Women complain of shortage of maternity ABUs

2015-01-02T09:33:00-05:00

From: Air Force Times

Recently reported plans to improve the maternity version of the airman battle uniform is good news, some women say. But their bigger concern is a shortage of the current maternity ABU.

Some readers have commented on Air Force Times' Facebook page that it can take months to get camouflage maternity uniforms because they are not available or not sold where they are stationed.

Some sizes of the lightweight version of the maternity ABU are in short supply but should be available soon, according to a spokesman for the Army & Air Force Exchange Service.

The Defense Logistics Agency, Troop Support currently carries the lightweight Rip-Stop ABU in 47 of 52 available sizes, said Army Sgt. 1st Class Aaron Eastman. The remaining five sizes should be available within the next month. Until then, those sizes are available in the regular-weight ABU maternity uniform.

"Over the past several months, the Air Force has been transitioning from the ABU to the RABU maternity uniform with the support of DLA and its vendors," Eastman said in a Dec. 31 email to Air Force Times. "Until the transition is complete, there will be times where the RABU may be out of stock with DLA-TS, but the ABU may be available."

The RABU coat and pants cost $28.10 and 22.39 respectively, while the ABU coat and pants cost $38.07 and $25.83, Eastman said.

Because demand for maternity uniforms is limited, they are not stocked at Air Force Military Clothing stores, Eastman explained. The stores carry uniforms in sizes 6 through 20 for airmen to try on. Once customers have been sized, the stores order the uniforms from the Defense Logistics Agency, Troop Support. It takes between seven and 10 days for the uniforms to arrive.

1st Lt. Brittany Sailors, of the Idaho Air National Guard, said she was fortunate to have a fellow service member loan her a maternity uniform. During both of her pregnancies, Sailors was a "stay at home mom," who could not afford to buy a maternity uniform for her Guard duty, she said in a Dec. 31 email to Air Force Times.

"A rental program for these specialty uniforms would be a phenomenal support to those who don't work full-time," said Sailors, with the 124th Fighter Wing at Gowen Field Air National Guard Base, Boise. "After all, it's a uniform we wear a few times in our service commitment and then it finds its way to the attic never to be seen again!"

When Staff Sgt. Amber Kelly-Herard tried to get an ABU maternity uniform in 2009, she was told that the clothing store at Scott Air Force Base, Illinois, did not have any.

"They said the demand was greater than the supply, which I thought was crazy," Kelly-Herard told Air Force Times.

Now pregnant with her third child, she said she had no difficulty ordering a maternity uniform online through AAFES.

Meanwhile, the Air Force is in the process of making the camouflage maternity uniform better fitting and more functional, including additional pockets. Kelly-Herard agreed the uniform could use some improvements. For example, the uniform's waistband is too tight, so it presses on a pregnant airman's stomach, she said.

Another issue is the pockets on the maternity ABU are too small, Kelly-Herard said. She once had to carry her airman's manual during an exercise because none of the pockets in her maternity uniform were big enough for it to fit.

http://www.airforcetimes.com/story/military/2015/01/01/maternity-uniforms-coming-soon/21104097/

Response by CMSgt Private RallyPoint Member made Jan 2 at 2015 11:50 AM

2015-01-02T11:50:27-05:00

As sad as it sounds, it almost seems like this should be expected rather than newsworthy... Cannot count the number of times I went for normal uniform items at a BX and found it out of stock.

Response by TSgt Joshua Copeland made Jan 2 at 2015 12:45 PM

2015-01-02T12:45:12-05:00

This has been a problem since I came in in 1998! Most places I have been have a maternity exchange type of deal (some formal most informal) where once a woman is done with her maternity ABUs they are passed to another SM.

Response by CPT Private RallyPoint Member made Feb 7 at 2019 12:03 PM

2019-02-07T12:03:59-05:00

Plenty of maternity OCP....

Response by SMSgt Thor Merich made Feb 7 at 2019 3:10 PM

2019-02-07T15:10:00-05:00

No longer an issue since the AF is switching to the OCP.