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Unusual Air Force stripes


kyhistorian01
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I have had these white Air Force stripes for quite a while and I was wondering what uniform they were worn on, when and how long they were worn and I would be interesteed in getting a copy of a photo showing them being worn. Also need information on this unusually colored AF stripe. Was it an early attempt at a desert camo stripe? Thanks.

 

Robert

post-6492-1253929589.jpg

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I have had these white Air Force stripes for quite a while and I was wondering what uniform they were worn on, when and how long they were worn and I would be interesteed in getting a copy of a photo showing them being worn. Also need information on this unusually colored AF stripe. Was it an early attempt at a desert camo stripe? Thanks.

 

Robert

 

These were worn on the summer white mess dress uniforms, white rank on white jacket. They also had the winter mess dress, black with silver metalic bullion type stripes on a black jacket. Worn from 1960 until phase out around 1984. I'll see if I can find a photo for reference, though right now I can only find Officer's.

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15 MAY 1959 - A new edition of Air Force Manual 35-10 is published. It addresses an inequity to the enlisted force. At the time of the creation of the Air Force, formal evening uniforms were considered the provenance of the officer corps. At the time no one seriously believed enlisted personnel would have a need nor a desire for stately uniforms. Soon, however, enlisted people made their needs known and by 1959 the uniform manual caught up with the reality of the situation. While the black formal evening dress uniform was strictly for officers only, the dress white uniform was authorized for optional purchase and wear by all enlisted personnel. For the enlisted men, the insignia of grade was regulation size (four inches) with white chevrons on a white background. For the enlisted women, the same held true except the white chevrons were three inches wide. These white chevrons were used until the white dress uniform was discontinued in 1971.

 

25 NOVEMBER 1969 - The uniform board met on this day and approved the wear of the black background chevrons with aluminum color stripes and star on the white mess jacket and the informal white uniform coat in lieu of the authorized white-on-white chevrons. The white-on-white chevrons were allowed to be worn until 1 January 1971, at which time the black chevrons on those uniforms would be mandatory. The white-on-white stripes had been in use since 1959.

 

OCTOBER 1991 - General McPeak (Air Force Chief of Staff) and Chief Pfingston (Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force) revealed new proposed enlisted insignia. The chevrons could be worn on both the service dress and mess dress uniforms, eliminating the need for a separate, embroidered and expensive mess dress chevron. The proposal also returned the silver star back to all enlisted ranks and modified the top three sergeant stripes. Specifically, one stripe would be taken off the bottom and put at the top starting with master sergeant. Senior master sergeant would have two stripes up ith five down and chief, three up and five down.

 

(1993) - General McPeak orders the implementation of the new stripes.

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...25 NOVEMBER 1969 - The uniform board met on this day and approved the wear of the black background chevrons with aluminum color stripes and star on the white mess jacket and the informal white uniform coat in lieu of the authorized white-on-white chevrons. The white-on-white chevrons were allowed to be worn until 1 January 1971, at which time the black chevrons on those uniforms would be mandatory. The white-on-white stripes had been in use since 1959...

Nice job of research, Dutch. Link here to see the "black and aluminum" chevrons being worn on the white mess uniform ca. 1976.

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  • 6 years later...

unusual colored stripe

I have one very similar, although mine kind of looks like white rather than green (maybe faded). Does yours have cheesecloth backing?

 

post-2527-0-05156000-1469731297.jpg

 

 

 

post-2527-0-94334400-1469731329.jpg

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  • 1 year later...
  • 4 years later...
On 9/25/2009 at 6:47 PM, kyhistorian01 said:

unusual colored stripe

post-6492-1253929621.jpg

Fashion piece from a jacket? We all seen those before, knock offs of military insignia.

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  • 1 year later...
On 11/8/2021 at 10:40 PM, patches said:

Here's one more White one, a Technical Sergeant, this with a Merrowed edge.

white tech sgt.jpg

This rank is Staff Sergeant, not Technical Sergeant.    

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On 9/25/2009 at 9:46 PM, kyhistorian01 said:

I have had these white Air Force stripes for quite a while and I was wondering what uniform they were worn on, when and how long they were worn and I would be interesteed in getting a copy of a photo showing them being worn. Also need information on this unusually colored AF stripe. Was it an early attempt at a desert camo stripe? Thanks.

 

Robert

post-6492-1253929589.jpg

Whatever these are, they were never authorized.  

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On 3/20/2023 at 2:54 PM, edjperkins said:

Whatever these are, they were never authorized.  

See Sarah's entry above: "25 NOVEMBER 1969 - The uniform board met on this day and approved the wear of the black background chevrons with aluminum color stripes and star on the white mess jacket and the informal white uniform coat in lieu of the authorized white-on-white chevrons. The white-on-white chevrons were allowed to be worn until 1 January 1971, at which time the black chevrons on those uniforms would be mandatory. The white-on-white stripes had been in use since 1959."

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