Stinky the Clown talks of the new Navy uniform

[Tess Anderson]

http://www.democraticunderground.com/10022175987

We all know how he dresses  :

Fri Jan 11, 2013, 05:22 PM
 Stinky The Clown (49,254 posts)

Navy camo uniforms in the nooz: They're flammable. And for me: Camo? Why?
Okay, the flammable part first. It seems the Navy camo uniforms, unlike the camo in the other services, is flammable. They used to be fire proof but sailors complained about comfort. Comfort won. Now the Navy's looking at the issue again.

http://hamptonroads.com/2013/01/navy-details-review-flammable-uniforms

Here is a picture of the current uniform.
 


I don't get this. Camo? At sea? Aboard ship? Really? Why? Back when I was in the Navy (Moby Dick was just a minnow back then) we wore dungarees and chambray shirts. The dungarees had actual, albeit mild, bell bottoms, although most sailors of the day wore Seafarer jeans. The Seafarers were quite tight in the torso and thigh area and flared smartly at the cuff. Seafarer also made nicely tailored fitted chambray shirts. This picture is typical. not model perfect, but typical of a 1960s sailor.

 

Sailors back then looked the part. No camo. No bullshit. Dungarees, chambray, and white hats. Iron-on name and sleeve rank insignia. Roomy shirt pockets. Seafarer was also a popular choice for civilians back then, what with the bell bottom style and all. Young women, especially, liked to wear the men's dungarees and pea coats. Very big on college campuses. My wife wore them, for example:


I still have all my uniforms. I don't fit them any more, but I do have them. I have genuine Navy issue and sets of Seafarers in dress blue, undress blue, dress whites, undress whites and lots of dungarees.

So anyway, back to today's uniforms. Why camo? What am I missing? Our uniforms had a purpose. They could stand up to actually living and working on a ship. Plus, in my view, they let sailors look like sailors, not some generic military person. Salty.

What do camos do for sailors?

I really don't get it.

 

Put on a few pounds since, Mike?

[GOBUCKS]

Sailors back then looked the part. No camo. No bullshit. Dungarees, chambray, and white hats. Iron-on name and sleeve rank insignia. Roomy shirt pockets. Seafarer was also a popular choice for civilians back then, what with the bell bottom style and all. Young women, especially, liked to wear the men's dungarees and pea coats. Very big on college campuses. My wife wore them, for example

Mike's current trophy wife wasn't even born in the 1960s.

She just signed on for food and shelter while she kills time with piano and dance.

Maybe he's talking about his first or second wife.

[Vagabond]

I ran into sailors all over Iraq.  They were usually manning CWIZ defense systems but they were performing other roles, too.  Part of the reason is that this war is mostly a Ground War and ships don't have a lot targets.  The other reason is that the Navy had a skill set with signals jamming that the Army just did not have.  Signal Interception doesn't work as well when you're trying to stop the signal for the bomb to go off.

Also, these sailors do look like sailors.  Just modern sailors with modern uniforms.  It isn't like the uniform he wore had been the uniform always worn by US sailors.

[franksolich]

Mike's current trophy wife wasn't even born in the 1960s.

She just signed on for food and shelter while she kills time with piano and dance.

Maybe he's talking about his first or second wife.

Actually, she was born in 1957, eleven years after the adroit sparkling old dude.

[DumbAss Tanker]

I have to admit the Navy camo is a bit of a puzzle to all the rest of the uniformed services as well.

[GOBUCKS]

Actually, she was born in 1957, eleven years after the adroit sparkling old dude.

Then she bears her age extremely well.

Usually a life of indolence like hers isn't as kind to one's appearance.

It more often produces a homely, aged mug like that of the C&P DUmmy Kathleen Peterson.

[BattleHymn]

Then she bears her age extremely well.

Plastic surgery?

[ironhorsedriver]

I have to admit the Navy camo is a bit of a puzzle to all the rest of the uniformed services as well.

Yea, me too. I got to admit, as Former Navy, I prefer dungarees also. Of course on the flight deck it was Red Shirt.

[NHSparky]

Yea, me too. I got to admit, as Former Navy, I prefer dungarees also. Of course on the flight deck it was Red Shirt.

Same here, at least inport.  At sea, I'll take my poopy suit.

[dandi]

My favorite used to be the old winter undress blue uniform, affectionately called "The Gestapo" due to its solid black color with red chevrons.

 

[AprilRazz]

Would have preferred them over the coveralls that we had to wear at sea and the old utilities. Lots of people prefer them to the old uniforms as they are more comfortable, you couldn't' be confused with a prison inmate, and you could actually stop at the grocery store in them on the way home.

Besides the females don't have to damned near disrobe to use the head. I pretty much ripped a zipper out of one after a 4 hour watch with no break.

[Skul]

Burning cotton is easier to extinquish and remove from flesh.
Flame retardent polyester mixes, not so much.
One reason we never wore synthetics while flying.

[franksolich]

This is probably a stupid question, but would sailors working on mine-sweeping boats wear different sorts of outfits than sailors working on regular ships?  During, say, 1965-1967?

[Vagabond]

As an aside, in the Army, my entire issue consisted of one set of PTs, four sets of BDUs, two pairs of boots, and one set of Class A greens with dress shoes.  We always thought the Navy could buy a new carrier if they didn't have what seemed to us like twelve different types of uniforms.

To be honest the Army does have more uniforms than it issues:

Issued:
PTs
BDUs and DCUs (both replaced by the modern uniform, but I'm showin' my age)
Class A "greens"

Only issued to certain units:
Army Dress Blues (personal favorite, I think the Army should get rid of the greens)

Only isssued to certain positions:
Army mess dress whites

[Crome]

Only issued to certain units:
Army Dress Blues (personal favorite, I think the Army should get rid of the greens)

They are

[GOBUCKS]

I think the Army should get rid of the greens

And, speaking purely as a civilian, that embarrassing gay beret.

They've destroyed the cachet of the Green Beret, and now it makes our warriors look like eurotrash.

[Vagabond]

And, speaking purely as a civilian, that embarrassing gay beret.

They've destroyed the cachet of the Green Beret, and now it makes our warriors look like eurotrash.

I agree.  I was pretty bluntly against it when they change occured the last year of my service.  One of my main complaints was that when working in garrison the brim of the hat provided some protection against sun and rain while the beret did not.

[Airwolf]

Why does it matter to Stinkbait what they wear? The only uniform that fits him is this,

[franksolich]

Why does it natter to Stink Bait what they wear? The only uniform that fits him is this:

[Skul]

You dint??
Oh yes yes you did. 

[T-Monay820]

I have to admit the Navy camo is a bit of a puzzle to all the rest of the uniformed services as well.

NWUs replaced the utilities. Sailors were complaining about the pockets and liberty restrictions, and that they were just bad for working in. The main reason I read about the NWU color scheme was that it was selected for its ability to hide accidental paint spills. The camo pattern I'm guessing was to give it a more military appearance. It was also not suppose to replace the coveralls for underway usage. The irony was how restrictive it was as far as liberty when it came out. Only recently did they authorize fairly unrestricted wear around town (still no consuming alcohol though). Underway, I've seen a mix of coveralls, khakis, and NWUs. I think it depends on the CO's policy for underway wear. I'm not certain, cause I don't wear them underway so I've never read that instruction.

I personally don't care for them. They're fairly comfortable, but the complete lack of fire resistance is pathetic. I also don't like the enlisted khakis.

But on a side note, they aren't completely worthless in a game of hide and seek:

[Skul]

NWUs replaced the utilities. Sailors were complaining about the pockets and liberty restrictions, and that they were just bad for working in. The main reason I read about the NWU color scheme was that it was selected for its ability to hide accidental paint spills. The camo pattern I'm guessing was to give it a more military appearance. It was also not suppose to replace the coveralls for underway usage. The irony was how restrictive it was as far as liberty when it came out. Only recently did they authorize fairly unrestricted wear around town (still no consuming alcohol though). Underway, I've seen a mix of coveralls, khakis, and NWUs. I think it depends on the CO's policy for underway wear. I'm not certain, cause I don't wear them underway so I've never read that instruction.

I personally don't care for them. They're fairly comfortable, but the complete lack of fire resistance is pathetic. I also don't like the enlisted khakis.

But on a side note, they aren't completely worthless in a game of hide and seek:

Kinda sounds like someone that knows what the hell he's talking about.

[NHSparky]

NWUs replaced the utilities. Sailors were complaining about the pockets and liberty restrictions, and that they were just bad for working in. The main reason I read about the NWU color scheme was that it was selected for its ability to hide accidental paint spills. The camo pattern I'm guessing was to give it a more military appearance. It was also not suppose to replace the coveralls for underway usage. The irony was how restrictive it was as far as liberty when it came out. Only recently did they authorize fairly unrestricted wear around town (still no consuming alcohol though). Underway, I've seen a mix of coveralls, khakis, and NWUs. I think it depends on the CO's policy for underway wear. I'm not certain, cause I don't wear them underway so I've never read that instruction.

I personally don't care for them. They're fairly comfortable, but the complete lack of fire resistance is pathetic. I also don't like the enlisted khakis.

But on a side note, they aren't completely worthless in a game of hide and seek:

I'm so glad I'm out.  Enlisted khakis?  WTF are we going back to, the days of Zumwalt?  Screw that.

Personally, I loved being in Hawaii and Guam, and being what was lovingly referred to as a "white-striped snipe" (ET Nuke.)  Never wore blues (except on Westpac, then only in winter) and only rarely wore whites (change of command, school.) 

Working jacket?  Get one from the COB, hide it in your BEQ room, "forget" to turn it back in when you leave (I've got two REALLY good ones.)  Peacoat?  Hawaii?  ROFLMAO!

I'd wear dress blues or whites maybe once a year, CNT's maybe 2-3 times a year.  The rest of the time, it was dungarees inport, poopy suit underway.

So nice to get that $400 uniform allowance check once a year, buy a couple pair of dungarees/patches/stencil pens, and spend the rest on beer.

[Big Dog]

Camouflage, blues and greys.

It makes perfect sense- a uniform that makes the Sailor more difficult to see in the water.

Man overboard!