Uniforms of The United States Air Force - Mess Dress

Mess Dress

The Mess dress uniform is worn to formal or semi-formal occasions such as Dinings-in, Dinings-out, the annual Air Force Ball, weddings and other formal functions where civilian "black tie" would be prescribed. Until the early 1980s, this uniform differed from the current version, previously consisting of separate mess jackets, a white mess jacket worn in spring and summer and a black mess jacket worn in fall and winter, combined with black trousers and ties for males and an options of a black cocktail length or black evening length skirt for females. Black cumberbunds for males and females and white and black service hats for males were also proscribed, although wear of these hats was often optional. The current mess dress uniform in use since the early/mid-1980s consists of a dark blue mess jacket and mess dress trousers for males and a similar color evening length skirt for females. The jacket features ornate silver buttons, and is worn with the service member's awarded medals in miniature size, wings in miniature size, or other specialty insignia over the left breast, command insignia over the right breast for colonels and below (if applicable), satin air force blue bow-tie for males or tab for females, and a satin air force blue cummerbund. Cufflinks are to be either shined or flat round silver, or have the air force star and wing emblem, black suspenders may also be worn, but remain hidden while the jacket is on. Commissioned officers, USAFA and AFROTC cadets, and OTS officer trainees wear hard shoulder epaulets (i.e., shoulder boards) similar to those worn by commissioned officers of the U.S Navy. Cadets and officer trainees wear insignia on their shoulder boards as applicable to their pre-commissioning rank position in their respective officer accession programs. Commissioned officer shoulder boards for colonels and below feature an officer's rank insignia in raised metallic thread, bordered by two silver vertical metallic stipes similar to sleeve braid. General officers wear shoulder boards covered nearly the entire length and width in silver metallic braid, with silver stars in raised metallic thread in number appropriate to their rank. Enlisted personnel wear the same large rank insignia that they would wear on their service dress coats. Officers also wear a single silver metallic sleeve braid on the lower sleeves of the Mess Dress coat, with sleeve braid coming in two widths, in a 1/2 inch width for colonel and below, and in a 3/4 inch width for Brigadier General and above. Enlisted personnel wear no sleeve braid. No hat or nametag is worn with the Air Force Mess Dress Uniform.