After seeing them in person I've decide that they look OK, but they are not going to hide oil and grease stained that I'll be getting on them in my job as a aircraft mechanic like the current BDU's do.



Hi-res

Airman Battle Uniform finalized, ready for production

by Master Sgt. Mitch Gettle
Air Force Print News

3/17/2006 - WASHINGTON (AFPN) -- The new Airman Battle Uniform is ready for production and will be available in fiscal 2007, said the Air Force deputy chief of staff of personnel.

Many factors were considered in developing the final uniform selection, with the concern for Airmen being at the top of the list, said Brig. Gen Robert R. Allardice.

"We were looking for a uniform that would be easier to maintain," he said. "We wanted to provide a uniform that the Airman wouldn't need to spend a lot of out-of-pocket expenses to maintain."

Also, Airmen’s feedback throughout the process was beneficial in adding new pockets on the uniform.

"We listened to the Airmen's request where they wanted pockets to hold small tools and when they wear body armor the existing shirt pockets are not accessible or usable," General Allardice said. "It will have the four pockets on the front of the shirt, and also a small pencil pocket on the left forearm and two pockets on the lower legs. In addition, inside the side pockets and inside of the breast pockets there will be smaller sewn-in pockets to hold small tools, flashlights or cell phones."

The new uniform design is a pixilated tiger stripe with four soft earth tones consisting of tan, grey, green and blue. The ABU will have a permanent crease and will be offered in 50-50 nylon-cotton blend permanent press fabric eliminating the need for winter and summer weight uniforms.

Will the new ABU need to be starched and pressed?

"Absolutely not," he said. "Our uniform requirement is we want a uniform that you wash, pull it out of the dryer, and wear it. This requirement meets the ease and cost effectiveness needs in maintaining a uniform."

He speaks from personal experience and added that in the long run it will save Airmen money on dry cleaning costs.

"I tested this uniform. I wash it, take it right out of the dryer and wear it," General Allardice said. "We don't want people putting an iron to it."

The fit of the uniform was also a concern for Airmen.

"Were making them available in more sizes to fit the body better," he said. "We've taken the time to produce more sizes and tailored them for men and women."

Some other ABU accessory items:

-- A tan T-shirt will be worn; Airmen will be required to maintain one tan T-shirt with an Air Force logo on the front and Air Force written on the back.

-- Suede cowhide boots in matching green-gray color; like the desert boot these will be polish-free and available in men’s and women’s sizes.

-- The word color for the name, U.S. Air Force, and rank is midnight blue; nametapes and rank insignia background will be tan and will be sewn on using a matching tan color thread.

-- The ABU adopts the battle dress uniform hat style for primary use and the floppy hat design will be used in some deployed areas.

"This is the uniform of the future," General Allardice said. "Eventually when enough of these uniforms are manufactured, we will phase out the BDU and desert combat uniforms."

The current projected mandatory wear date for the new ABU is fiscal 2011.

The only thing that needs to be determined is if patches will be worn and the Air Force chief of staff will make that determination soon, General Allardice said.

www.af.mil/news/story.asp?id=123017545

In Before The Fashion Police!

Choosing between those and the Navy's gangsta camo is a toughy.

I guess it's alright.

Max

Here we go again.  Let the Air Force bashing begin.  It's just jealousy.

Where is his matching golf bag?

Back to tiger stripes?......just wondering.....why can't the DOD standardize these patterns and maybe save some money?.....seems like everyone has their own pattern now.....

Looks like their headin' to 'nam with John Wayne.

Um, shouldn't it have airplane sillouttes instead of tiger stripes?  It would blend in a lot better on the flight deck.

Airman Battle, isn't that an oxymoron

What? No green beret to go with it?

Looks a lot better than the pickle suit I wore in the A.F.

Quoted: Back to tiger stripes?......just wondering.....why can't the DOD standardize these patterns and maybe save some money?.....seems like everyone has their own pattern now.....

I seriously doubt that the cost of BDUs is significant. If the services want a bit of variety, that is the place to achieve it.

Could be worse I guess, the original blue tiger stripe proposal had me heaving.


Of course I was hoping to retire before this one became available.... unfortunately, if it sticks to timetable I'll miss that goal  

Of course, if the Marine Corps hadn't copywrited their pattern, and then had the Army stick up their snout and extoll that they had something better in the pike, we'd all probably be wearing the USMC digital patern...  heck we're already wearing their "8 point" hats in CENTCOM

Ahhh, much better!

Tiger Stripe?  I figured it would be some form of a digital pattern.

Sadly enough I don't mind my ACU's so much now......

They only have one hat option?  Like thats going to fly?  Pardon the pun or don't.

Course the darker boots are a step in the right direction.

not too bad.  i don't like the tan shirt thing tho.  whenever i think of tan shirts i picture BMT airmen marching around in BCG's and bad haircuts.

and.....

Quoted: Airman Battle, isn't that an oxymoron

tell that to the airmen riding convoys in Iraq and Afghanistan right now.

Airmen do more battle than you may think, and i'm not just talking about jet jocks either.  There are a LARGE number of HSLD, BAMF Airmen who are every bit the ass kicker as any soldier or Marine, so you can take your golf jokes and insert them

Quoted: They only have one hat option?  Like thats going to fly?  Pardon the pun or don't.

-- The ABU adopts the battle dress uniform hat style for primary use and the floppy hat design will be used in some deployed areas.

I have no idea what the "floppy hat" looks like.

Quoted: Quoted: They only have one hat option?  Like thats going to fly?  Pardon the pun or don't. -- The ABU adopts the battle dress uniform hat style for primary use and the floppy hat design will be used in some deployed areas. I have no idea what the "floppy hat" looks like.

Probably copies the Army one.  At least it is not the floppy assed  eight point DCU hats I see over here right now.  If they are going to wear Marine headgear they ought to at least try to make it look decent.

Quoted: not too bad.  i don't like the tan shirt thing tho.  whenever i think of tan shirts i picture BMT airmen marching around in BCG's and bad haircuts. and..... Quoted: Airman Battle, isn't that an oxymoron tell that to the airmen riding convoys in Iraq and Afghanistan right now. Airmen do more battle than you may think, and i'm not just talking about jet jocks either.  There are a LARGE number of HSLD, BAMF Airmen who are every bit the ass kicker as any soldier or Marine, so you can take your golf jokes and insert them

We have a pretty tough bunch around here!

Ive been on a few convoys and I am AF and a officer at that.  

Quoted: not too bad.  i don't like the tan shirt thing tho.  whenever i think of tan shirts i picture BMT airmen marching around in BCG's and bad haircuts. and..... Quoted: Airman Battle, isn't that an oxymoron tell that to the airmen riding convoys in Iraq and Afghanistan right now. Airmen do more battle than you may think, and i'm not just talking about jet jocks either.  There are a LARGE number of HSLD, BAMF Airmen who are every bit the ass kicker as any soldier or Marine, so you can take your golf jokes and insert them

Quoted: Quoted: They only have one hat option?  Like thats going to fly?  Pardon the pun or don't. -- The ABU adopts the battle dress uniform hat style for primary use and the floppy hat design will be used in some deployed areas. I have no idea what the "floppy hat" looks like.

Never seen one
The booney hat...I wore  a DCU one in kuwait and a BDU one in Diego Garcia...

Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: They only have one hat option?  Like thats going to fly?  Pardon the pun or don't. -- The ABU adopts the battle dress uniform hat style for primary use and the floppy hat design will be used in some deployed areas. I have no idea what the "floppy hat" looks like. www.clanmaitland.org.uk/Golf_cap.JPG

Stop it..your killing me..

.

Quoted: i1.tinypic.com/rlxklz.gif Tactical Golfing BDU's

The final version of the uniform cut is being hammered out by the PJ's, CC's, Tac-P's and SERE troops.  It will look more like the Army Uniform once it is all done with.

Quoted: i1.tinypic.com/rlxklz.gif Tactical Golfing BDU's

camo club warmers, nice.

Quoted: The final version of the uniform cut is being hammered out by the PJ's, CC's, Tac-P's and SERE troops.  It will look more like the Army Uniform once it is all done with.

Thats in the past, the article is from today (from www.af.mil, not the enquirer AF times), that is the final version.  The "hammering out" obviously included the addition of two tiny ankle pockets and a pen pocket on the left sleeve.  The only decision left to be made is patches or not, I hope to God not!  They kept those fawking worthless bottom pockets, too.

Quoted: i1.tinypic.com/rlxklz.gif Tactical Golfing BDU's

Quoted: Um, shouldn't it have airplane sillouttes instead of tiger stripes?  It would blend in a lot better on the flight deck.

Most USAF wouldn't know the first thing about working on a flight deck;)

Quoted: Choosing between those and the Navy's gangsta camo is a toughy.

We just got the message that the new cammies have been chosen.  For USN it will be a digital blue/gray pattern for general wear.  And a woodland green digi pattern.  Desert digi too.

Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: They only have one hat option?  Like thats going to fly?  Pardon the pun or don't. -- The ABU adopts the battle dress uniform hat style for primary use and the floppy hat design will be used in some deployed areas. I have no idea what the "floppy hat" looks like. www.clanmaitland.org.uk/Golf_cap.JPG

I'd go to war in a hat like that.

One thing that sucks about the new uniform is the same for the ACU And MARPAT things.  Right now (or at least in the recent past for all services) we had BDUs in most locations and DCUs in the desert.  We get a clothing allowance to cover the cost of replacing BDUs (or the guard reserve one/one swap).  The DCUs are a "contingency uniform" only so they are issued cost free, in fact you can't even buy them new anywhere.  With the new uniform replacing both, when you tear the crap out of your ABU (whatever they call it) on deployment you are ass out, and will have to pay to replace them yourself.  Think our clothing allowance will double?  Yeah right.  My brother brought that up when he got the ACUs, and they found out they are kind of flimsy and tear up pretty easily.  

Will the new ABU need to be starched and pressed?

"Absolutely not," he said. "Our uniform requirement is we want a uniform that you wash, pull it out of the dryer, and wear it. This requirement meets the ease and cost effectiveness needs in maintaining a uniform."

He speaks from personal experience and added that in the long run it will save Airmen money on dry cleaning costs.

"I tested this uniform. I wash it, take it right out of the dryer and wear it," General Allardice said. "We don't want people putting an iron to it."

Do any of us remember this same routine when the green cammie BDus were introduced?  I can sure remember it and my son and his buddy just out of Lackland tell me they have to have a certain crease in their chevrons and iron their bdus..

A work uniform should be allowed to get cruddy and an office uniform should be shirt and tie.  You try and do both with the same uniform and we're gonne be back ironing and starching them again.

Damn I am not looking forward to wearing that shit everyday.  I plan on wearing my woodland camo as long as I can get away with it.

Why can't we just wear the same damn uniform the Army does.  The Air Force has wasted so much time and effort on this joke of a uniform.  There are so many other problems we need to be working on that this fashion statement bullshit.

AF leadership is turing us more into a joke everday.

Quoted: Damn I am not looking forward to wearing that shit everyday.  I plan on wearing my woodland camo as long as I can get away with it. Why can't we just wear the same damn unifor the Army does.  The Air Force has wasted so much time and effort on this joke of a uniform.  There are so many other problems we need to be working on that this fashion statement bullshit. AF leadership is turing us more into a joke everday.

I agree 110%, the ACU is fine for me.  If they would have adopted that first abortion of a "uniform" they floated I would have gone blue to green, I'm serious!  Don't worry though the Navy is getting their own rap video ghetto uniform.  I liked having the same uniform for everybody, if was nice being able to pick up uniform items at any base when TDY.  Can you imagine the nightmare for AAFES trying to stock 5 or 6 different types of EVERYTHING at every little shithole PX and BX in the AOR?  Guess we will get used to buying everything online.  Lets not even mention the new PT uniform shorts.  

Yeah the PT shorts are retro 1960 basketball 'my nuts hang out the leg hole' shorts.  Damn why are they so short?  

I mean what the hell is going on with the higher ups?  We are in such a budget crisis at my shop that we can't even complete all our mission requirements in FY06 and FY07.  We barely have enough money to keep the damn lights on.  Any these guys want to develop a new uniform, which the Army has already done, bye the way!  Even the new one the Marines wear would be great for us.  But no, we have to go spending more money so we can look like a South American second rate military organization.  

Even the company that produces the camo pattern says it is second rate to what they first proposed to the AF.  But some big wig that hasn't spent a day in BDUs for the last 20 years or needed to actually hide from someone decided to go with the one that doesn't blend in as well just because it looks better.

Sorry for the rant, but I'm not real happy with the AF right now.

Quoted: Sorry for the rant, but I'm not real happy with the AF right now.

Easy solution right here!

I have been thinking about that.  Just not sure what career field they would put me in.  I would love to go fly heilos, but not sure if that is an option at this point.  

I'm just sick of how the AF treats the Junior Officers (in my AFSC anyway).  We really have no leadership positions, not much potential to ever command unless we cross train to something completely different.

They have me sitting in a damn office building, I've been at my new assignment for about 5 months now and my boss says that he really doesn't have anything for me to do.  God I'm so glad I spent 5 years at college getting an Engineering Degree for this shit.  What a waste!

Quoted: I have been thinking about that.  Just not sure what career field they would put me in.  I would love to go fly heilos, but not sure if that is an option at this point.   I'm just sick of how the AF treats the Junior Officers (in my AFSC anyway).  We really have no leadership positions, not much potential to ever command unless we cross train to something completely different. They have me sitting in a damn office building, I've been at my new assignment for about 5 months now and my boss says that he really doesn't have anything for me to do.  God I'm so glad I spent 5 years at college getting an Engineering Degree for this shit.  What a waste!

What's your AFSC?  We have a glut of JOs here that have no job either, most of them are year group 02/03 so they are screwed anyway, getting force retrained or forced out.  Whats your AFSC, and can you pass a class I flight physical?  

Quoted: A work uniform should be allowed to get cruddy and an office uniform should be shirt and tie.  You try and do both with the same uniform and we're gonne be back ironing and starching them again.

The "tie" has no place as part of a military uniform. It has no function at all.

They should all be burned.

Chairborne,

I'm a 62E, Developmental Engineer, also known as an Acquisition Officer.  They aren't getting rid of any Engineers, but it makes me mad because the AF hires too many damn contractors to do our job.  So basically I just look over the contractors shoulders and say ok that looks good to me.

Where do you work?  

Yeah I can pass a flight physical, I have done it before and I have my private pilots license.  I do have some time in the T-37 also.

jesus wept...when is rummy gonna step in and put a stop to this madness??? the marine corps needs to drop the copyright bullshit and everyone needs to adopt the marpat. the marine corps considered the tiger stripe pattern and found it just did not work in it's primary mission which is camouflage! CAMOUFLAGE! NOT FASHION!

if you want a different cut, if you wanna add service specific little cutesy pie pockets and zippers, fine. but we should be picking the patterns that work.

and before someone else says it, it ain't crye multicam. i've seen it, compared it, and while it's better than woodland or tigers, it ain't as good as the marpat digital pattern.