of velcro.

beerftw said:

velcro wasnt an improvement,it was a recruiting technique.during oif and oef the army catered to the lazy crowd to get more numbers.they figured adding velcro and tan boots and making the uniform require no maintenance would convince more to join the army.

the velcro was so terrible,that the aviation in the army do not wear the standard uniform except for dnc,they wear a2cu's or flight acu's.which use zippers instead of velcro.

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The tan boots was a good idea because that's the color your boots are going to turn while over seas rather you want them to or not.

I don't see how velcro is a recruiting tool. I don't see anyone on the fence about joining because they aren't sure if they can muster the strength to undo a button.

Jerry said:

I call bull**** on that pic: dangling earnings are not authorized.

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The rank is odd. I though RADM was a USN Rank.

Porchev said:

Actually there was a test blue camo air force uniform, but the color was changed before it was mass produced after probably 99% of the feedback was negative when a few select people wore them around briefly. Those test blue camo uniforms looked awful and were pointless.

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Every operator I know, prefers to wear the uniform of the service/unit they are supporting outside the wire. Nothing screams shoot me like wearing a distinctive uniform in a crowd. If they do this cammie transition right, everything will be the same except for rank and service tape.

I loved it when we wore the flight crew style name/rank/badge patch on our uniforms. 1 Velcro patch to sew on. No stripes, name tape or service. Just 1 leather patch for every uniform. Apparently, the top 3 had issues with people not recognizing their rank. Go figure.

BretJ said:

Every operator I know, prefers to wear the uniform of the service/unit they are supporting outside the wire. Nothing screams shoot me like wearing a distinctive uniform in a crowd. If they do this cammie transition right, everything will be the same except for rank and service tape.

I loved it when we wore the flight crew style name/rank/badge patch on our uniforms. 1 Velcro patch to sew on. No stripes, name tape or service. Just 1 leather patch for every uniform. Apparently, the top 3 had issues with people not recognizing their rank. Go figure.

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I remember that flight crew name/rank patch on the USAF BDUs a long time ago. That sure didn't last long. I remember them going away from it because it was hard for some to recognize the rank (from what I remember). Although I have worn that name/rank patch my whole career on flight suits, and it is true, you can't tell what an enlisted persons rank is unless you are very close to them.

Porchev said:

I remember that flight crew name/rank patch on the USAF BDUs a long time ago. That sure didn't last long. I remember them going away from it because it was hard for some to recognize the rank (from what I remember). Although I have worn that name/rank patch my whole career on flight suits, and it is true, you can't tell what an enlisted persons rank is unless you are very close to them.

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Which is a great thing in a combat zone.....

BretJ said:

Which is a great thing in a combat zone.....

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That is true. I think this past 12 years or so has everyone rethinking a lot of things such as uniforms. And even the USAF has drastically changed basic training because of everything going on at deployed locations.

why does the "new ACU" look like the "old ACU"? And when will they realize that UCP is butt ugly, isn't that effective, and that velcro is just plain stupid?

StillBallin75 said:

why does the "new ACU" look like the "old ACU"? And when will they realize that UCP is butt ugly, isn't that effective, and that velcro is just plain stupid?

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ucp held some success in iraq depending on where the soldier was stationed,but failed horribly in afghanistan and most other environments.

ucp does wonders in urban environments,since it blends in so well with concrete and gravel,problem is only a select few areas in iraq met that color scheme,while others tended to use either brown sand or fruity colored buildings like pink purple and yellow.

ucp should be changed from universal camo pattern to urban cammo pattern,it should stay in inventory but no sane person would use it for regular issue,it deserves to be a backup camo incase we have to invade a concrete jungle.

Porchev said:

That is true. I think this past 12 years or so has everyone rethinking a lot of things such as uniforms. And even the USAF has drastically changed basic training because of everything going on at deployed locations.

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We are getting out at a good time. Seems the managers are taking over as the warriors leave. For crying out loud....reflective belts outside the wire?

beerftw said:

ucp held some success in iraq depending on where the soldier was stationed,but failed horribly in afghanistan and most other environments.

ucp does wonders in urban environments,since it blends in so well with concrete and gravel,problem is only a select few areas in iraq met that color scheme,while others tended to use either brown sand or fruity colored buildings like pink purple and yellow.

ucp should be changed from universal camo pattern to urban cammo pattern,it should stay in inventory but no sane person would use it for regular issue,it deserves to be a backup camo incase we have to invade a concrete jungle.

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I agree and therein lies the problem. It being called a "universal" camouflage pattern is completely misleading.