Uniforms of The United States Navy - Obsolete Uniforms

Obsolete Uniforms

Following a comprehensive review of all uniforms, the Navy ceased issuing the following uniforms.

Service Dress Khaki

The Service Dress Khaki uniform was announced in 2006 on a test basis. It was authorized for wear by commissioned officers and CPOs. The uniform reintroduced a khaki service coat worn with a black necktie and shoulder boards. Widely seen during World War II through the Vietnam War years, the uniform was dropped in 1975 by then-Chief of Naval Operations, Admiral Elmo Zumwalt, in order to reduce the number of items in the officer's seabag. It was reintroduced to provide a more practical alternative to the Service Dress Whites. Some commentators, including the periodical Navy Times, spoke of this uniform as having a "throwback" look. The prescribed headgear was a combination cap with khaki cover. However, cost considerations lead to the cancellation of the full scale introduction of the uniform.

Service Dress Blue Yankee

The rarely seen Service Dress Blue Yankee uniform replaced the dark trousers and black shoes of the service dress blue with white trousers and shoes from the white uniform. Prescribed for Officers.

Winter Blue

The Winter Blue uniform was authorized for all ranks. Due to its near-black color, it was called the "Johnny Cash" uniform (a reference to the song/album Man in Black by the singer of the same name) It was a long sleeve black button-up shirt and black belt and trousers (optional skirt for females), with the headgear either the combination cover, white hat, or an optional black garrison cap.

As a service uniform, ribbons and badges were worn, and officers and Chief Petty Officers wore metal collar insignia, while enlisted E-6 and below wore just the rating badge on the left arm. All men wore ties, females necktabs, with an optional silver clip for Petty Officers First Class and below, others a gold clip.

Winter Working Blue was similar to the Winter Blue Service Uniform. The main difference was that the ribbons and necktie were omitted.

Working Khaki

The Working Khaki uniform was worn by Officers and Chief Petty Officers, primarily aboard ship or in selected working areas at bases ashore. Similar to, but less formal than, the Service Khaki, it consisted of a short or long-sleeve khaki uniform shirt, with warfare insignia and badges (i.e. command pins, nametags, etc., but no ribbons) worn on the top of the left pocket, and pin-on metal rank devices located on the collar. It also came with a set of khaki trousers, a khaki belt with a gold belt buckle, a command or "US Navy" ballcap, and black or brown low quarter shoes, black or brown boots, or black leather safety shoes. It was often referred to as the "Wash Khaki" uniform, because it was a 100% cotton uniform that required pressing, differentiating it from the Summer Khaki made of Certified Navy Twill (CNT) or a poly-wool blend that was considered acceptable for wear ashore and off base.

Aviation Working Green

A winter working green uniform for commissioned officers and Chief Petty Officers in the Naval Aviation community was used from 1917 to January 2011. In its final version, it was somewhat similar to the Navy's revived Service Dress Khaki uniform in cut and design and bore additional similarities to the Marine Corps' Service Dress "Alpha" green uniform. It consisted of a green wool coat and green wool trousers with bronze buttons and a long-sleeve khaki shirt with black tie. Rank insignia consisted of black embroidery on sleeves in a style similar to the gold sleeve braid for officers, or rating marks and service "hash" marks for Chief Petty Officers, on Service Dress Blue uniforms. Metal rank insignia was worn concurrently on the collar points of the khaki shirt by line officers and CPOs. For staff corps officers, rank insignia was worn on the right collar point and staff corps insignia on the left collar point (typically Medical Corps for Naval Flight Surgeons, etc.) of the shirt. Warfare insignia and, if applicable, Command at Sea and/or Command Ashore insignia, were worn on the jacket and optionally on the shirt. Command nametags were also optional on both the blouse and/or shirt. Brown shoes were typically worn, although this transitioned to black between 1975 and 1986 when brown shoes were discontinued. Following the reinstatement of brown shoes in 1986, brown shoes again became the most common footwear. Authorized headgear included a combination cover in green, or a green garrison cover.

During World War II and the Korean War, ribbons were also authorized with this uniform, making it a de facto' "service uniform" or "liberty uniform," authorized for wear off base. But by the early 1960s, it had become limited to that of a "working uniform" for use on base or aboard ship only. It was infrequently worn, primarily due its expense and its 100% wool fabric that typically made it unsuitable outside of the winter months.

The AWG uniform was phased out on 1 January 2011 and replaced with the Naval Working Uniform.

Tropical Uniforms

The rarely seen tropical white uniform was similar to the Summer White Service uniform, except white knee shorts and knee socks were worn. It was colloquially known as the "Captain Steubing" uniform, after the character on The Love Boat TV show. Exceptionally rarely worn, though authorized with this uniform, was a pith helmet, with a Naval Officer's insignia at the front, above the brim.

Tropical working uniforms existed, but were variations on the working khaki and utility uniforms. Knee shorts and black knee socks are worn, along with short sleeved button-up shirts.

Utilities

The enlisted utilities uniform was worn by junior enlisted sailors, from paygrades E-1 to E-6, from the early 1990s until 2010, when they were phased out in favor of the NWU. Utilities consisted of dark blue chino cloth trousers with a polyester–cotton blend shirt, and were considered an updated version of the dungarees uniform. Utilities were meant to be worn in a working environment but were authorized to be worn outside military installations, unlike coveralls.

Usually sailors wore the command ball cap with this uniform, although a black watch cap was allowed in cold weather. Cloth name tapes were worn similar to that used on utility uniforms of the other services. In 1995 a tape with the words "U.S. NAVY" was included above the left breast pocket with embroidered enlisted warfare insignia authorized above it, and an embroidered rating badge. The footwear for this uniform was full black, round-toed boots (referred to as boondockers), preferably with steel toes. The blue utility jacket was authorized in climates not cold enough as to warrant wearing the black All-Weather Coat.

Dungarees

Dungarees were the working uniform worn from 1913 through the 1990s. Unlike the utility uniform, dungarees were not allowed to be worn outside of military installations. Service members were allowed to wear the uniform to and from the installation in a vehicle, but were not authorized to make any stops between while in the dungarees.

Dungarees consisted of a short or long-sleeve blue chambray shirt, white t-shirt, and boot-cut denim jeans (the jeans in question had heptagonal "patch" pockets sewn on the front of the pant-legs rather than the traditional "slash" pockets often seen on civilian-worn jeans). Head gear was the white "dixie cup" cover for men and an early form of the black garrison cap or a black beret for women. During cold weather a black watch cap was allowed. The command ball cap was optional. Names were hand-stenciled and the rating badge was "iron on." Only petty officers wore a rating badge on this uniform, on the left arm. The sailor's last name was affixed in white on the pants just above the back pocket on the right side. The name was also affixed in black on the shirt just above the right breast pocket. An iron-on surface warfare or submarine warfare insignia iron-on was authorized to be placed over the left breast pocket.

Low black leather boots called "boondockers" were worn with the dungaree uniform. Flight deck personnel were issued a type of taller cap-toe boot similar in design to paratrooper jump boots known colloquially as "wing walkers". These types of boots had zig-zag patterned out-soles to avoid gathering FOD (Foreign Object Debris) between the ridges that could litter the flight deck and cause potential damage to aircraft. "Dealer/Chelsea" style ankle boots (known colloquially as Lox boots) with elastic-sides were issued to personnel working with Liquid oxygen for easier removal in case the boots would freeze upon contact.