• Thanks for stopping by. Logging in to a registered account will remove all generic ads. Please reach out with any questions or concerns.

The current navy uniform

pff. Helmets are way cooler.  ;)
ExD, I noticed that the NBP had flight suits on, my question is how the hell they got the sleeves rolled up considering they're tapered and I can't get mine past mid forearm. I've heard some grumblings around the Air types about the fact that we had a hell of a time getting the green flight suits only to have the NBPs get them before us and then destroy them by cutting the sleeves.

Cheers
 
Hmmmm must be something new as we wore the old style OD combats in the Gulf and coveralls similiar to what the police tactical teams wear. Could be the differences in ships because some ships issued crewsuits to their NLBPs.
 
Gotcha, I've seen the navy blue coveralls, I seem to remember seeing Dolphins so it may have been one of those dirty submariners.  ;) They definitely had a high LCF (look cool factor).  8)

 
[Howdy yourself. How about filling out your profile a bit more so we know who we are dealing with. :)]
Howdy right back at ya sorry for upsetting you. filled out my profile as per your request

[Sure look black to me.]
I didn't name the colour (it looks black to me to)

[Most people who want them order them through Clothing Stores. The tunics are made here in Canada. The USn only wears their whites in the summer or in a tropical area, never in the winter.]
When you order them through stores you deal with the tailors not the storesie's.
People have found it a lot less expensive buying them at the US Naval Exchange mine cost me around 125 CDN as apposed to the 250 through the base   or other tailors. In regards to the US calling them winter whites , I am by no means a subject mater expert. I only know what I was told

[As for cadpat having rank of their shoulder I believe your are mistaken as any example I have seen always has it on the front.]
Where ever the bloody rank is, the point was very simple and an attempt at humor. the point being i have to be very close to see what rank I am dealing with let alone close enough to see the environmental desig on the name tag. these old tired eyes ainain'tat they used to be. lol



 
Ah, so only the white trousers are issued, to be worn as 3Bs.  That is to say: 3Bs in the summer, but when else would one be wearing shortsleeves anyway?

Just to clarify some terminology about the navy uniform: everyone seems to refer to the black (navy blue, whatever) double-breasted jacket as a tunic--comparable with the army and air force's tunics.  However, this is not correct because a tunic is actually closer to being a shirt rather than a jacket.  A tunic, as the army has worn it, is a piece of clothing worn over an undershirt and underneath armour or protective clothing (like a parka or coat). 

In our modern world we have two prime examples of tunics: (1) the CADPAT "Combat Shirt" is an example of a 'practical' tunic worn underneath webbing, combat parkas, etc.  (2) the scarlet tunic of the light infantry is an example of a 'dress' tunic worn for ceremonial occasions and by RMC students.  These are both worn over t-shirts and are not tucked in like other shirts--they somewhat resemble the modern suit jacket.

Since military service dress has modernised, the army's tunic has taken on the form of a suit jacket and has been worn over a collared shirt with tie.  However it is still called a tunic because we in the military have a little thing called tradition (and just flip the notched collar and lapels of a suit jacket up and see if it doesn't resemble the form of a a high-collared ceremonial tunic).

After the 3 services unified, they wore a green suit modeled after the army's service dress.  The jacket was, of course, called a tunic because of aforementioned tradition.  When the environments got DEUs in the '80s, the navy got back something like it's traditional jacket, but I think that the name tunic was pretty powerful because it is still refered to as a tunic. 

The real name for the navy's black jacket (besides COAT, BLACK A/W) is a 'reefer' jacket.  The name comes from sailing--sails are reefed in, lines are reefed upon, etc.  And its form comes not from a tunic, but from the frock coat and tailcoat of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.  These coats, unlike tunics, were worn over dress shirts.  Thus, the navy's service dress is the most like a modern suit and most definitely not a tunic. 

The navy's tunic is the white, high-collared contraption that I mentioned earlier as a summer service dress uniform.  This is worn over an undershirt and is meant as a cool alternative to the heavyweight black suit of the winter uniform.
 
3Bs aren't just worn in the summer, you're permitted to wear them year round now. There's also a term (correct me if I'm wrong) called walking out dress, and the long sleeve shirt and tie is not considered walking out dress, if you're wearing the longsleeve shirt and tie you have to wear either the tunic (reefer jacket, if you like) or a sweater. 3Bs can be worn with a sweater or nothing at all. With the new gortex jackets in the system, most people wear the gortex jacket with their 3Bs in the winter or they wear the tie/sweater/tunic combo. Clear as mud?

Cheers
 
I see.  All I meant about 3Bs is that the 'option' of black trousers ought to be moot because if you're wearing short sleeves it's obviously too hot for the black heavyweight trousers.  Except that we wear 3Bs even when it's not hot.  Quite frankly, I'd rather wear the tropical white tunic & trousers (1Ds I think) over 3Bs and I plan to, if permitted by variable 'rig of the day' orders.  That's my rant and I'm sticking to it. ;D

 
Okay, so one more beef with the current uniform: what is the deal with not showing one's shirt cuffs?  I can understand it being a tradition with the army because they wear a tunic which was originally worn over underwear (i.e. a union suit, and, later, a t-shirt) and thus would show no cuff (re: my earlier post in this thread on what exactly a 'tunic' is).  As it is, I believe they are allowed to wear the short-sleeved shirt under their tunic so there is no issue with sleeves anyway.

However, the navy's reefer jacket was always worn with a button-up white shirt, and cuffs were sported from the sleeves of many an officer's jacket--sometimes with double-cuffs and cufflinks (not to mention the frills of the 1700s (and perhaps late 1960s!)).  So when the green uniform was repealed for the navy and airforce, why did the uniform regulations not allow for showing one's cuffs again?  I must say it's rather contradictory to show a collar and tie, yet not the cuffs--even in the army which I think should flip up their lapels, but that's another thread.... 

And as for this whole issue being a problem, where exactly does it say I can't show cuffs?  I've had two base tailors correct me when I wanted the reefer jacket sleeves shortened, but I've scoured the CF Dress Instructions and found nothing.
 
Another question, this time about naval combat rig: are we allowed to wear the field combat boots (Mark 3, I believe) with it anytime?  I've seen one LS wearing army combat boots but perhaps there was some fire-safety issue that prevented him from wearing the parade boots.

I know that sea boots are now allowed with all orders of naval combats, so I'm hoping that field boots are also allowed; I hate having to constantly spit shine my only pair of parade boots because I ruin them while instructing sea cadets.
 
Ex-Dragoon said:
Sea boots are available for issue as well.

He's instructing Cadets Ex. In your unit (in mine at least) sea boots are not allowed, neither are Mark 3's. Parade boots with NCD's are dress of the day, as you are on parade. Uniformity.

Sailing instructor I would just advise you to contact your CO in this matter. You should.nt be wearing parade boots while sailing however.
 
Sailing Instructor said:
Another question, this time about naval combat rig: are we allowed to wear the field combat boots (Mark 3, I believe) with it anytime?   I've seen one LS wearing army combat boots but perhaps there was some fire-safety issue that prevented him from wearing the parade boots.

I know that sea boots are now allowed with all orders of naval combats, so I'm hoping that field boots are also allowed; I hate having to constantly spit shine my only pair of parade boots because I ruin them while instructing sea cadets.

This is my understanding of it, keep in mind that in the Air Force we tend to be a little more lenient. NCDs are an operational dress, if you were supposed to wear parade boots with it, you would have been issued 2 pairs. MH techs get issued NCDs for use on ship, they wear sea boots or some other type of safety boot, but not parade boots.  Even around the hangar in Shearwater, you'd be hard pressed to find a dozen guys wearing parade boots, the rules are pretty lax when it comes to foot wear, I wear Danner Acadias in the winter and MKIII aircrew boots the rest of the time.  Some guys wear HiTech Magnums, Matterhorns, the list goes on, as long as they're black.  Also, you're an officer, so why are you wearing parade boots with your DEUs? CF Oxfords are the footwear for officers, even on parade, the navy may have a different opinion on that. I haven't worn parade boots in over 4 years.

So, my opinion is that if you're wearing an operational dress, you should be wearing the appropriate foot wear and parade boots aren't appropriate operational footwear.

Cheers
 
Yeah, I was never sure about wearing parade boots in my service dress.  But I've never heard of a dress instruction against it (though I understand some of the most important rules are unwritten) and parade boots are more confortable for marching around.

If parade boots are not for officers (and they aren't from what I've been told) why do they issue them to us?  On IAP, I got 2 pr black oxfords (I think one was supposed to be white) & 1 pr parade boots.
 
I don't have an answer for that, I was issued a AF Blue forge cap that I have yet to wear, same as the AF workdress, I'm aircrew so I wear a flight suit 99% of the time but I was still issued work dress.

I'd look into sea boots, if you were issued NCDs, there's no reason you shouldn't have been issued the footwear for it.

I did wear parade boots on BOTC, but that was the last time I wore them. If you get the new oxfords, the ones with the Vibram soles, they're actually quite comfortable.

Cheers
 
As for being in the Reserves you are only issued sea boots if you go to the coast and go on ship. NO SHIP NO SEABOOTS. And sea boots are NOT acceptable for parades.

Why do I feel like shouting?
 
I never said sea boots on parade, you wear sea boots with NCDs, just like I wear aircrew boots with a flight suit, I don't change my footwear depending on whether or not I'm going flying. That's like saying you don't wear combat boots on parade even though you're wearing combats.
 
Right but generally on parade we wear NCD's and parade boots, even though its Naval combats you wear parade boots. Unless you're on a boot. I'm assuming as a CIC he doesnt spend much time on a ship so good luck gtting sea boots... :D
 
Fair enough, we don't parade that often in the Air Force and when we do it's Oxfords when we're in DEUs and whatever footwear you choose to wear when you're in work dress.

SI, combat boots should be fine when you're out sailing, if you've only got the one pair of parade boots.
 
The best boots that the navy issues IMHO are the hull tech boots. I use a pair as a secondary pair for both NLBP and general ship use.
 
Back
Top