Uniforms of the United States Navy
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Uniforms of the United States Navy are a distinction of the service and still follow many traditional patterns, for example, the changes in uniforms since World War II have been primarily in materials. This discussion is going to look at dress uniforms, daily service uniforms, working uniforms, special situations, and history. For simplicity in this article, "Officers" refers to both commissioned officers and warrant officers.
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[edit] Dress Uniforms
The United States Navy has three categories of dress uniforms- from least to most formal: service, full, and dinner dress.
[edit] Service Dress
The least formal dress uniform, service dress, has three variations for officers and chiefs, but two for enlisted below chief petty officer. These uniforms are typically worn during ceremonies, inspections, or watches.
Officers' and chiefs' service dress depends on the season, with Service Dress White for warm weather wear and Service Dress Blue for cooler temperatures. The uniform set in use is prescribed by the admiral in charge of the region where the sailor is stationed, based on the local climate. For instance, a command in Florida will be in summer uniforms longer than one in New York, or may never switch to winter uniforms. With these uniforms, ribbons and badges are worn, not medals.
The dress blue uniform consists of a navy blue suit coat, trousers, white shirt, and four-in-hand or formal bowtie. The material is generally wool or a wool blend, depending on the vendor. The men's jacket is double breasted with six buttons, and the women's jacket has a single row of four buttons. Rank insignia is the gold sleeve stripes, for officers, while rating badges and service stripes are worn by chiefs. The appropriate headgear frequently is the white combination cap, although a blue garrison cap is authorized in some situations when the jacket is not worn. The service dress white uniform is very divergent for the men's and women's variations. Men wear a high collared white tunic, with shoulder boards for officers, and the metal insignia for chiefs, white trousers and shoes. This uniform is informally called Chokers, due to the collar. The material is a weave of polyester known as "Certified Navy Twill," or CNT. Women wear a uniform similar to the service dress blue, but with a white coat and trousers. The white combination cap is also authorized. One difference is women Chief Petty Officers wear their rank insignia (the fouled anchor with USN mongram and five-pointed cocked "line" stars) on the lapels of the jacket. Uniquely, the shoes worn with this uniform are white. The rarely seen but authorized blue Yankee uniform replaces the dark trousers and black shoes of the service dress blue with white trousers and shoes from the white uniform. Either the All Weather Coat or Reefer are worn with Service Dress uniforms.
The service dress uniforms for blueshirts are the typical naval jumper, which may be navy blue or white as above.. Service Dress Whites ("jumper whites") consist of white bell-bottom trousers, black leather shoes, a white jumper, neckerchief and white "Dixie Cup" white hat for males or combination cover for females with a silver eagle emblem and the letters "USN." The winter uniform (Crackerjacks) is essentially the same thing but navy blue in color. The jumper top for the blues has three rows of white piping on the collar and flap. The trousers are broadfall style, with thirteen buttons. Unlike officer and Chief Petty Officer uniforms, only black shoes are allowed. Ribbons are worn with these uniforms, over the top left pocket opening (the jumper pockets do not have flaps), along with warfare insignia. If these uniforms are assigned as the Uniform of the Day, a Plan of the Day/Plan of the week will state either "Service Dress Whites" or "Service Dress Blue." Either the All Weather Coat or Peacoat are worn with this uniform.
[edit] Full Dress
Full Dress uniforms are worn for ceremonies such as change of command, retirement, commissioning, and decommissioning, or when appropriate. Similar to the service dress, but the "Yankee" variation is omitted, medals are worn with these uniforms where appropriate along with warfare insignia above the medals, and swords are authorized for officers. Ribbons that do not have corresponding medals are worn on the right side.
[edit] Dinner Dress
The dinner dress uniforms of the United States Navy have the most variations. For officers, there are Dinner Dress Blue and White, Dinner Dress Blue and White Jacket, Formal Dress, and Tropical Dinner dress. Although trousers are authorized, women frequently wear the appropriate color skirt. The Dinner Dress Blue and White are the Service and Full Dress uniforms with miniature medals and badges except for ribbons. The Dinner Dress Blue and White Jacket and the Formal Dress uniforms for men feature a short jacket with six buttons, worn open, in either color. Male officers show rank stripes on the sleeves of the jacket for the blue version and on shoulder boards for the white version, while women officers only wear sleeve stripes. The Formal Dress variation is the short, dark jacket, and trousers, worn with a white bowtie for men. The Tropical dress uniforms are dark trousers, a gold cummerbund, and a white short-sleeve shirt, worn with shoulder boards or just the rating badge. For all mess dress variations, a white tie and vest generally are used for formal occasions while a black bowtie and gold cummerbund are used for semi-formal environments. Headgear (Dixie Cup for men and combination cover for women) is not required for all mess dress uniforms, unless an outer jacket is worn. This uniform is never made the Uniform of the Day, nor is it absolutely required to be retained by naval personnel.
Those under the rank of Lieutenant (O-3) have the option of using the Service Dress uniform instead, and simply replacing the ribbons worn on the left with miniature size medals, and the standard necktie with a black bow tie. Enlisted who are E-6 (Petty Officer First Class) and below also wear their Service Dress uniform, the traditional sailor suit, with miniature medals. They can also wear a uniform similar to the officers, but with rank insignia and service stripes on the left sleeve.
[edit] Service Uniforms
Service Uniforms are the Navy's daily wear uniforms, and exist in several variations. They are intended for use in office environments, in positions that interact with the public, and in watch situations. Skirts are authorized for women in all service uniforms.
[edit] Service Khaki
The service khaki uniform is the sole province of Officers and Chief Petty Officers; because of this, it is common to see references to "khaki leadership" in documents (On the fictional Navy courtroom drama JAG, the main character, Commander Rabb, called them "peanut butters" due to their color. CPOs, in real life, on the other hand, are given the nickname the "Khaki Mafia" by officers due to the post-World War II requirements that khakis were worn at all times, unless the coveralls were required, and that their gold-colored insignia is due to 12 years of "undetected crime"). It is a khaki short-sleeve button-up shirt and trousers, worn with a gold belt buckle. Warfare insignia is worn on the top left pocket of the shirt, ribbons are placed beneath the warfare insignia, a nametag is located on the top right pocket, and rank insignia is worn on the collar. The regulations for ribbons state the highest three, or all ribbons can be worn at once. There are actually three kinds of headgear authorized. Frequently, a khaki garrison cap or command ball cap is worn, but a khaki combination cover is authorized. The authorized shoes are black or brown oxfords, but traditionally, brown shoes are only worn by aviation connected officers and Chief Petty Officers. The black shoes are worn with black socks, and the brown with khaki socks. In any case, the shirt, which has a pointed collar and two front button-flap pockets, is tucked in. An optional black V-neck pullover sweater can be worn with this uniform, in such case, the collar rank insignia is retained and soft boards for officers or large pin-on insignia for CPOs are worn on the sweater's shoulder epaulets.
[edit] Winter Blue
The winter Blue uniform is authorized for all ranks; because of its black color, it is called the "Johnny Cash" uniform. It is a long sleeve black button-up shirt and black belt and trousers, with the headgear either the combination cover, white hat, or an optional black garrison cap. All men wear ties (females necktab), with an optional silver clip for Petty Officers First Class and below; others gold. Ribbons and badges are worn, and officers and Chiefs wear metal collar insignia, while enlisted wear just the rating badge on the left arm. Enlisted also wear the appropriate Unit Identification Tab on the right shoulder. When assigned as the Uniform of the Day, a Plan of the Day/Plan of the week will state "Winter Blues." Either the All Weather Coat, Blue Windbreaker, or Peacoat are worn with this uniform.
[edit] Summer and Tropical Whites
The summer white uniform consists of a short-sleeved white button-up shirt worn open-collared, white trousers and belt, and dress shoes (white for chiefs and officers, black for petty officers and below). Authorized headwear for chiefs and officers is the combination cap; petty officers and below may wear the white cap (combination cap for females) or the Navy/command ball cap. Officers wear shoulder boards with this uniform, while chiefs wear metal insignia and junior enlisted wear rating badges. Interestingly, the women's shirt for all ranks has shoulder straps, but carry nothing except for officers, who wear smaller sized shoulder boards than their male counterparts. Like Service Khakis, summer whites are available in several materials (poly/cotton and Certified Navy Twill, although the latter is not permitted for shipboard use). When assigned as the Uniform of the Day, a Plan of the Day/Plan of the week will state "Summer Whites." Either the All Weather Coat, Blue Windbreaker, or Peacoat are worn with this uniform. The rarely seen tropical white uniform is similar, except white knee shorts, and knee socks are worn (affectionately known as the "Captain Stubing" uniform, from The Love Boat TV show).
[edit] New Service Uniform
In 2006, Order NAVADMIN 070/06 by the Chief of Naval Operations, announced the approval of a new, year-round service uniform for E-1 to E-6 personnel that will replace the blue "Johnny Cash" uniform and the summer white uniforms, along with the immediate elimination of the rarely used tropical uniforms. The new service uniform will be comprised of a short-sleeved khaki shirt and/or blouse, identical to those worn by sailors and officers attached to the Fleet Marine Force, and black trousers and belt and/or optional skirt. Miniature silver anodized metal rank insignia for Petty Officers will be worn on shirt and blouse collars, with the shirt also bearing the appropriate Unit Identification Tab on the right shoulder. This tab, a black arc with white lettering, denotes the command the sailor is assigned to, i.e. USS GEORGE WASHINGTON, STRKFITRON 81, NMC PORTSMOUTH, etc. This uniform will include a black Eisenhower-style jacket with a knit stand-up collar and epaulets, on which Petty Officers will wear large anodized metal rank insignia, and a black garrison hat with the rank insignia worn on the left side. Those entitled to wear gold chevrons will continue to wear gold chevrons as the jacket's large metal rank insignia. The new service uniform will beomfort rather than appearance, and trousers are mandatory at all times. These uniforms are frequently either all natural fabrics, or blends. The typical headgear is a ball cap, either a generic "Navy" or a command listed. Currently, the Navy is attempting to replace these uniforms with a single Navy Working Uniform.
[edit] Winter Working Blues
Winter Working blues are similar to the Winter Blue Service Uniform. The main difference is that the ribbons and necktie are omitted.
[edit] Working Khaki
The Working Khaki uniform is worn by Officers and Chief Petty Officers. It consists of a short- or long-sleeve Khaki uniform button-up shirt, with warfare insignia and badges worn on the top of the left pocket, and pin-on metal rank devices located on the collar. It also comes with a set of khaki trousers, a khaki belt with a gold belt buckle, a command or "US Navy" ballcap, and either black boots or black leather shoes. A garrison cap is also optional. This uniform is worn either in dirty laborious environments or underway, and is certified to be fire resistant. When assigned as the Uniform of the Day, a Plan of the Day/Plan of the week will state "Working Khaki." Some Chiefs still refer to this uniform by its older name of "Wash Khaki," differentiating it from (typically) dry-cleaned Service Khaki. Either the All Weather Coat, Reefer or "Ike" Jackets are worn with this uniform.
[edit] Utilities
Working uniforms prioritize comfort and safety first and thus are the least attractive of the Navy uniforms. They are intended for use in underway ships and in occasions that involve dirty, physical labor. Many working uniforms are variations of the service uniforms except with less formal requirements. This category includes Navy coveralls, which are authorized to be worn by members of all ranks.
[edit] Coveralls
A fairly new uniform, simple blue coveralls have become the standard working uniform for all ranks at sea and in dirty, laborious environments ashore. Coveralls are not authorized for wear outside a naval installation, and typical local regulations dictate that coveralls are not authorized off of the pier, or outside the confines of an assigned workcenter ashore. Naval Officer's and Chief Petty Officer's coveralls are worn with gold insignia, khaki belt and a gold buckle, whereas Petty Officers 1st class and below wear coveralls with silver insignia, black belt and a silver buckle. "U.S. Navy" on the left and the wearer's last name on the right are worn embroidered. Rank insignia is worn on the collar. This uniform is worn with black boots for E-6 and below while optional brown boots for E-7 and above can be worn, although typically only for those of the aviation field. All Weather Coat, Utility Jacket or Peacoat can be worn. Coveralls are certified to be fire resistant. When assigned as the Uniform of the Day, a Plan of the Day/Plan of the week will state "Coveralls."
[edit] Tropical Working Uniforms
Tropical working uniforms exist, but are variations on the working khaki and utility uniforms. Knee shorts and black knee socks are worn, along with short sleeved button-up shirts.
[edit] Aviation Working Greens
A working green uniform exists for officers and Chief Petty Officers in the aviation community. It is quite similar to the United States Marine Corps' "dress green" (a.k.a. green alpha) uniform, with green jacket and trousers, and a khaki button-up shirt, but insignia is black embroidery on sleeves, of stripes and the rating badge, while metal insignia is work on the khaki shirt. Wings are worn on both the jacket and the shirt. Brown shoes are authorized.
[edit] Naval Work Uniform (NWUs)
As mentioned before, Order NAVADMIN 070/06 will not only replace the separate blue and white E1 to E6 service uniforms with a year-round service uniform, but also will replace the various working uniforms (except for the coveralls, which will be retained for specialist tasks) for all ranks (E-1 to O-10) with the new Naval Work Uniform (NWUs). The new NWU uniform, like its MARPAT cousin, is a combat utility-style uniform, but unlike the tactical MARPAT, the new NWU uses a non-tactical, predominantly blue digital pattern with gray and black serving as the supplimenting colors.
The uniform is worn with rank insignia on both collar points and on the front panel of the 8-sided cammoflague cover, with sew-on name and "U.S. NAVY" tapes, also on the new digital background pattern, having gold-colored lettering for officers and CPOs and silver-colored lettering for all lower ranks. A replica of the U.S.S. Constitution is embroidered on the left breast pocket on all NWU uniforms. Black safety boots, identical to those worn by United States Coast Guard personnel with their new Operational Dress Uniform, are worn with the new NWUs.
Like the previous Working uniforms, the new NWU uniform was designed to allow personnel to stay warm and dry in inclement weather, thus they were designed to be slightly larger for the wearing of sweaters underneath, along with meeting shipboard fire safety standards. The NWU uniform, unlike its predecessors, were also designed to be longer lasting, and does not need to be ironed like previous uniforms. The camouflage pattern was designed not to provide tactical properties, instead, it was designed to hide stains that would otherwise show up on previous uniforms. The digital pattern also has the same infrared readback patterns like that of the MARPAT uniform, allowing U.S. Marines to easily identify Naval personnel using IR equipment. The uniform also has more pockets than its predecessors, with four on the shirt and six on the trousers. The NWU uniforms are currently in production and have not yet been phased in.
[edit] Coats
Enlisted personnel and Petty Officers may wear a Navy Blue Peacoat with a rank insignia on the left sleeve, a Navy Blue Utility Jacket with a rank insignia on the left sleeve, a Navy Blue All Weather Coat with rank insignia worn on the collar, or a Navy Blue Working Uniform Jacket with rank insignia worn on the collar.
Officers and Chiefs may wear the "Ike" jacket, with the rank insignia worn on the shoulder epaulets, the reefer, with rank insignia worn on the shoulder, or the all weather coat, with rank insignia also worn on the shoulder.
Pilots, Naval Flight Officers, and Naval Aircrewman are authorized to wear brown leather flight jackets, with rank and warfare insignia listed on a nametag over the left breast pocket.
Also, the Navy issues foul weather jackets, which are either olive or Navy blue in color, at various commands. They are not part of a seabag. The Navy also issues cold-weather jackets, which are olive in color and are not part of a seabag. These jackets are considered "Organizational Clothing."
[edit] Special Uniform Situations
In certain duty stations, Navy personnel are issued woodland or desert utility uniforms. These are similar to the other military services' utility uniforms.
[edit] Naval personnel attached to Marine Corps units
As the Marines do not have medical personnel and chaplains, the Navy provides them (both the Chief of Naval Operations and Commandant of the Marine Corps are heads of separate branches – the only connection between the Navy and Marines is that they report to the Secretary of the Navy). The officers and enlisted include doctors, dentists, Nurses, Hospital Corpsmen, Chaplains, and Religious Program Specialists. Because of this relationship, these personnel are authorized to wear U.S. Marine Corps "green" uniforms (the Navy Dress Blues and Whites are authorized for formal events), but with Navy rank insignia replacing the Marine insignia. Their camouflage utilities, currently the MARPAT pattern camouflague, replaces the "U.S. Marines" with "U.S. Navy," and Navy insignia (shiny metal for officers and black metal for enlisted) is worn on the collars. They wear the MARPAT 8-point cover, but lacking the Marine Corps emblem; Officers wear miniature officer insignia and CPOs and Petty Officers with their rank insignia, all in blackened metal. If Navy personnel opt to wear Marine Corps uniforms, they must meet Marine Corps grooming and physical appearance standards, which are different from Navy standards.
[edit] Other wear of Combat Utilities
In addition to Marine Corps detachments, combat utilities are also worn by Navy SEAL teams, along with the support crews (the "Brown Water Navy") who transport SEAL platoons to and from combat operation areas. The Battle Dress Uniform (BDUs) are typically worn by Master at Arms or other security personnel both ashore and afloat, and are authorized for those in the Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) and Fleet Diver communities. Combat utilities are also authorized for those attached to Navy Construction (Seabee) battalions, although they, as well as other selected units, currently wear the old-style BDU camouflage. Sailors attached to the Navy's Expeditionary Combat Command (NECC) also wear the old-style BDU camouflage uniform. Also, Navy personnel assigned to some joint headquarters units, like Central Command in Qatar and Iraq wear combat utility uniforms.
[edit] Naval air personnel
Pilots, Naval Flight Officers, and Naval Aircrewman are authorized to wear green flight coveralls (made of nomex for fire protection), with rank insignia for officers is stiched on the shoulder epaulettes, and a nametag/warfare insignia on the left breast pocket. Either a Command/Navy ballcap or a Khaki Garrison Cap (For Chiefs and Officers) are worn with this uniform. Coveralls are authorized to be worn with either the all weather coat or utility jacket (Petty Officers only). Due to the extreme noise on the flightdeck of an aircraft carrier, personnel handling the aircraft have specific-colored shirts, which by sight describes that person's function, i.e. red for ordinance handling, purple for fuel, etc.
[edit] USS Constitution
The frigate USS Constitution is the oldest commissioned ship in the U.S. Navy, and is presented to the public as she appeared during the War of 1812, including the wear of period uniforms according to regulations posted in 1815. These uniforms are worn on ceremonial occasions, such as the annual turn-around cruise in Boston every 4th of July.
