I don't think you realize how much just your regular issue gear costs, let alone special orders. The Gortex jacket alone costs more than a Navy G-1.
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Navy Working Uniform Type II and III - finally something sailors can wear....
- Thread starter ChuckMK23
- Start date
I don't think you realize how much just your regular issue gear costs, let alone special orders. The Gortex jacket alone costs more than a Navy G-1.
And it seems virtually no one has that, or the cool-looking Polartec stuff. Or they never wear it. I've seen maybe two people ever wearing the Gore-Tex flight jacket. I'll stick to my leather and Nomex; thanks.
I've got all that stuff (Polartec, Gortex, etc.) Not too many opportunities to wear it in San Diego, though. (I know, cry me a river.)
As gay as they look, I'll wear the NWUs over khakis any day of the week. Pretty comfortable and have lots pockets, I'll take it, unless I can wear my flight suit.
^ and so goes the tradition and heritage that have kept (up until this point) the Naval service unique. Just spent a month on the ship and was saddened to not see folks wearing wash khakis. Just a matter of time before the khaki pants and flight deck jersey is banished as well. Guess I'm just getting old and sentimental. The NWU is a disaster of a uniform. It was a sorry effort to look "cool" and warrior-esque - more of a poor recruiting tool than a functional uniform.
//rant//
//rant//
I'm not McNamara's biggest fan but he did do something right when he took over as SECDEF. One of those things was to consolidate a lot of equipment contacts.
Why do the Navy, Army, Air Force, and Marines all need their own flight suit/boots/gloves/fatigues/helmets etc.? Now granted I understand there are some service specific needs in some areas but by and large it's ridiculous to have us all pay for the R&D for all these new items.
I have to agree with the general consensus that the rest of the DOD (at the very least the Navy) should have adopted the Marines pattern. It looks good, and supposedly works pretty well. I'm sure the budget started Marines would gladly share if we offered them a cash incentive and retroactively picked up part of the development cost. And personally I feel like it would be a unifying measure... we always talk about the Navy / Marine Corps TEAM after all.
More than anything I think the USAF needs to find something new. That digital Vietnam tiger stripe abortion of a uniform needs to go.
We're talking $200-300. That's a lot of scratch for an orange flightsuit that they'd only be able to wear for the cruise. The command wasn't going to get it for them.
An issue nomex usually costs around $400. Which is crazy expensive for a crappy jacket.
I think they issued it to RW guys first. There have been a lot of issues with supply not being able to keep up with demand. That's why the RW community is authorized to wear the Massif jacket/pants these days. It's amazing how much nicer gear is that wasn't invented in the 60s.
I know a few Hawaii guys with the (Polartec, Gortex) and they were damn glad they had it a couple weeks ago.
Just because it isn't cold at homeguard doesn't mean the boat isn't going to go places that are cold.
You need a better MO/MCO.
Yes, I'm mostly kidding. We all just got our Polartec stuff a few weeks ago and there's a mass of Goretex upstairs I'm about to have issued (that no one knew about). Never mind the fact that we ordered all that stuff 2 years ago.
It's all good - the Navy has plenty of other nonsensical "traditions" to keep you happy for years to come.
(I am proud to say that I never, EVER wore a cover while on the flight deck or in the hangar bay while at anchor or pierside during my last float...except for SDO, of course.)
The Navy: 200 Years of Tradition Uninterrupted by Progress.
Yup. If I had wanted to wear a uniform that made me look like Iraqi Police then I wouldn't have joined the United States Navy.
Got to hear from the CNO the deal on the NWU II and III the other week at an all hands. The NWU III (green) will be for those who need it dependent on where they deploy, like the Seabees deploying to Central America and Africa, and not universally issued. As of right now the NWU II (desert) is only for SEALs and other 'special' types. Why? Couldn't talk about it in an open forum, they are 'special'. So what about those deploying to the desert? Well, they will continue to wear the Army digis and the old DCUs, which ironically the contract for runs out this year I believe. So in the end, the Navy still hasn't figured out what they are going to do, no surprise there. My thought, why can't they make a non-special version of the NWU II? I think part of the reason it will not be universally issued is that it too closely resembles the USMC's desert digis and god forbid we offend their delicate sensibilities (supposedly Gen Conway objected to it's similarity).
Not so sure about that, when they rolled it out they were big on how it made them unique. Plus it's not like they originated the digi idea anyways, just look up CADPAT.
The Federales!
Not so sure about that, when they rolled it out they were big on how it made them unique. Plus it's not like they originated the digi idea anyways, just look up CADPAT.
The Federales!
I guess I'll buy the idea that when attached to an Army command, Navy personnel should wear a uniform that does not stand out. However, lots of Navy types are in the desert supporting non-Army commands. Shouldn't they have a desert uniform of their own, or perhaps maybe they could use some synergy (to use a buzzword) and just adapt an already existing uniform, like the MARPAT or NWU II? Take the eagle, globe, and anchor embroidery off the pocket, and maybe the micro-eagle, globe, and anchors out of the fabric, replace them with little Navy emblems, and voila! Desert uniform. Or adopt the NWU II. Whatever. Now they'll get NWU IV or V or VI or whatever, and the concept of "uniform" is somewhat weakened, isn't it?
Why do the specops/specwar guys need a unique uniform? They didn't have one before. Why does the Marine Corps camouflage have to be unique? We got by for years and years with a DoD-wide camo pattern. Especially IRT the specops NWU II, isn't part of special operations NOT standing out? It's a corner case, to be sure, but if a base is all of a sudden crawling with guys in a unique uniform, might that not tip somebody off that something is about to go down?
I thought when the Marines came up with the digital camouflage they tried to get the other branchs to help pay for designing it. As I recall every service including the Navy turned the offer down and that is why the Navy doesn't use the same pattern and design.
On a side note; the sailors presented me with a pair of NWU I pants. I guess they got tired of me wearing Army ACU trousers.