NEW USAF COMBAT UNIFORM

[Pack Rat]

I recently saw a USAF commerical on TV and they were wearing what looked like a new tiger stripe-like uniform. Anyone have info on this and how this will affect the rank insignia and badges?

Thanks in advance for any information

 

-D

[Bob Hudson]

There's some info about it here: http://www.tigerstripeproducts.com/airforcetiger.htm

[seanmc1114]

I live near Robins Air Force Base in middle Georgia and I have seen a number of people wearing the new Air Force combat uniform. I have to say that they look very sharp. I always thought the Marines' MARPAT uniforms looked good because they are patterned after the Vietnam jungle jacket, but I believe I prefer the look of the new AF uniform.

 

From what I can tell, the subdued insignia such as rank, badges and nametapes are now done with either black or very dark gray thread instead of blue like they use on the insignia worn on the BDU which I also still see a lot of.

 

Of course I have no idea about the functionality of the uniform, but just from an aesthetic standpoint I really like them.

[M60 Driver]

These uniforms are already available commercially under the Proper brand. As usual with a new product, prices are a bit high and I am not carrying them in my store yet as I got burned buying the ACU pattern early only to see prices fall a few months later as commercial production ramped up. But you can either purchase or order these up at your local surplus store.

[Bob Hudson]

One online source notes:

 

By October 2007, the Air Force will begin issuing the ABU to Airmen in basic military training, and in June 2008, the uniform will be available for purchase by the rest of the Air Force in Army Air Force Exchange Service outlets. The current projected mandatory wear date for the new ABU is October 2011.

 

These originally were to have a blue-dominant tiger stripe pattern, but after feedback they changed that, however the Air Force apparently ignored many other concerns from those who tested the uniforms and you can read about some of that here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Airman_Battle_Uniform

 

One concern is that the uniforms are too hot for desert wear, but I'm sure it never occurred to Air Force brass in recent years that some of their forces might be stationed in the desert......

 

 

 

 

[seanmc1114]

I wonder why major command and squadron patches are not authorized on these uniforms.

 

Also, having read the Wikipedia article linked in the above post, I see that my observation about the thread color on the insignia is wrong. I thought it is black, but apparently it is midnight blue. However, to my eyes there is very little difference.

[craig_pickrall]

My son in law just got back from Iraq. They sent us some pics of him going to his daughter's school to surprise her when he got home. He was wearing this uniform in the pics and the boots too. It seems those announced issue / purchase dates may have been pushed forward some. I'm not sure if he wore those in Iraq or if they were issued upon his return. He is a M/SGT with about 23 years service. The only insignia was rank and USAF / Name Tapes.

[USMCRECON]

I recently saw a USAF commerical on TV and they were wearing what looked like a new tiger stripe-like uniform. Anyone have info on this and how this will affect the rank insignia and badges?

Thanks in advance for any information

 

-D

 

Personally, I think the new uniform looks kind of silly, rather like faded Nam-era tiger stripe wanna-be's.

 

I have always questioned the rationale of camo for rank and file AF servicemembers. Most perform their daily duties in buildings, or on the tarmac. Pilots will be wearing flight suits. Combat Security Police and those such as CCT ParaRescue, and TACPs are about the only ones I could se justifying the need for a camouflaged BDU and many of them could easily wear the camo of their supported units.

 

I would have thought that gray (or even blue) BDUs would have made much more sense for the majority of Air Force members than the now-adopted tiger stripes (assuming the need for any sort of change at all).

 

Just my 2-cents worth.

[Bob Hudson]

Personally, I think the new uniform looks kind of silly, rather like faded Nam-era tiger stripe wanna-be's.

 

I have always questioned the rationale of camo for rank and file AF servicemembers. Most perform their daily duties in buildings, or on the tarmac. Pilots will be wearing flight suits. Combat Security Police and those such as CCT ParaRescue, and TACPs are about the only ones I could se justifying the need for a camouflaged BDU and many of them could easily wear the camo of their supported units.

 

I would have thought that gray (or even blue) BDUs would have made much more sense for the majority of Air Force members than the now-adopted tiger stripes (assuming the need for any sort of change at all).

 

Just my 2-cents worth.

 

My thought is that the Air Force has been trying to come up with a decent uniform since 1947 and this one was chosen because it does look much cooler than anything else they've had.

 

And like it or not, camo has become THE uniform on the military. I live in Oceanside, home of Camp Pendleton, and I cannot recall seeing a Marine in Alphas in the last two or three years. Even the generals wear camo to their stateside change of command ceremonies. I do see the Marine recruiters in their dress blue pants and khaki shirts, but the Army recruiters just wear camo (I live around the corner from the recruiting offices so I see them coming and going).

 

Somewhat related to this is an opinion piece on the Air Force's creation of a ground combat school because they now apparently have thousands of airmen serving as riflemen in Iraq and Afghanistan: http://www.armytimes.com/community/opinion...herland_070723/ (wikipedia has an article which gets into and says "Currently, many Security Forces Airman are now performing 'In Leiu Of' operations with the Army and Marines in Iraq and other locations. Most of these 'In Leiu Of' assignments are 1 year deployments with several months of training before the actual deployment. These roles include combat patrols, assisting with the transportation of supply across Iraq's most dangerous routes, prison guard duty and EOD among many other functions the Air Force is being asked to assist with due to manning shortages within other services." - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Air_Force_Security_Forces )

[f4cweasel]

The subdued badges and rank for the new USAF uniform that are on sale in the BX appear to be black, except for 2/Lt and Major which are bronze. The backing material is a light gray with a slight greenist tint and appears to be the "middle" color of the three colors that make up the "tigerstripe" pattern.

 

I agree that the uniform looks good when worn and I certainly would not want to be wearing a green BDU while working as part of a USAF Convoy Escort Detail.

[Schnicklfritz]

Nothing against the Air Force, but I have to agree and wonder why the typical rank and file needs camo. Not really practical for some airmen who need to be seen on the flight line or else they get run over by some fighter jockey.

[Wailuna]

...Nothing against the Air Force, but I have to agree and wonder why the typical rank and file needs camo...

For the same reason Army mechnics and Marine clerks (for example) wear the identical field uniforms as riflemen in their service: "Special" uniforms are a logistical nightmare and, in the case of ordinary day-to-day work uniforms, an unnecessary burden on the Treasury.

[doyler]

For the same reason Army mechnics and Marine clerks (for example) wear the identical field uniforms as riflemen in their service: "Special" uniforms are a logistical nightmare and, in the case of ordinary day-to-day work uniforms, an unnecessary burden on the Treasury.

 

I agree.It would be a a lot easier to issue one uniform.They already have specialized uniforms in the form of flight gear and uniforms.

Much like WW2 when the M43 jackets/trousers replaced much of the uniforms in existance to standardize issue of uniforms.

 

I have seen the new ABUS on personel at Bahgram in Afghanistan too.It is my understanding that the new recruits are issued the ABUs in training and others will recieve them later and have the period as mentioned in an earlier thread to transition to the new uniform giving them the time to wear out and replace the old BDU.

[MattD]

I agree.It would be a a lot easier to issue one uniform.They already have specialized uniforms in the form of flight gear and uniforms.

Much like WW2 when the M43 jackets/trousers replaced much of the uniforms in existance to standardize issue of uniforms.

 

I have seen the new ABUS on personel at Bahgram in Afghanistan too.It is my understanding that the new recruits are issued the ABUs in training and others will recieve them later and have the period as mentioned in an earlier thread to transition to the new uniform giving them the time to wear out and replace the old BDU.

 

 

My $.02

 

As a taxpayer, I'm frustrated by how quickly the military bureaucracy decides to waste our tax dollars on such meaningless things.

 

Look at the ACU, (A crap uniform). What was wrong with the BDU/DCUs? Now we have millions of uniforms that are sitting in warehouses (which we can't sell-recoup the loses, way to go DRMO) and now they are looking at replacing the ACU.

 

I'm sure we will see a Navy version coming out soon.

[USMCRECON]

I think my point on the new AF camo was missed by most.....peobably because I did not state it very well.

 

I believe that the AF decision to adopt this uniform was based much more on public relations than concealment issues. For arid climates, DCUs are and have been available for years (I have two A-bags full of both chocolate chip and coffee stain patterns that were issued over the years). For temperate climates, the woodland pattern BDU has worked fine since the early 1980s.

 

The Air Force merely did not want to be left behind as the other services "cool new uniform" trains pulled out of the station and they hope the new uniform will be flashy eye candy and a recruiting gimick.

 

It's a waste of money for the AF. Also, if I was an airman serving in the ranks of Army or Marine riflemen, I would much rather blend in with what they were wearing than be wearing something different. One does not want to stand out in a group in combat since different and unique ALWAYS gets the attention of those about to shoot at you. Again, just my 2-"sense" worth but......what do I know.

[USMCRECON]

My $.02

 

As a taxpayer, I'm frustrated by how quickly the military bureaucracy decides to waste our tax dollars on such meaningless things.

 

Look at the ACU, (A crap uniform). What was wrong with the BDU/DCUs? Now we have millions of uniforms that are sitting in warehouses (which we can't sell-recoup the loses, way to go DRMO) and now they are looking at replacing the ACU.

 

I'm sure we will see a Navy version coming out soon.

 

The navy one will probably be a nice, restful wave pattern in shades of blue-gray to help blend into the deck of the ship.

[KMAG]

The navy one will probably be a nice, restful wave pattern in shades of blue-gray to help blend into the deck of the ship.

 

 

Pretty good, but I'd take anything over the stupid utilities i got issued, thank god I am a corpsman and get to wear the marine cammies, so comfortable!

[Bob Hudson]

The navy one will probably be a nice, restful wave pattern in shades of blue-gray to help blend into the deck of the ship.

 

Actually the new Navy uniforms are designed to blend in with blue forests:

 

 

We have a thread about those at http://www.usmilitariaforum.com/forums/ind...showtopic=12947 and includes the digital camo and the strange new service uniform:

 

 

All of the service have decided the key to success is having new uniforms but so far it seems only the Marines have done it right. I just picked up a bunch of stuff from a guy who recently completed an enlistment in a 2nd Batt / 75th Rangers and had not a kind thing at all to say about the ACU "pajamas."

[tredhed2]

What we have here is "sartorial Balkanization". We now have four branches (who knows what the USCG will come up with) with completely different field/combat uniforms. Why the Navy and AF need them is beyond me. The Navy to sneak between smokestacks and pipes or whatever they have above the hull? The terrible color choice for the Army ACU that makes them stand out everywhere except on gray Navy ships? Looks like the USMC did it right!

 

Here is a problem that ol' Rumsfield (who is on record in Feb 03 saying any invasion of Iraq might not even last 6 months) and his ilk never ever thought of...due to extended repeated tours, we now have multi-branch units working together in the field in Iraq and Afghanistan. Yes, all four branches in one team. There are USAF personnel running gun truck convoys on the GROUND. So you have servicemen wearing different camoflage uniforms. Does one protect better than the other? If so, why does it protect better? Better where - the mountains, the forests, vegetation, the desert? Better against what? How would YOU feel if you're not wearing the better one? If so, where is the responsibility for these ill-conceived ideas?

 

Just like DoD was slow in providing proper armor to our ground forces priot to and during OIF, and in providing the MVRAP vehicles, how would they expect to reply to a family that lost a family member because he/she stood out like a sore thumb? Like USMCRECON says, how does one blend in with the others while wearing a possibly defective "camo" uniform? Safety tip - never hang around RTOs or Os who like to carry binoculars, w/ or w/o camo.

 

BTW - the AF is eliminating any unit pocket patches with their cool tiger-striped PJs.

[pchepurko]

God almighty how the government can waste my money. Why does the USAF need a camo uniform anyway and why does the USMC and Army need two different camo patterns? Do they fight separate battles or use different tactics so that they need a different uniform? It would be so much easier and cost effective for all five service branches to have the same camo uniform.

 

As a side note I have to agree with the person who made the comment that the Air Force has been trying to come up with a good looking uniform since 1947. I would add that the Army, since they switched form the pinks and greens, has also. And while we are at it, and so other do not think I am biased, the USMC greens are also a rather ugly uniform. The dress Navy whites or blues are rather nice. I do believe that the Navy dress uniform has changed much over the last 60-70 years. That is probably why it looks good.

[hochiminhtrail]

as a non Us citizen i cant say much about whats going on with the uniforms in the Us armed forces what pattern is best and so on ,

but i just want to say that it must cost millions to issue different types of uniforms to alll the branches, why was not 1 design good enough for all?? have european theater uniform and a desert uniform, all depending in what aerea the conflict is.

 

Our stripped cash german Bundeswehr have i think a desert camo set and spot pattern camo for Europe.

 

Cheers

 

Alex

[hochiminhtrail]

by the way the navy blue woodland pattern, looks like the sort of camies that is worn in the middle east police forces, Syria, Lebanon, here is the Lebanese police.

 

not close but if you see them ( US Navy & lebaneses ) both running arround at a far distance who can tell who is friend and who is foe, especialy now that every army wears the Fritz Kevlar helmet.

 

Alex

[Gregory]

I do not know why but for me only old good Woodland Camouflage Scheme for the US uniforms is the thing I prefer and like very much.

 

[USMCRECON]

What we have here is "sartorial Balkanization". We now have four branches (who knows what the USCG will come up with) with completely different field/combat uniforms. Why the Navy and AF need them is beyond me. The Navy to sneak between smokestacks and pipes or whatever they have above the hull? The terrible color choice for the Army ACU that makes them stand out everywhere except on gray Navy ships? Looks like the USMC did it right!

 

Here is a problem that ol' Rumsfield (who is on record in Feb 03 saying any invasion of Iraq might not even last 6 months) and his ilk never ever thought of...due to extended repeated tours, we now have multi-branch units working together in the field in Iraq and Afghanistan. Yes, all four branches in one team. There are USAF personnel running gun truck convoys on the GROUND. So you have servicemen wearing different camoflage uniforms. Does one protect better than the other? If so, why does it protect better? Better where - the mountains, the forests, vegetation, the desert? Better against what? How would YOU feel if you're not wearing the better one? If so, where is the responsibility for these ill-conceived ideas?

 

Just like DoD was slow in providing proper armor to our ground forces priot to and during OIF, and in providing the MVRAP vehicles, how would they expect to reply to a family that lost a family member because he/she stood out like a sore thumb? Like USMCRECON says, how does one blend in with the others while wearing a possibly defective "camo" uniform? Safety tip - never hang around RTOs or Os who like to carry binoculars, w/ or w/o camo.

 

BTW - the AF is eliminating any unit pocket patches with their cool tiger-striped PJs.

 

It's interesting that, back in the late 70s, the aim was to standardize utility/fatigue/combat uniforms among the services to the greatest extent possible in order to make it efficient and cost-effective. Now, it seems, we've gone full circle to service unique battle dress uniforms.

 

It seems they're no longer interested in cost-saving and supply issues and now prefer unique and flashy. What goes around comes around, I guess.

[USMCRECON]

by the way the navy blue woodland pattern, looks like the sort of camies that is worn in the middle east police forces, Syria, Lebanon, here is the Lebanese police.

 

not close but if you see them ( US Navy & lebaneses ) both running arround at a far distance who can tell who is friend and who is foe, especialy now that every army wears the Fritz Kevlar helmet.

 

Alex

 

Thr Lebanese uniforms might make some sense in a twisted and unintended way. The gray/blue shades may actually allow the Lebanese police to better hide in the rubble of what had been their cities.