Old Style Service Dress

[CAP277]

With the slew of uniform changes and recent boards, wanted to make sure I didn't miss this detail. Is the Old Style Service Dress still authorized for cadets ? Per the current 39-1 it of course is indefinitely approved for cadet wear.

Thanks!

[DC]

AFAIK, yes, it is still authorized for cadets.

[The CyBorg is destroyed]

Yes.  Several of our cadets wear it.

I wish seniors could still wear it.

[Eclipse]

Yep.



(Are they really 60's era jackets?  The material looks a little different and lighter...)

[The CyBorg is destroyed]

Major Tony Nelson also had the old "Kaptain Kangaroo" pockets on his service dress.

I saw him a handful of times in silvertans and I think once in an Ike jacket.

I'd go back to those uniforms in a heartbeat, but that ain't happenin'.

[Major Carrales]

"Balderdash...Major Nelson, I swear something is amiss here!!! But I can't put my finger on it!!!"

"Nonsense, you NINNY, mine is the superior uniform...I got it at a CAP uniform committee meeting!!!  Oh...the PAIN!!!"

[AlphaSigOU]

Old style service dress jacket shades:

Shade 84/1084 - Bluish gray wool, 'Captain Kangaroo' lower patch pockets.

Shade 1549 - Darker blue poly wool, no lower pocket flaps remain.

Shade 1577 - Poly doubleknit, same style as 1549.

[flyboy53]

With all the talk on another string of CAP Talk about eliminating the Air Force uniform, I wonder if talking back the old uniform style/design, complete with the 1505s, is the answer?

Just think, different shade of blue, different types of pockets, different cut of the lapels, different number of buttons down the front? You could certainly tell the difference from a distance.

To the Air Force it's obsolete, to us it's a classic.

[Cecil DP]

With all the talk on another string of CAP Talk about eliminating the Air Force uniform, I wonder if talking back the old uniform style/design, complete with the 1505s, is the answer?

Just think, different shade of blue, different types of pockets, different cut of the lapels, different number of buttons down the front? You could certainly tell the difference from a distance.

To the Air Force it's obsolete, to us it's a classic.

And who's going to set up the production line to make all these "classic" uniforms from scratch?

[The CyBorg is destroyed]

^^That's what I was thinking.  There are loads of them on Evilbay and sometimes in Army-Navy shops, but eventually they'd run out.

But...

If Vanguard had an inkling that money could be made from it, maybe they'd switch production from the CSU...?

[Майор Хаткевич]

The Air Force still uses them at the AFA, and I doubt it would work fro two reasons:

Still an AF uniform in their own eyes, even if obsolete for the most part.
Why would the auxiliary look more military than the AF?

[vmstan]

Wasn't there some talk recently about USAF reverting back to this style of uniform? I seem to remember reading or seeing some pictures of a USAF uniform that went back to the "Kaptain Kangaroo" pockets as well as a belt on the outside of the jacket?

Edit: http://www.af.mil/news/story.asp?storyID=123020472 yeah, I'm not dreaming. Looks like it'd be the same color as the current uniform. Not sure what I think about the WW1 style collars prototype, they look awesome but also look uncomfortable as all hell. I remember having a band uniform in high school with those high collars, made me feel like I was being strangled. Wouldn't be horrible as a mess dress that was only worn every so often though.

[AlphaSigOU]

Wasn't there some talk recently about USAF reverting back to this style of uniform? I seem to remember reading or seeing some pictures of a USAF uniform that went back to the "Kaptain Kangaroo" pockets as well as a belt on the outside of the jacket?

Edit: http://www.af.mil/news/story.asp?storyID=123020472 yeah, I'm not dreaming. Looks like it'd be the same color as the current uniform. Not sure what I think about the WW1 style collars prototype, they look awesome but also look uncomfortable as all hell. I remember having a band uniform in high school with those high collars, made me feel like I was being strangled. Wouldn't be horrible as a mess dress that was only worn every so often though.

That uniform idea died a quick death after the last chief of staff, Gen Moseley, got fired.

[raivo]

I'm still at a loss to understand why they didn't just revert to the pre-McPeak uniform after dropping the McPeak uniform...

I can wish.

[flyboy53]

Tis' the same story as the CSU...the cost.

When that uniform was implemented, General McPeak was successful in emptying out all of the stockpiles so that you had to literally buy the whole new uniform if you wore out something.

In my case, it was a combination of needing a new tie and flight cap. I had to buy the whole new uniform.

It was the same story with the Mess Dress.

[pierson777]

A frequent problem I've seen many times is cadets wearing the old-style service jacket with the current pants.  The pants that cadets receive from the free uniform program are the current USAF shade 1620.  Many cadets obtain an old-style service jacket from their unit or their local surplus store.  These old jackets are a different shade, which is considerably lighter compared to the current shade.  Cadets are still authorized to wear the old-style service jacket, but they must not mix the shades.  So, has anyone ever seen a cadet make the effort to wear the correct pants with the old-style service jacket?  I haven't.

[DC]

A frequent problem I've seen many times is cadets wearing the old-style service jacket with the current pants.  The pants that cadets receive from the free uniform program are the current USAF shade 1620.  Many cadets obtain an old-style service jacket from their unit or their local surplus store.  These old jackets are a different shade, which is considerably lighter compared to the current shade.  Cadets are still authorized to wear the old-style service jacket, but they must not mix the shades.  So, has anyone ever seen a cadet make the effort to wear the correct pants with the old-style service jacket?  I haven't.

Once or twice. Most that I have questioned about it weren't even aware there was a difference, they just thought the old jacket was faded...

[Майор Хаткевич]

A frequent problem I've seen many times is cadets wearing the old-style service jacket with the current pants.  The pants that cadets receive from the free uniform program are the current USAF shade 1620.  Many cadets obtain an old-style service jacket from their unit or their local surplus store.  These old jackets are a different shade, which is considerably lighter compared to the current shade.  Cadets are still authorized to wear the old-style service jacket, but they must not mix the shades.  So, has anyone ever seen a cadet make the effort to wear the correct pants with the old-style service jacket?  I haven't.

I had TWO pairs of pants that matched my old service style. I found the bluest jacket and the bluest pants.

[vmstan]

I would think that having the cadets there, and in uniform (even if slightly off), and at a minimal expense to them would be more important than punishing them for not being able to find 15+ year old pants.

[Майор Хаткевич]

I would think that having the cadets there, and in uniform (even if slightly off), and at a minimal expense to them would be more important than punishing them for not being able to find 15+ year old pants.

A lot of those pants, even new, are still sitting at AF bases across the nation.