• 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

Actually I'm ROTP filling my non-university time by volunteering with my old sea cadet corps, so I guess I could get sea boots.

As for the oxfords, has the navy come to the point where naval combat rig is so often worn that there is no reason for more than one pair of shoes fit for service/ceremonial rig?  I am assuming that one must rotate shoes as we are all taught to do with combat boots in basic, though.  Perhaps the powers-that-dress-us have decided that no one really works up a sweat at ceremonies or in the office so we don't need to rotate footwear--no matter how many times Esquire & GQ tell gentlemen to have at least 2 pairs of shoes custom-made for them. 

I, of course, agree with having at least 2 pairs of any footwear and having the right footwear for the occasion.  This prompts me to ask what happened to the 'licorice legs' leather gaiters that officers used to wear on parade.  Didn't these gaiters require boots rather than shoes (to not leave a gap at the ankle)?

If it clears anything up: my orginal intent was to wear Mk 3 combat boots with NC rig ('dress' just isn't nautical enough for me) while drilling cadets--my experience with colours & other 'ceremonial' parades has been ceremonial rig, so I've never thought of NC rig as something one can dress-up with parade boots & undress with sea boots.

When exactly did we get our current NC rig?  When did the reefer jacket (or the rifle green tunic) stop being worn aboard?  (Assuming it's no longer worn.)  To allude to another post I made on naval rig: why can't we just have fire-retardant frock coats and cocked hats?
 
well here is my 2 cents.
the ball caps are the equivalent to your bush caps, so would you take them off and put your berets on just because there are cameras around i don't think so!
and sir if we were to bring back the old "BLUE" dress uniform your uniform wouldn't change anyway just MS and below wore those.
and ironing the navy combats it have been proved that after you wash them 2 times the fire resistance is gone.so just iron them and get over it.and yes they are a pain in the butt.
 
I dont see what is a "pain in the butt" about our current rig. When Im working on deck I wear a ball cap. When I step off the ship I put my beret on. Certain areas of the base I wear my hat. Step foot off the base and I put my beret on......
 
navydrill said:
the ironing part is the pain in the butt!!lol

AH. Yeah thats more of a pain in the ass on the boats instead of on shore. I takes 2 minutes in the morning while your in barracks....at least of me. Hang it up as soon as it comes off and iron in the morning. Of course Im sure you already know this already lol.
 
listen to you like its so hard to do such  , and youve such time in trade too wait till you have to maintain a buskin or a kilt and sporran
 
axeman said:
listen to you like its so hard to do such   , and youve such time in trade too wait till you have to maintain a buskin or a kilt and sporran

Are you talking to me Axeman? Im saying that its not that big a deal.....
 
Actually the old blue uniform would change my uniform...to blue!  ;D Instead of that awful dull, dull black.  The aesthetic advantage of 'navy blue' (or 'midnight blue' as civilians now call it) is that it appears 'blacker than black' in artificial light and gives a lusterous blue tinge in sunlight--black, on the other hand, appears greyish-green in artificial light and God knows the navy has had enough with a green uniform.  Every other navy seems to have 'blues' to refer to the almost-black uniform except the CF.

Another change to our uniform: 8 buttons instead of 6.  Not a big deal but I rather like it.

And as for the junior rating's square rig, are there any MS & below who wish for its return?  I thought that they liked having a jacket & tie, back in the 70s at least, because bar owners couldn't discriminate against sailors by requiring shirt & tie and not counting the gunshirt & silk.  Now I suppose it is a moot point because people seem to rarely walk out in uniform.

I guess I'll have a more informed opinion on the orders of rig when I actually sail.  But I am absolutely informed that those service dress trousers are cut too tightly!
 
Sailing Instructor said:
Actually the old blue uniform would change my uniform...to blue!   ;D Instead of that awful dull, dull black.   The aesthetic advantage of 'navy blue' (or 'midnight blue' as civilians now call it) is that it appears 'blacker than black' in artificial light and gives a lusterous blue tinge in sunlight--black, on the other hand, appears greyish-green in artificial light and God knows the navy has had enough with a green uniform.   Every other navy seems to have 'blues' to refer to the almost-black uniform except the CF.

Another change to our uniform: 8 buttons instead of 6.   Not a big deal but I rather like it.

And as for the junior rating's square rig, are there any MS & below who wish for its return?   I thought that they liked having a jacket & tie, back in the 70s at least, because bar owners couldn't discriminate against sailors by requiring shirt & tie and not counting the gunshirt & silk.   Now I suppose it is a moot point because people seem to rarely walk out in uniform.

I guess I'll have a more informed opinion on the orders of rig when I actually sail.   But I am absolutely informed that those service dress trousers are cut too tightly!


Arrrrgghh I d love the return to the square rig there sailing instructor....but yes our current pants are too tight,
 
I believe I saw the guncrews wearing only the gunshirts & trousers (not sure if they were bell-bottomed, but I assume so).  They also have their ships badges (or coast badges, I think each coast has a team?) sewn on the gunshirts.

I liked wearing my square rig when I was a cadet...damn it was sexy.  Or at least far sexier than that awful uniform cadets wear now.
 
Okay, what the h*ll is a squarerig?  I'm dying to know.
 
I think it's those blue bell bottom pants and shirt with the backwards bib  ;)
 
Hey Sailing Instructor,

Navy blue is a form of black, all blacks have a base colour..however you're correct, the RCN No. 1's equivalent to our DEUs were a dark shade of blue. Funny enough when the most recent NCDs first came out, replacing the old naval combat dress from the 70s most of them had a base colour of purple and green and after a couple months they faded something fierce, kinda liek the CADPAT. Good thing the CF only buys quality material that doesn't wear down fast, eh? LOL
If you are looking at buying whites, may a suggest you get a set of USN high collar whites, much better quality, they don't get dirty as fast, look better and scuttel butt is they don't chaff you nipples.
If you want a really good link for Naval traditions and reasons behind the cultrure go to www.readyayeready.com and check out the traditions section...it helped me a lot when I first joined before the powes that be decided to put me in a green uniform when I went RegF... never say never...like I am never going back to St-Jean LOL

Fair sailing and following seas..
 
Where does the trade badge fit in on the Navy uniform? Do all types of uniforms have a trade badge? I've seen alot pics with blue shirts, no one seems to have a trade badge.
 
dependson a combat shirt no badges . whites is on the arm
 
I did more digging and found that the jacket that goes with the combats (which I think are called NCDs?) have the black trade badges.
 
Despite the fact that trade badges are important during evolutions aboard ship (so that everyone knows what others' jobs are) they are not seen on Naval Combat Rig (or 'Dress' as the powers-that-be would have us say it even though it is not a 'dress' uniform, in the proper sense of the word--meaning a uniform with dressings such as epaulettes, medals, etc.).  (Save the red/maroon stripes between medical branch officers' gold rank stripes.)

Trade badges (which are soley worn by ratings) are worn on the collar of the reefer jacket (double-breasted, gilt-buttoned thing) or on the arm of the white short sleeved shirt.  They are much the same as old RCN trade badges, unlike the RN's current trade badges which I find to be ugly (a star for a cook? where the hell did that come from?).  Mind you, the RN puts trade badges on the right arm of their Improved Action Working Rig ('Dress' technically, again....)
 
Funny thing... not sure if it is still in the dress regs but, when I was an Ode I noticed for Salt & Peppers the rank was sewn on the right arm and the trade badge was on the left while wearing Ode slip-ons....Ha Ha I never saw that, just on the dress regs pics in Nelles Block, gotta love when the pic that tells you how to dress is wrong

Cheers
 
Back
Top