Previous and Future CAP Uniforms

[HGjunkie]

I didn't know there was a change, could someone show me the old and the new?

Last version:


New version:

[manfredvonrichthofen]

Wow, I thought the Florida patch still had the alligator with a flashlight, I think the newest one looks rather awesome and professional.

[HGjunkie]

Wow, I thought the Florida patch still had the alligator with a flashlight, I think the newest one looks rather awesome and professional.

This one?:


It was axed a while back. I think the new one looks okay online, but in person it looks rather cartoonish/cheesy.

[arBar]

[ABUs are] functional outside of being hot as heck and them not having an official summer weight sold in stores.

I'm not sure what's govt issued, but Propper sells them in 50/50 NYCO twill (Nylon/Cotton), which I understand to be suitable for both Winter and Summer just like the Battle Rip^(R).  Anyone else know differently?

[manfredvonrichthofen]

I have seen ABU in Ripstop a couple of times.

[abdsp51]

There is no summer weight official abu.

[DC]

Wow, I thought the Florida patch still had the alligator with a flashlight, I think the newest one looks rather awesome and professional.

This one?:


It was axed a while back. I think the new one looks okay online, but in person it looks rather cartoonish/cheesy.

They are better than the horrible, boring one HWSRN replaced the gator patch with. I like it, though the connection with FL is a little hard to grasp at first.

[PHall]

I have seen ABU in Ripstop a couple of times.

Not approved and depending on who catches you wearing them, you might just earn yourself an Article 15 for your troubles.

[Hawk200]

There is no summer weight official abu.

Yeah, there is, but it's only issued in theater. Number of personnel in Iraq had them. Asked about them, several people said they received them when they got there. Couple of them were officers.

[abdsp51]

There is a lighter version for Firefighters and EOD and other AFSC's that would require it.  Its fire retardent and thats about it but there is no summer version of the ABU availible through current channels.  Anything claiming to be summer is not approved for wear.

[The CyBorg is destroyed]

Until there is something in writing about "yes, CAP will have ABU's," I wouldn't waste my money.

Get BDU's/BBDU's.

They're authorised by regs and will last long enough for the brass to decide whether or not we get ABU's.

[caphornbuckle]

Until there is something in writing about "yes, CAP will have ABU's," I wouldn't waste my money.

Get BDU's/BBDU's.

They're authorised by regs and will last long enough for the brass to decide whether or not we get ABU's.

I agree.  Considering the military is still debating on what uniform to wear, supplying those uniforms once they are approved to the servicemen, and then CAP getting them, you are still talking at least 5-10 years down the road before it gets to us when it goes mandatory for CAP wear.  By the time we are forced into a new AF-style field uniform, most of your cadets will no longer be cadets!

[Hawk200]

There is a lighter version for Firefighters and EOD and other AFSC's that would require it.  Its fire retardent and thats about it but there is no summer version of the ABU availible through current channels.  Anything claiming to be summer is not approved for wear.

That's the cotton ripstop, which from what I'm seeing on searches is claiming to be "fire retardant", "flame resistant", "fire resistant", but it's just made of ripstop cotton. Ripstop cotton is not actually any of the above, it's just safer than something made with nylon fiber.

The items were issued in Iraq to select units. Unusual to see, but not unavailable. Wear was up to commanders.

Follow on guidance: Cotton ABU

Until there is something in writing about "yes, CAP will have ABU's," I wouldn't waste my money.

Agreed. I've known too many people that bought the current service dress when it was new, and then configure it in the manner they thought it would be.

I think the strangest was when blues still had sleeve braid rank, and one person used gold braid. Her reasoning was that the Coast Guard used silver, and their Auxiliary used gold (or maybe it was vice versa). She figured that CAP members would wear gold braid. The "new" (at the time) service dress hadn't even been authorized for CAP yet. It looked strange.

Get BDU's/BBDU's.

They're authorised by regs and will last long enough for the brass to decide whether or not we get ABU's.

If Congress has their way on a common uniform again, I suspect we may see ABU's fairly soon, maybe even batches donated to CAP (after all the ROTC type units get them). They won't just toss them completely.

[jimmydeanno]

Wouldn't it make sense to just have a universal utility uniform for the branches for stateside, then have a group of approved camouflage designs to match whatever theater we're fighting in at the time and issue something that will work there for whomever actually goes there?

For example. 

Air Force provides ABUs to all airmen stateside in Basic/ROTC/OTS/Academy. 

Airman is getting deployed to Afghanistan, so he is issued multi-cam uniform and accessories.

Airman is getting deployed to South Korea, so he is issued some sort of jungle pattern.

They could be the same cut and such, just different color.  It seems that it would be cheaper to only provide those who are deploying with the alternate camo.  I mean, the Air Force doesn't exactly deploy E-1 to E-3 or O-1 to O-2 very often, which are technically your largest groups...

As for the concern about CAP getting ABUs, I don't know what the issue is.  It's not like there will be a sudden demand for 65,000 pairs of ABUs on day 1 of the authorization.  It would take a bunch of time for our members to outfit themselves, and I'm sure that many would just wait until close to the phase-out date.  I think the supply concern isn't really a concern.

[DC]

Wouldn't it make sense to just have a universal utility uniform for the branches for stateside, then have a group of approved camouflage designs to match whatever theater we're fighting in at the time and issue something that will work there for whomever actually goes there?

For example. 

Air Force provides ABUs to all airmen stateside in Basic/ROTC/OTS/Academy. 

Airman is getting deployed to Afghanistan, so he is issued multi-cam uniform and accessories.

Airman is getting deployed to South Korea, so he is issued some sort of jungle pattern.

They could be the same cut and such, just different color.  It seems that it would be cheaper to only provide those who are deploying with the alternate camo.  I mean, the Air Force doesn't exactly deploy E-1 to E-3 or O-1 to O-2 very often, which are technically your largest groups...

As for the concern about CAP getting ABUs, I don't know what the issue is.  It's not like there will be a sudden demand for 65,000 pairs of ABUs on day 1 of the authorization.  It would take a bunch of time for our members to outfit themselves, and I'm sure that many would just wait until close to the phase-out date.  I think the supply concern isn't really a concern.

That's basically what the Army just announced they are going to do.

But now the Army brass is prepared to abandon the current pattern in favor of three different uniforms  designed for more specific environments. The service wants to see onepattern for wear in woodland or jungle environments, one pattern fordesert and arid environments and a so-called "transitional" patternthat could be worn across all environments if needed.

http://www.military.com/news/article/army-launches-program-to-field-new-camo.html?ESRC=army-a.nl

[The CyBorg is destroyed]

Agreed. I've known too many people that bought the current service dress when it was new, and then configure it in the manner they thought it would be.

I think the strangest was when blues still had sleeve braid rank, and one person used gold braid. Her reasoning was that the Coast Guard used silver, and their Auxiliary used gold (or maybe it was vice versa). She figured that CAP members would wear gold braid. The "new" (at the time) service dress hadn't even been authorized for CAP yet. It looked strange.

CG uses gold (like the Navy), CGAUX uses silver.

Too bad you don't have a picture of that "invented" uniform!

I can count on the fingers of one hand the number of AF personnel I saw wear that uniform: one, a Ch/Capt.

I remember when that was issued...I heard all sorts of rumours about the sleeve rings from grey (the perennial CAP "go-to" colour  ) to ultramarine blue, to sky blue.  I also heard rumours that we would not get that uniform, that we would keep the existing Tony Nelson uniform and get hard rank and blue epaulettes back, which I would have MUCH preferred, though of course the issue of running out of them would have been difficult.

I didn't get my "new" service dress until sometime in '97.

I personally wouldn't mind going to some sort of sleeve rings, maybe kind of like the old Royal Observer Corps in the UK did; they took blue/black RAF rank braid and dyed it midnight blue to keep their distinctiveness from the actual RAF.