Anybody know why the Army ditched the green Class-A's?

[Aristus]

When I see soldiers, they're either in those hideously ugly ADU's (or whatever they're called) or dress blues.

I thought that Class-A greens, and the service Class-B uniforms were terrific.

[Duckhunter935]

1. ASU's

yep ugly. All of the services uniform follies have been idiotic. The beret thing was also stupid. Since we we work more integrated than ever it is time we went to a single service with a standard uniform like they tried with the BDU. Single service will never happen but the battle uniform should. The army is getting another pattern soon. That is like three since I retired. Very expensive as it it not just the uniform but all of the camouflage equipment to match.

[Aristus]

2. I can understand the Navy and the Air Force having different service dress requirements.

But I thought the woodland camo BDU's were perfect for the Army and Marines.

Money-saver, too. Although I guess when it comes to the MIC, money-saving is a bad thing.

[freebrew]

3. I liked the OD green myself...

[Duckhunter935]

4. I liked

the old OD green fatigues the best, you could get them to look very sharp.

[Aristus]

5. I admit I never liked the OD greens. Or the old khaki Class B's.

I remember when the uniform change happened. I was in 7th Grade, and one afternoon, my father came home wearing a uniform different from the one he'd come home in the day before.

But I like the OD's and khakis better than what they have now.

[pinboy3niner]

6. I think what you guys mean is OG (Olive Green)

OD (Olive Drab) was the WWII-era color designation.

I remember the uniform and equipment issue orders in the '60s always specifying, "one each, OG in color...."

The khaki uniform was great in hot weather. Much more comfortable than a shirt and lightweight Class-A OG coat ("dress greens&quot . Khakis were the specified uniform for shipping out to Vietnam when I went. Sometime I should find and scan an old pic of me in the parking lot of Burbank Airport, in my khakis, before catching a flight to connect with my embarkation point. After a 30-day leave, those khakis were fitting pretty tight!

[Aristus]

7. I grew up with the term 'olive drab', so that's what I always called them.

I went to Basic about 5 years into the BDU era, and everything before that, to me, was olive drab.

The khakis of the 70's and early 80's, if I remember correctly, were a polyester, no-iron blend. They didn't strike me as being terribly comfortable. (I still have some of my Dad's uniform items in storage out in the garage.) Were your khakis in the 60's a blend, or cotton gabardine?

[pinboy3niner]

10. I'm lucky if I can remember what I had for lunch, much less the composition of my khakis in the '60s

But the short-sleeved shirt definitey was cooler than the Class-A long-sleeved shirt and coat. No contest.

[CRK7376]

8. When I enlisted in 1977

we were still wearing the permapress OG. They were ok. I loved the Khakia's, very comfortable in warm weather. We were issued a winter weight wool Green Class A and a summer weight polyester Green Class A uniform. In the summer of 1980 the Army shifted from a khaki Class A shirt to that puke/mint green shirt. I hated that shirt and never liked the Class B uniform with the green/mint shirt.

Today the Army Combat Uniform (ACU) is much most comfortable/functional and I think a pretty smartly designed uniform with the chest pockets and upper arm pockets. It also includes pockets for knee and elbow pad inserts. The digital pattern is good, but the color combination doesn't work for me. We are heading to a smarter digital/color combo that is pretty good. Fortunately I will be retired before it is in production and I have no desire to purchase a new set of ACUs!!!

The Amy Service Uniform(ASU)(Dress uniform) which replaced the Greens is a Dark Blue jacket and lighter blue trousers. I like the formal look, and it's a throwback to Army History in the Civil War up to when we began to introduce Khakia and Olive wool uniforms in the early 1900s. The Soldier wears a White shirt with the ASU. Very Classy. The ASU can and is used for Formal occassions by changing into a more formal white shirt with pleated front and a bow tie versus a traditional tie. Only thing I disagree with in the ASU is that Soldiers do not wear on their left sleeve their current unit of assignment patch and their right sleeve does not wear combat unit of assignment patch. We wear a metalic pin insigna/patch on the right breast pocket representing our combat unit of assignmet.

[Aristus]

9. Shows how different people's tastes can be.

I loved the mint-green shirt Class B's, especially before they started requiring the wear of fruit salad on the shirt. Before that, fruit salad and other decorations were for wear only on the Class A coat. When you took the coat off, you were in Class B service dress, that was comfortable, and not weighed down with a lot of froo-froo stuff.

I do like the association of the ASU with the pre-Spanish-American War uniform changes, but I think it's too formal for general service dress. I wish they'd bring the green Class A's back. Only ditch the stupid fucking beret!