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SECNAV Criticizes 'Blueberries'
- Thread starter Flash
- Start date
Spekkio
He bowls overhand.
The NWU didn't replace BDUs/DCUs, it replaced utilities and khakis. At which point we could've gone to two-piece coveralls ala coast guard. Much more economical to have just one working uniform.
Wearing blue camoflauge is like trying to pretend to be something that you're not (a ground pounder) and looking ridiculous while doing it.
Yup, we should be wearing the same cammies.
However to blame the Corps for other services monumental fuck ups and wasting of money and is disingenuous. Your services screwed it away and now we're all going to pay for it. Good job guys. I personally don't like the idea of looking like a sailor which to put politely, is typically one not regarded for with the best body shape or phyiscal fitness...and I sure as hell don't want the public confusing us for that reason either.
The Navy and Air Force as a whole never needed new uniforms....but everybody has to be "special" these days as it seems...
Smilies.
However to blame the Corps for other services monumental fuck ups and wasting of money and is disingenuous. Your services screwed it away and now we're all going to pay for it. Good job guys. I personally don't like the idea of looking like a sailor which to put politely, is typically one not regarded for with the best body shape or phyiscal fitness...and I sure as hell don't want the public confusing us for that reason either.
The Navy and Air Force as a whole never needed new uniforms....but everybody has to be "special" these days as it seems...
Smilies.
Nothing HotDogs has posted here is really all that far from the truth. Which makes one scratch their head and wonder what was wrong with the Dickies dungarees? It was a distinctly USN uniform and served its purpose rather well.
The NWUs were more about looking like "warfighters" - you know, because everyone is one....
707 beat me to the pic.
Spekkio
He bowls overhand.
It's easy to look fondly on the days of utilities from our perspective, but in my short time in before the switch I heard constant bitching about:
-The fit (arguably the guys' on fault for letting themselves go, but a common complaint nonetheless).
-Getting chewed out at the quick-e-mart or gas station by a super-motivated CPO with nothing better to do than stop on his way home and offer his own interpretation of the uniform regs. Commonplace among E-4 to E-6s to carry a copy of the regs as an attempted flame shield.
-High maintenance/impossible to keep creases.
-Looking like a prisoner.
So NWUs fixed all 4 of those problems, even though #2 didn't need a new uniform to fix. NWUs aren't the best uniform in the world, but you'd be hard pressed to find a Sailor who called utilities passable. We did need a better everyday working uniform for enlisted Sailors, even if it was a roll-back to dungarees or full-time coveralls. We just fucked it away with the NWU.
-The fit (arguably the guys' on fault for letting themselves go, but a common complaint nonetheless).
-Getting chewed out at the quick-e-mart or gas station by a super-motivated CPO with nothing better to do than stop on his way home and offer his own interpretation of the uniform regs. Commonplace among E-4 to E-6s to carry a copy of the regs as an attempted flame shield.
-High maintenance/impossible to keep creases.
-Looking like a prisoner.
So NWUs fixed all 4 of those problems, even though #2 didn't need a new uniform to fix. NWUs aren't the best uniform in the world, but you'd be hard pressed to find a Sailor who called utilities passable. We did need a better everyday working uniform for enlisted Sailors, even if it was a roll-back to dungarees or full-time coveralls. We just fucked it away with the NWU.
...and before that...
Like a boss. If it ain't broke...
This was literally, the most comfortable uniform I ever wore. Cost about $40, was machine washable and required near 0 maintenance, fire retardant, flash burn resistant and you could use it to float...What was the problem again?
Spekkio
He bowls overhand.
People like to joke about wearing blue camoflauge to blend into the water, but the truth is if you go overboard in the open ocean it doesn't matter much what you are wearing. Only chance anyone has of seeing your clothes below the waterline is when they are right on top of you.
And women actually liked 'em.
I guess not too many man over boards happen on subs, because when we had one the NWUs were an issue for visibility (who knew....). The sea foam from the ship's wake made it worse.
You don't want that
Everyone underway should just wear coveralls anyway. Cheaper than anything else, more comfortable, and you can get them dirty without worrying about it.
Spekkio
He bowls overhand.
I would hope it happens less on skimmers, since they actually have guardrails. Unfortunately, it has happened... look up Minneapolis St. Paul. A lot of LL there but uniform color wasn't one. And no, it doesn't happen often (nor should it). I will happily concede if you are saying that skimmers are better at falling off their vessels.
My point is that it wasn't the NWU that made visibility difficult; any clothing that gets soaked below the waterline is going to be difficult to see. Just go to the beach and stand 10-20 yards from someone wading in waste-high water with brightly colored swim trunks and tell me if you can see them. You can't, let alone see them from a football field away and on top of a deck or bridge in colder open-ocean water. In the vast majority of places we operate, it's not going to make a difference what the guy is wearing.
The visibility thing is a silly argument against NWUs. They aren't any worse than dungarees, utilities, or dark blue coveralls at being seen in the water.
707guy
"You can't make this shit up..."
I have to say I didn't "love" the old dungarees - it was what we had so you lived with it. It wasn't uncomfortable by any stretch and back in the day it was kind of a pain in the ass when you couldn't stop anywhere on the way home but - those were the rules and so you lived with it... Jeez I remember the big go around us admin types had with the CO/CMC when we wanted to wear white flight deck jerseys on the boat. First we were allowed to as long as we made at least one FOD walkdown per day. Then maintenance whined and we lost 'em. Kinda sucked going back to the chambray shirts but those were the rules so we lived with it. Way too much money spent and way too much energy spent trying to make everyone feel like a "warfighter." Do your job no matter what it is, take pride in it and carry on!