OG-107

A Bolivian Army soldier armed with a 7.62mm FN FAL rifle stands guard during Fuerzas Unidas Bolivia, a joint U.S. and Bolivian training exercise in April 1986.

The OG-107 was the basic work utility uniform of all branches of the United States Armed Forces from 1952 until its discontinuation in 1989. The designation came from the U.S. Army's coloring code "Olive Green 107", which was a shade of grayish green. The OG-107 was superseded by the Battle Dress Uniform (BDU) in the 1980s, and was also used by several other countries, including ones that received military aid from the United States.

All versions of the OG-107 shared several basic design features. They were made out of an 8.5 ounce cotton sateen. The shirt could be tucked in or worn outside the trousers depending on the preference of the local commander. It consisted of a button front and two simple patch pockets on the upper chest that closed by means of a buttoned flap. The trousers were straight leg pants with two simple patch pockets in the front with slash openings and two simple patch pockets on the back with a button flap. The cotton versions tended to fade quickly to greenish grey while the poly-cotton variant used in the Type III stayed darker much longer.

History

The OG-107 uniform was introduced in 1952, and, succeeding the M1943 Uniform, it became the standard for use both in the United States and on overseas deployment by the beginning of the Vietnam War. As the Tropical Combat Uniform (jungle fatigues) became more plentiful in South Vietnam, they began to replace the OG-107 Uniform in combat units. A rough time line is that line infantry units from "standard" divisions (not airborne or Special Forces) began receiving jungle fatigues in the spring of 1966 and the OG-107 was slowly relegated to use in rear areas.

In the United States and foreign postings (outside of Southeast Asia), the OG-107 remained the standard uniform throughout the 1960s and 1970s. This is one of the longest issued uniforms by the US Military, seeing use from 1952 until the adoption of the Woodland Pattern Battle Dress Uniform in 1982. They were completely discontinued in 1989.

Basic designs

There were three basic models or "patterns" for the OG-107 Cotton Sateen Utility Uniform:

"Type I" (1952–1963)

The first "Type I" model was introduced in 1952 and remained virtually unchanged through its 10 year production run. The shirt featured a sleeve with no true cuff or buttons; it was simply a straight sleeve with a simple hem at the cuff. The shirt's two chest pockets and the trousers rear two pockets had a rectangular pocket flap that buttoned. The buttons were a "dished" style and most of the 50's production were a dark brown color while the majority of the 60's production were dark green. The trousers also had a simple adjustment tab on the waist that could be buttoned. The shirt and trousers were also sized in groups (Small, Medium, Large, etc.) This model was replaced in April 1963 when specifications came out for the second model.

"Type II" (1963–1964)

The "Type II" was specified for production in April 1963 and had several slight variations from the Type I. The only change of any real significance was the "clipping" of the pocket flaps on the shirt, so that they no longer appeared rectangular. As with the Type I, the shirt and trousers were also sized in groups. Due to the limited production time before the Type III was specified, these were not seen nearly as often as the Type I or III.

"Type III" (1964–1989)

The "Type III" is the most common model and can be split into two versions based on the time of manufacture and material.

Variants

Variants of the OG-107s consisted of two main groups:

Users

See also

References

  1. ↑ Stanton 1998, p. 129.
  2. ↑ Armies of the Vietnam war

Bibliography

Further reading

External links