Impressions of the new Army OCP uniform - Day 1

So I was in the JBLM (Ft. Lewis) area today picking up uniforms at the alterations shop and decided to check out the scene at Clothing & Sales. Given that it was a holiday week and half the post is on block leave or personal leave, I expected a quick trip in to see a similar disaster to the new IPFU roll out a few months ago. Apparently, AAFES learned from their mistake. You would have thought it was Black Friday...they just wrote the sizes on the boxes and stacked them just inside the door! There were ample quantities for those that showed up before lunch, although the staff had to keep running to the back for boxes of tshirts. I found the one top in my size (that wasn't in the back) in the wrong sized bin on the far side of the store.

The pattern is identical to the current OEF OCP to the untrained eye...the only difference really is the changes to the Velcro & buttons. The trousers have zero Velcro, everything is buttons. Interestingly enough, the flap on the cargo pockets is significantly longer than it used to be (close to 3"). The top has a lower profile collar that may actually lay down as opposed to its' predecessor. The chest pockets are still Velcro, but the upper arm pockets have side zippers. The IR tab is now located above the pocket and has its' own dedicated cover strap. Since the pocket is side zip, there is no longer a split in the Velcro pattern which should make the 1st CAV folks and those that have multiple tabs happy (everything will fit on the pocket now). The pen slots have been reduced to two and the cuffs are now adjusted via a button like the old BDUs, except now it buttons underneath/inside.

There were three varieties of the new brown boot from Belleville but only nine boxes (total for sale) so the Belleville rep on hand just stood around looking sad. All three seemed adequate and ranged from the plain "issued" variety to the fancier tread that makes the 1SG/CSM twitch and check the regs.

All in all, it looks like positive changes coming...too bad we couldn't have gotten it right the first time instead of the exercise in fraud, waste & abuse that was the ACU (which blends into...a gravel parking lot).