Navy Working Uniform Type II and III - finally something sailors can wear....

fify

I've got all that stuff (Polartec, Gortex, etc.) Not too many opportunities to wear it in San Diego, though. (I know, cry me a river.)

As gay as they look, I'll wear the NWUs over khakis any day of the week. Pretty comfortable and have lots pockets, I'll take it, unless I can wear my flight suit.

^ and so goes the tradition and heritage that have kept (up until this point) the Naval service unique. Just spent a month on the ship and was saddened to not see folks wearing wash khakis. Just a matter of time before the khaki pants and flight deck jersey is banished as well. Guess I'm just getting old and sentimental. The NWU is a disaster of a uniform. It was a sorry effort to look "cool" and warrior-esque - more of a poor recruiting tool than a functional uniform.

//rant//

I'm not McNamara's biggest fan but he did do something right when he took over as SECDEF. One of those things was to consolidate a lot of equipment contacts.

Why do the Navy, Army, Air Force, and Marines all need their own flight suit/boots/gloves/fatigues/helmets etc.? Now granted I understand there are some service specific needs in some areas but by and large it's ridiculous to have us all pay for the R&D for all these new items.

I have to agree with the general consensus that the rest of the DOD (at the very least the Navy) should have adopted the Marines pattern. It looks good, and supposedly works pretty well. I'm sure the budget started Marines would gladly share if we offered them a cash incentive and retroactively picked up part of the development cost. And personally I feel like it would be a unifying measure... we always talk about the Navy / Marine Corps TEAM after all.

More than anything I think the USAF needs to find something new. That digital Vietnam tiger stripe abortion of a uniform needs to go.

We're talking $200-300. That's a lot of scratch for an orange flightsuit that they'd only be able to wear for the cruise. The command wasn't going to get it for them.

An issue nomex usually costs around $400. Which is crazy expensive for a crappy jacket.

I think they issued it to RW guys first. There have been a lot of issues with supply not being able to keep up with demand. That's why the RW community is authorized to wear the Massif jacket/pants these days. It's amazing how much nicer gear is that wasn't invented in the 60s.

I know a few Hawaii guys with the (Polartec, Gortex) and they were damn glad they had it a couple weeks ago.

Just because it isn't cold at homeguard doesn't mean the boat isn't going to go places that are cold.

It's all good - the Navy has plenty of other nonsensical "traditions" to keep you happy for years to come.
(I am proud to say that I never, EVER wore a cover while on the flight deck or in the hangar bay while at anchor or pierside during my last float...except for SDO, of course.)

The Navy: 200 Years of Tradition Uninterrupted by Progress.

Yup. If I had wanted to wear a uniform that made me look like Iraqi Police then I wouldn't have joined the United States Navy.

Got to hear from the CNO the deal on the NWU II and III the other week at an all hands. The NWU III (green) will be for those who need it dependent on where they deploy, like the Seabees deploying to Central America and Africa, and not universally issued. As of right now the NWU II (desert) is only for SEALs and other 'special' types. Why? Couldn't talk about it in an open forum, they are 'special'. So what about those deploying to the desert? Well, they will continue to wear the Army digis and the old DCUs, which ironically the contract for runs out this year I believe. So in the end, the Navy still hasn't figured out what they are going to do, no surprise there. My thought, why can't they make a non-special version of the NWU II? I think part of the reason it will not be universally issued is that it too closely resembles the USMC's desert digis and god forbid we offend their delicate sensibilities (supposedly Gen Conway objected to it's similarity).

Not so sure about that, when they rolled it out they were big on how it made them unique. Plus it's not like they originated the digi idea anyways, just look up CADPAT.

The Federales!

I thought when the Marines came up with the digital camouflage they tried to get the other branchs to help pay for designing it. As I recall every service including the Navy turned the offer down and that is why the Navy doesn't use the same pattern and design.

On a side note; the sailors presented me with a pair of NWU I pants. I guess they got tired of me wearing Army ACU trousers.

Phrog Im sure some O-3 or O-4 on the admirals staff brought this up and he was promptly dismissed... Makes too much sense, saves too much money.

You mean like these?? I found this along with some other jackets and coveralls when I helped my dad empty out an old storage shed; my grandfather flew C-123s in the AF back in the day. It's still in remarkably good condition for its age, no?

"Indian Orange." Nice.

How much you want?

Doubt I'd sell it since I only found one like it (sentimental and all). Also I quite like the Halloween thing lol. My dad said theres a couple more places at the grandparent's house that we can check for more goodies like this; if I end up finding another I'd start entertaining offers .

What was this orange bag used for anyways?

Star Wars.

The resident old guys can comment better than I can, but I've seen videos from the early to mid 60s were all the flightcrew were wearing it. I think it went by the wayside during Vietnam when being hidden in the jungle took precedence over being seen in the water.

Test guys used to wear it to, either due to the higher likelihood for a SAR or jsut to be different.

Oh, and an F-14 squadron wore it as their squadron flightsuit.

Whatever, send it to me, I might actually get to wear it. Lord knows the Sergeant Majors of the USMC would explode at the mere sight of a Marine wearing an orange bag.

No shit - why do you think I want it so badly?