The New Army Service Dress Blue Uniform

Last Update: 6 Mar 2008

Background:

1. The 20 February 2006 issue of "Army Times" featured a cover story about the Army's review of the dress uniforms. The "Army Times" revisited the potential change in its 20 March 2006 issue by publishing readers' responses and opinions.
2. In June 2006 the Army announced the phase-out of the Class A and Mess White uniforms. They will be replaced with an Army Service Dress Blue Uniform. The "Class A" variant will include a new gray shirt.  Natick issued specifications for the cloth and the shirt design and has begun certifying manufacturers.
3. In June 2007, the Army announced that it was relooking at the new uniform, in particular the details concerning the wear of unit patches, unit insignia, combat service stripes, etc.
4. In September 2007, the new Chief of Staff of the Army continued the look at the new uniform, again the word being that the focus was on the accoutrements.  The entire uniform, however, is not finalized as yet.
5. In January 2008, the Vice Chief of Staff GEN Cody indicated that GEN Casey has reached a decision and that an announcement would be made "soon."
6. In February 2008, GEN Casey has made a few public comments that he will likely make the announcement early this summer (our “guess” is June 14, the Army's Birthday, as major uniform announcements in the past have been made on that date).

Marlow White's Intent:

1. Our reputation is built upon providing dress uniforms to members of the US Army. We will continue to do so through this uniform transition. In fact, through this transition you will see that we truly are the leaders in the industry.
2. To stay up to date, we recommend you subscribe to our Army Newsletter.

Marlow White's Additional Analysis:

1. The Army has had two recent, accelerated uniform changes: the black beret and the ACU. In the case of the black beret, the uniform industry's production capabilities were hard-pressed to meet the Chief's desire for all Soldiers of all Components to have them quickly. In the case of the ACU's, the testing periods were accelerated; some of the current ACU issues could have been discovered and resolved during more extended test periods.
2. Any change in cloth color would typically involve a wear test for the cloth's durability and colorfastness. The shirt color decision is the Chief of Staff's decision, a decision that involves many factors including in part technical specifications, availability, durability, style, and Soldiers' desires.
3. Any significant change to the patterns (e.g., to accommodate one CSM's desire to have a trimmer cut for the coat, as reported in the "Army Times" at one point) would typically involve a fit test to proof the patterns; however, this decision is an ancillary decision that would not hold up the implementation in our opinion.