Exactly how many uniforms does the Navy have? Why so many?

LTC Private RallyPoint Member — Wed, 18 Mar 2015 01:14:35 -0400

So the other day I was in the USO at O'Hare airport and I saw a bunch of Navy folks in the black uniform. I swear it looks like the same one in which they wear in white. I know they have the "magical" uniform that turns bright orange if you fall into sea water. So how many uniforms so they have and what are their purpose?

Response by SPC Private RallyPoint Member made Mar 18 at 2015 1:31 AM

SPC Private RallyPoint Member — Wed, 18 Mar 2015 01:31:25 -0400

I'm going to guess. The Popeye looking ones are junior enlisted dress/service uniforms. White or blue depending on season.
The khaki are for senior enlisted and officer service uniforms similar to army class A.
The remaining three I'm going to guess are dress uniforms for the senior enlisted and officers but the the shades are throwing off my theory about seasonality.
The second from the left I have no clue.
The army had a class A white uniform for use in tropical areas, until at least 2004. Not that I saw anyone wear them, and I was in some tropical zones, I would have shelled out the money.

Response by LCDR Private RallyPoint Member made Mar 18 at 2015 2:38 AM

LCDR Private RallyPoint Member — Wed, 18 Mar 2015 02:38:26 -0400

Far too many. If you really want to know here's a link to the Navy Uniform Regs, although I must note that even the regs don't show all the uniforms. It only shows the Navy Working Uniform Type I (the ugly blue camouflage). We now have 3 different camouflage patterns, Types I, II, and III.

http://www.public.navy.mil/bupers-npc/support/uniforms/uniformregulations/Pages/default.aspx

Uniform Regulations

Response by CPT Private RallyPoint Member made Mar 18 at 2015 1:13 PM

CPT Private RallyPoint Member — Wed, 18 Mar 2015 13:13:57 -0400

I knew a pastor who was a retired Navy NCO and he explained that there were duty uniforms, blues & whites were seasonal (blues were winter and whites were summer). Of course there are the variations for officers and enlisted.

Response by SN Private RallyPoint Member made Mar 18 at 2015 5:23 PM

SN Private RallyPoint Member — Wed, 18 Mar 2015 17:23:41 -0400

Off the top of my head here is what I know we have.

NWUs
NSUs (Black Trousers/Khaki Top) E-1/E-6
NSUs (Khaki Top and Bottom) SNCO/Officers
Dress White 1 (E-1/E-6)
Dress White 2 (SNCO/Officers)
Dress Blue 1 (E-1/E-6) Male
Dress Blue 2 (E-1/E-6) Female
Dress Blue 3 (SNCO/Officers)
Dinner Dress Blue (All)
Dinner Dress White (All)
PT Gear (All)

If attached to MARDIV etc.:

MARPATS/Jungle & Desert

Response by CWO3 Private RallyPoint Member made Mar 20 at 2015 1:31 PM

CWO3 Private RallyPoint Member — Fri, 20 Mar 2015 13:31:39 -0400

We do have a lot of uniforms. A lot of them come from Tradition and are separated by our SNCO/Officer and Junior enlisted. The Black one is like the White one, but we change with the seasons. There is no Magical uniform that Changes bright Orange, Not sure where that came from.

For the E-6 and Below:
NWU (Blue Cammy's, Most widely used) Everyday Work
NWU Type 3 (Green, For Seabee's, SPECOPS types) Everyday Work
Coveralls ( Underway uniform, designed to be fire resistant) Everyday Work Underway
NSU ( Khaki Top, Black trousers Equivalent to Class "B", Office environment work)
Dress Blue ( Winter Dress Uniform )
Dress White ( Summer Dress Uniform)

For the E-7 and Above:
NWU (Blue Cammy's, Most widely used)
NWU Type 3 (Green, For Seabee's, SPECOPS types)
Coveralls ( Underway uniform, designed to be fire resistant)
Khaki's ( Khaki Top and trousers Equivalent to Class "B", Office environment work)
Dress Blue ( Winter Dress Uniform )
Dress White ( Summer Dress Uniform)

Response by COL Charles Williams made Mar 20 at 2015 8:21 PM

COL Charles Williams — Fri, 20 Mar 2015 20:21:44 -0400

They have too many...

Response by LT Jessica Kellogg made Mar 20 at 2015 9:15 PM

LT Jessica Kellogg — Fri, 20 Mar 2015 21:15:14 -0400

I think I have 7 different uniforms:
NWUs
NSUs (with optional skirt)
Summer Whites
Dress whites (with optional skirt)
Dress blues
Coveralls (standard, fire resistant, and engineering)
PT

I'm not a fan of the constant uniform changes, but I am lookng forward to the new PT gear.

Response by PO2 David Hagwood made Apr 1 at 2015 12:08 AM

PO2 David Hagwood — Wed, 01 Apr 2015 00:08:11 -0400

Our sea bag consists of 5 uniforms, the NWU, coveralls, dress blue, dress white, and the service uniform. We now also have FRV coveralls and there is a dinner dress uniform, which is like a tuxedo. The dress blue uniform is a year-round uniform even when the dress white uniform is prescribed. They're also looking in to getting rid of the female dress blue uniform and have females wear the same dress blue uniform.

I believe we have so many different uniforms because each uniform is tailored to meet the requirements of the various kinds of environments we work in. The NWUs is a working uniform; but not the kind of work that would destroy the uniform. Either one of the coveralls are for jobs that are best suited for mechanics or other similar dirty work since the uniform is cheap, meant to be worn in situations where it may become destroyed. The service uniform is worn in office environments like Admins or secretaries. We all know what our dress uniforms are worn for.

Response by LT Private RallyPoint Member made Apr 4 at 2015 9:02 PM

LT Private RallyPoint Member — Sat, 04 Apr 2015 21:02:07 -0400

I think the Navy needs to consolidate its uniform collection down to 3: 1 "working" equivalent, 1 "business casual" equivalent, and 1 "dress" equivalent. The number of uniform items I have in my closet is absurd. Furthermore, the proposed uniform changes to female uniforms will require me to buy more uniform items (just a couple of days ago, the transition of female chiefs and officers into choker whites was debated on the Female Navy Officers Facebook page, as well as transitioning to a similar design for dress cover). I have not put on SDW's since my commissioning, yet I've paid to change ranks on them and get them cleaned so they don't become discolored. Thus, there's a lot of "closet ornaments."

Response by TSgt Private RallyPoint Member made Apr 21 at 2015 2:45 AM

TSgt Private RallyPoint Member — Tue, 21 Apr 2015 02:45:26 -0400

One more.

Response by MSG Private RallyPoint Member made Apr 21 at 2015 3:53 AM

MSG Private RallyPoint Member — Tue, 21 Apr 2015 03:53:26 -0400

Gotta have your 37 pieces of flair.

Response by MAJ Private RallyPoint Member made Dec 2 at 2015 2:52 PM

MAJ Private RallyPoint Member — Wed, 02 Dec 2015 14:52:15 -0500

This is why I smack Soldiers upside the head when I hear them complain about the # of different uniforms the Army has.

Response by PO3 David Fries made Feb 18 at 2016 6:35 AM

PO3 David Fries — Thu, 18 Feb 2016 06:35:44 -0500

Don't forget to add in the current Marine Corps camouflage for those serving with the Marines. Also add in Marine Corps Alphas and Charlie's for any Corpsman choosing to go Marine regs.

Response by PO3 David Fries made Feb 18 at 2016 6:36 AM

PO3 David Fries — Thu, 18 Feb 2016 06:36:33 -0500

Let me add, I think uniforms is a huge money waster for every branch.