Out with the old, in with the blue Green Class A’s to be replaced by new Army Service Uniform By Matthew Cox
Times staff writer

Within five years, the often-criticized green Class A’s will fade away, and the dress blues will become the new Army Service Uniform.

Mostly reserved for ceremonies and formal occasions, the dark blue jacket and light blue pants have been a part of Army history since the Revolutionary War.

“It’s tied to tradition going all the way back to 1779,” said Sgt. Maj. of the Army Kenneth Preston in a June 8 interview.

Last summer, Army Chief of Staff Gen. Peter Schoomaker tasked Preston with looking at the Army’s three dress uniforms — the dress greens, the dress whites and the dress blues — and selecting a single uniform for all occasions at the smallest possible cost to soldiers.

“We have all of these variations of uniforms — green, blue and white,” said Schoomaker in a press release announcing the switch to a blue service uniform. “It makes sense for us to go to one traditional uniform that is really sharp and high quality and which soldiers will be very proud to wear. And that’s what we’ve done by adopting this blue Army Service Uniform that reflects simplicity, quality, utility and tradition.”

The Army is also ditching the white mess dress uniform but has not yet selected a wear-out date for that uniform or for the green Class A’s.

soldiers will not be required to have the new uniform until fall 2011, Preston said. It should be available at Military Clothing Sales stores by fall 2007, and new recruits should begin receiving it as part of their clothing bags by winter 2008.

That shirt will be worn with a necktie; white shirts with a black bow tie will be reserved for formal occasions.

Trousers will be worn with belts rather than suspenders, and female soldiers will have an optional pair of trousers, like the men’s, in addition to the traditional dark blue skirt.

The wear regulations for the new blues do not include popular accoutrements now worn on the greens, such as shoulder-sleeve insignia for current unit assignments and combat patches. Skill insignia such as the Ranger tab will be worn as they are on the current blues, using a small metal pin-on version instead of the cloth patch worn on the shoulder of the greens.

Also, all soldiers — including airborne troops on jump status — will wear the current black dress shoe. Bloused jump boots will not be authorized.

There will be three distinct versions of the new uniform:

• Junior enlisted version. The biggest differences come with this uniform. Soldiers holding the rank of specialist and below will wear the black beret instead of the service cap. Also, they will wear plain blue trousers, without the gold stripe along the legs.

• Noncommissioned officer version. The gold trouser stripes and service cap are restored to the uniform when a soldier becomes an NCO at the rank of corporal and above. The change is meant to represent a “rite of passage” when a soldier becomes part of the NCO corps, Preston said.

• Officer/warrant officer version. The blues for officers and warrants remain the same except for the gray shirt and belted trousers.

Officers, who get a one-time clothing allowance and pay for all uniforms out of pocket, are now required to own a set of both dress greens and dress blues. After 2011, they’ll only need the blues.

Each new enlisted soldier will receive the Army Service Uniform as part of his or her initial clothing issue. Enlisted soldiers already in the Army will have to buy their new blues out of their annual clothing allowance.

“The exact selling prices will be determined based on the prices that are received when new production contracts are awarded,” said Dave Geringer, assistant product manager for PM Clothing and Individual Equipment.

Uniform officials estimate that the Army Service Uniform jacket and trousers for men, E-1 through E-4, will cost about $128 a set, compared to $124 for the current dress green jacket and trousers.

For women, E-1 through E-4, uniform officials estimate the new uniform will cost $147 for the jacket, slacks and skirt. Those current dress green items for women run about $143.

The cost for NCOs is estimated to be about $15 higher than the enlisted because of the gold trouser stripe.

The service hat runs about $36, Preston said.

The service uniform will have a long-sleeve gray shirt and a short-sleeve model, to be worn without necktie and coat as a Class B-style uniform.

Uniform officials estimate the men’s and women’s long-sleeved shirts will cost $19 and the short-sleeve shirts $17 — about $6 more than the current green versions.

The projected price increase is partly due to the fabric used in the gray shirts, which will be a slightly heavier herringbone weave of 65 percent cotton and 35 percent polyester that will come with permanent military creases.

“It really is a high-quality fabric,” Geringer said.

The uniform jacket and trousers will be made of a 55 percent polyester/45 percent wool blend, the fabric now used in the Air Force's service uniform.

Currently, no increase is planned for the enlisted soldiers’ annual clothing allowance, which includes $50 per year for service uniform purchases. The idea is for soldiers to set that $50 aside each year and have enough for a new service uniform every four years, Preston said.

“We think we can get the blue uniform down to what the cost of Army greens are now,” he said, adding that the clothing allowance will be adjusted if the new uniform items turn out to be more expensive.

The new uniform will also feature a more tailored fit, Preston said.

The athletic cut will mean more soldiers will have a better-fitting uniform.

“With the athletic cut, you have more sizes available,” he said most soldiers who have commented on the 1950s-era dress greens said they didn’t like them, said Lt. Col. John Lemondes, product manager for PM Clothing and Individual Equipment.

He said he hopes the new service uniform will get a “pretty high acceptance rating.”

The Army considered several different options for a new look when the effort began last summer

One proposal featured a set of dark blue trousers that matched the blues’ jacket. These were being considered for soldiers who wear their Class A’s on a regular basis. The traditional light blue trousers were being considered for formal occasions.

Several stripe colors were also considered for the dark blue trousers, including light blue, gold and black.

Other colors and styles were also considered, including the World War II-era “pinks and greens” and a version with the “Ike” jacket.

In the end, most soldiers preferred the current dress blue uniform, Preston said.

“The blue uniform is the most popular,” he said. “It’s a timeless uniform.”