From the AF Times:
“The Space Force’s new service
dress and PT uniforms have landed”
(Chief of Space Operations Gen.
John Raymond, center, introduces the new Space Force uniform prototypes at the
Air Force Association's 2021 Air, Space & Cyber Conference on September 21.)
The Space Force this week
unveiled its new designs for service dress and workout uniforms as it continues
to forge its own identity in the Pentagon. Two guardians showed off the
business uniform for the first time at the Air Force Association’s annual
conference here, showcasing a unisex look that the Space Force initially
devised for women before adjusting for men’s comfort as well. The Space Force
is the first military service created since women were given the opportunity to
hold the same roles as men, making this the first uniform designed with women
in mind from the start. The Space Force offered a look at its new enlisted
insignia on Sept. 20, 2021, with designs that pay tribute to military space
heritage and cosmic inspiration. Photo via Facebook. The Space Force hopes to
have the new enlisted insignia patches on guardians' arms by the end of 2021. The
uniform is “distinctive, modern, professional, and comfortable to wear,” Space
Force spokesperson Col. Catie Hague said. “We designed the female uniform first
and then we created the male version.”
Rather than the typical
suit-style uniform that buttons in the middle, the Space Force’s preliminary
design features a dark blue, wraparound jacket with diagonal buttons over a
dress shirt and neckwear. White stripes around the wrists and grey pants
complete the look. (Social media users likened it to “Star Trek” garb and
bellhop uniforms.) The number six figures heavily in the design to represent the
space service’s arrival as the sixth military branch, with six buttons, a
six-sided name tag, and six-sided enlisted insignia that the Space Force
revealed on Monday. “The deep blue color was chosen from the Space Force seal.
The dark color represents the vastness of outer space,” Hague said. “The
buttons have the globe, delta, orbit and stars that are part of both the U.S.
Space Force flag and the seal.” Guardians have also started testing out a fresh
physical training wardrobe.
The jacket, shirt and shorts are
“designed for guardians to be physically ready to protect the U.S. and allied
interests in space” and “developed to withstand the most grueling physical
regimens,” Second Lt. Mahala Norris said in the video, adding that she’s
helping to vet the clothing. Norris – who became the first Department of the
Air Force runner to earn a national championship title since 1964 when she won
the NCAA’s 3,000-meter steeplechase race in June – appeared in the Space
Force’s ad for the new PT gear. In keeping with the Space Force’s rule of
sixes, it was only Norris’s sixth time racing in a steeplechase event when she
won at the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships – an event with 35
barriers and seven water pits. She placed 13th in the steeplechase finals at
the U.S. Olympic trials. “I won at the collegiate level. Now it’s time to win
for the Space Force,” she said. “Train hard, guardians.”
Hague said the service wants to
finalize the uniform designs in the coming months, but it could be years before
they’re widely available to any guardian who wants them. Last year, the Space
Force announced it would adopt operational camouflage pattern uniforms to match
the Air Force and Army garb. Service members had until April 1, 2021 to adopt
the new look. “Our uniforms are the first visual cue of our identity as a
service,” Chief Master Sergeant of the Space Force Roger Towberman said in
August 2020. “Adopting the OCP worn in the joint environment reflects our role
in the joint warfighting effort, and we incorporated Space Force-specific
colors and configuration to establish our own independent identity.” Space
Force officials have yet to offer a sneak peek at the service’s forthcoming
formal mess dress uniforms.
^ These do resemble “Star Trek”
uniforms. I’m waiting for Spock to put one on. ^
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.