{"id":24025,"date":"2019-02-25T23:05:54","date_gmt":"2019-02-25T23:05:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/uncategorized\/2019\/02\/25\/new-uniforms-revealed-fashionable-and-free\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T19:02:47","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T19:02:47","slug":"new-uniforms-revealed-fashionable-and-free","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/news\/your-navy\/2019\/02\/25\/new-uniforms-revealed-fashionable-and-free\/","title":{"rendered":"New uniforms revealed! Fashionable and FREE!"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

NORFOLK, Va. \u2014 Six years after banning combustible Navy Working Uniforms from ships, officials are celebrating what they hope is the latest line of practical, comfortable and flame-retardant shipboard clothing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Another round of wear-testing is slated for July, but if it pans out this two-piece uniform could become optional issued clothing when you report on board ship \u2014 no trips to Navy Exchange<\/a>, no money out of your annual uniform allowance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And you can thank U.S. Fleet Forces Command, which is based here.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe effort started as a safety issue and it still is,\u201d Fleet Master Chief Rick O\u2019Rawe<\/a> told Navy Times. \u201cBut right now, the shipboard uniform for everyone is coveralls. But not all sailors want, or even need, coveralls. So finding an alternative based in common sense is what we need to get to.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Yeoman 1st Class Kelly Pyron from U.S. Fleet Forces Command, wears the flame-resistant, two-piece organizational clothing prototype on board the aircraft carrier Harry S. Truman. (Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Stacy M. Atkins Ricks\/Navy)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

But Fleet Forces wasn\u2019t merely hoping to hike safety with the new Maritime Two-Piece Fire-Retardant Variant<\/a> uniform. Designers also wanted to improve the heavy-duty workwear\u2019s fit, fashion and function.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Focus groups in 2016 revealed that 84 percent of surveyed sailors wanted to put on something other than the standard coveralls.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

An initial round of wear-testing last year unleashed a flood of disgruntled feedback, telling designers that sailors also want to go from home to work and back in rugged comfort, too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

More than 70 percent of sailors liked the traditional color schemes of all-blue uniforms for pay grades E-6 and below, with khaki clothing for chiefs and above.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The \u201cthrowback dungaree<\/a>\u201d light blue shirt and dark blue trousers flopped and digital fabric patterns were often unpopular, too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

O\u2019Rawe said many sailors want the sea service to \u201cjust move into something that looks like the Navy and not like you are in the woods.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sifting through the surveys, Big Navy found that shipboard sailors simply desire a uniform with the form, fit and function of the Type III, in colors that make sense to seagoing men and women.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe pattern they\u2019re using to cut the NWU Type III is the pattern they\u2019re using to cut these uniforms,\u201d said O\u2019Rawe. \u201cIt\u2019s just made out of a different material that\u2019s fire-retardant and is a solid color, either solid blue or khaki.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Yeoman 1st Class Kelly Pyron, U.S. Fleet Forces Command, and Force Master Chief Huben L. Phillips, Naval Air Force Atlantic, model the flame-resistant, two-piece organizational clothing prototype on board the aircraft carrier Harry S. Truman. The Navy will conduct a second wear test of the prototype later this year. (Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Stacy M. Atkins Ricks\/Navy)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

After testing four varieties of fabric, sailors also preferred a lighter \u201crip-stop\u201d look but with better comfort and durability than what they found in their non-fire-retardant uniforms, according to Lt. Cmdr. Jennifer Biby, the assistant program manager for organizational clothing at Fleet Forces Command.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Those in grades E-6 and below favored dark blue fabric because it better hid the smears and smudges hard-working sailors pick up on board a ship. But they didn\u2019t want it to look like the Coast Guard\u2019s blue uniform<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe blouse of the Coast Guard uniform is shorter, and the color is lighter, more of a royal blue,\u201d Biby said. \u201cAnd also, the cut of the NWU Type III is much different, so both the look to others and the feel by the wearer aren\u2019t the same, either.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Designers put all of that together into a prototype for sailors to try out this summer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yeoman 1st Class Kelly Pyron not only participated in the wear-testing trial last year but she donned the prototype daily in January to see how it fit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt mirrors the Type III\u2019s looks, but it\u2019s way more comfortable because the material is lighter,\u201d she said. \u201cI had to wear my Type IIIs for a couple of days recently and I just couldn\u2019t wait to get back into this test uniform.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Yeoman 1st Class Kelly Pyron, U.S. Fleet Forces Command, wears the flame-resistant, two-piece organizational clothing prototype on board the aircraft carrier Dwight D. Eisenhower. (Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Stacy M. Atkins Ricks\/Navy)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

As with the coveralls, Pyron\u2019s prototype uniform is woven with fire-retardant fibers. There isn\u2019t a coating that\u2019s sprayed on and likely to wash away quickly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In fact, Pyron\u2019s prototype was designed to be worn without any ironing, straight out of the dryer. She praised it for providing \u201cunity between the ship and shore look\u201d while preserving the locations of the Type III\u2019s pockets and other features \u201cso there\u2019s no getting used to something different.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To O\u2019Rawe, the fire-resistant fibers are vital. They give sailors the confidence to battle a blaze instantly without the fear of their workwear igniting, a worry they harbored about the Type I uniforms that finally get phased out on Oct. 1.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Type I<\/a> clothing was banned on ships six years ago after investigators found it will \u201cburn robustly until completely consumed\u201d <\/a>once exposed to flame.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Navy\u2019s goal is to provide a uniform that can be worn by sailors on flight decks, inside submarines or across the surface fleet. That\u2019s why O\u2019Rawe said the trousers don\u2019t have buttons, all pockets close with Velcro<\/a> and the fly is secured by a traditional zipper.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Free from creating foreign object debris, there\u2019s now no need to buy flight deck pants.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou\u2019ll just remove the blouse and put on your flight deck jersey, float coat and cranial and go to work,\u201d O\u2019Rawe said. \u201cThose who work the deck generally already wear flight deck boots anyway, so they\u2019re all set.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With the new uniform, sailors working in hot climates or tight spaces also can easily \u201cdeblouse\u201d their tops.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe material is lighter anyway, so that helps, too,\u201d said Pyron. \u201cBut being able to shed the blouse is huge and a feature sailors really like when I\u2019m explaining the uniform to them on board ships.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Lt. Jamie Seibel, U.S. Fleet Forces Command, wears the khaki variant of the prototype workwear on board the guided-missile cruiser Vella Gulf. (Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Stacy M. Atkins Ricks\/Navy)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

O\u2019Rawe thinks the new uniform might win over a few of his fellow engineers, who have long worn coveralls as a point of pride.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI think that many of our engineers will end up just wearing this because of the flexibility it has and the fact you don\u2019t have to change into something else if you have someplace else to be or you are heading home,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Unlike coveralls, the new two-piece uniforms don\u2019t have to come off before a sailor leaves the ship or pier.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019m not allowed out in town in coveralls, so I put a uniform on to go to work and then change into a uniform to do work in,\u201d O\u2019Rawe said. \u201cThen I have to change back again because I have a dental appointment or something else to go, on or off base. But when I return to the ship, I have to again change back into a uniform to work in.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

O\u2019Rawe said it boils down to time, a \u201cprecious commodity\u201d he wants to give back to sailors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And for those who want to keep the coveralls, they\u2019re not going away. The two-piece is just an issued option. A moisture-wicking black undershirt comes standard with both uniforms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Biby said that the dark T-shirt tested last year sported a neck that holds up well in the shipboard laundry, so it\u2019s a keeper.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The new uniform is expected to pair well with the NWU\u2019s existing accessories such as the optional all-weather parka, the fire-resistant fleece jacket and the ball caps sailors wear today.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIf you\u2019re already invested in those optional items, it\u2019s nice to be able to wear them with this new uniform, too,\u201d said Pyron. \u201cThat wasn\u2019t the case with the test uniforms last year.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Here’s a Navy depiction of the proposed design and features of a two-piece flame-retardant at sea uniform slated for wear-testing in July. (Navy)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Although the prototype retains the Type III\u2019s slip-on rank insignia worn on a blouse tab in the middle of the chest, other traditional markings are still being debated, O\u2019Rawe said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The new uniforms likely will be issued with the U.S. Navy tag over the right pocket instead of the left, similar to the issued woodland Type III clothing. Instead of sewn name tapes, sailors will affix Velcro patches over the left pocket, allowing them to swap between the new uniforms and traditional coveralls.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Designers are mulling several color schemes for this summer\u2019s testing, but those details haven\u2019t been worked out yet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

O\u2019Rawe said other patches and a variety of \u201cflags, command insignia and name tapes with warfare qualifications\u201d also could be tried out, including subdued patches and those in full color.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Those details haven\u2019t been hashed out yet, but they might get tweaked when about 100 sailors on warships, submarines and aviation squadrons start the 90-day test in July.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

O\u2019Rawe says officials want to see what three months of a ship\u2019s laundry does to the new duds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But even if the new uniforms ace every test, they likely won\u2019t be widely distributed across the fleet before 2021.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a process that takes time,\u201d O\u2019Rawe said. \u201cEven once contracts are in place, it will take time to build up an inventory that will allow you to start issuing and be able to support the uniform long-term.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n