Air Force
Air Force
Posted on Mar 15, 2014
Why are the utility uniforms in the Air Force so similar to the Army?
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I was on Operation Waterfall in Northern Missouri back in 2008 when the Mississippi Levee broke, and we were working with Air Force (nice people). A soldier in the Air Force with the rank that looks like Major in the Army (not sure of the AF ranks) walks up. I was actually confused and wondering, "Why do I not know this person? My unit is a small unit, and I know everyone" because the name didn't sound familiar... Then I noticed the Air Force 'logo'... I did salute, but to this day I'm still confused as to why the Air Forces' uniforms are so similar to the Armys'. Any thoughts/answers?
Uniforms
Air Force
Army
Posted 10 y ago
Responses: 10
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Because deep down, the Air Force still wishes it was the Army Air Corps..... ;o)
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SFC (Join to see)
2" spikes sir. 2. INCH. But it is also completely valid and hilarious at the same time!
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SPC Gasho,
Throughout the 80s and 90s all of the services had exactly the same uniforms the BDUs. Most of the other services had other variations, like the Navy's dungarees, the standard everyone worn was the uniform. The only difference was the service tape that said what service you were in and that the Air Force wore blue name tapes.
If you have been following the military news Congress has passed a bill that all of the services will go back to wearing a single uniform. The is the most efficient way for the whole DoD to operate because it saves millions on making different uniforms.
Finally the Air Force officer rank is exactly the same as the Army.
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SPC(P) Delcina Myers
Major Telesco - Thank you so much for your answer, Sir. I remember the BDU's... Haha! I wore them my first 6 months into the military. Do I miss them? Yes. Do I like the ACUs more? Yes, but the velcro can be non-existent. Do I want all components to wear the same uniform? No. It's easier to tell who is in what component, but the AF should have picked different colors. Although they have tiger stripes and we have digitals, the colors are too confusing. On the rank structure: I wasn't sure, so I just addressed him as Sir, as I do every male officer I come across, and Ma'am for every female. When do you think DoD will be changing everyones uniforms again? And which ones, if you know?
Thank you again Sir. Have a wonderful day!
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CMSgt (Join to see)
If you are in a Joint environment, you get very used to the difference and can immediately discern between the two, ABU and ACU.
The two patterns are very different. The Army and AF wear different color boots. The very cut and style of the two are different.
AF Officer rank structure is identical to Army and Marines. You can tell AF Enlisted because we wear our rank on the sleeves.
I miss BDUs, too! I wore those bad boys since 1991. :)
The two patterns are very different. The Army and AF wear different color boots. The very cut and style of the two are different.
AF Officer rank structure is identical to Army and Marines. You can tell AF Enlisted because we wear our rank on the sleeves.
I miss BDUs, too! I wore those bad boys since 1991. :)
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Capt Gregory Prickett
No ma'am, the BDUs were terrible. They took a good uniform, gave it to the REMFs, who proceeded to mess it up.
At the time the BDUs were issued, you had two fatigue or utility uniforms in the Army (the lead agency on the BDUs). The first was the olive green fatigue in shade OG-107. The shirt was tucked in the pants and the uniform was starched very heavily. Most units wore this uniform. The second was a jungle fatigue uniform, at that time in ERDL camouflage, and it was issued to airborne units, rangers, and special forces. The BDUs were based on the jungle fatigues, which were outstanding uniforms.
The shirt was not tucked in, and was long enough so that you could wear your LBE and your pistol belt would not cover the bottom pockets. That didn't look "good" so the QM-types shortened the shirt making the bottom pockets useless (as they were now covered by the LBE). The upper pockets were slanted, so you could get into them under the LBE shoulder strap. That didn't "look good" so the QM-types changed the pockets to align with each other. So now you had a uniform that looked good for the garrison types, but was crappy in the field.
And I'm sure you remember when the AF tried to go to leather patch nametags for the BDUs...
I like the look of the tiger-stripes though.
At the time the BDUs were issued, you had two fatigue or utility uniforms in the Army (the lead agency on the BDUs). The first was the olive green fatigue in shade OG-107. The shirt was tucked in the pants and the uniform was starched very heavily. Most units wore this uniform. The second was a jungle fatigue uniform, at that time in ERDL camouflage, and it was issued to airborne units, rangers, and special forces. The BDUs were based on the jungle fatigues, which were outstanding uniforms.
The shirt was not tucked in, and was long enough so that you could wear your LBE and your pistol belt would not cover the bottom pockets. That didn't look "good" so the QM-types shortened the shirt making the bottom pockets useless (as they were now covered by the LBE). The upper pockets were slanted, so you could get into them under the LBE shoulder strap. That didn't "look good" so the QM-types changed the pockets to align with each other. So now you had a uniform that looked good for the garrison types, but was crappy in the field.
And I'm sure you remember when the AF tried to go to leather patch nametags for the BDUs...
I like the look of the tiger-stripes though.
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We Air Force cats used to be Army-Air Force and I suspect that and that we love to steal ideas as major reasons. :) l0l
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MSgt Guillermo Ybarra III (HVAC Recruiter)
The army does have the right idea sometimes, and the AF does like to copy good ideas.
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