US Army picks new 'army greens' uniform with World War II look to reinvent its image
The United States Army, in its attempt to stand out in a tough recruiting environment, has chosen a new uniform that looks almost the same as its uniform in the days of World War II. American officers, during World War II, wore green gabardine wool field coat and khaki trousers. This was the same uniform the American army was wearing the last time they won an absolute victory in a major war. Reports state the new uniform was also introduced to polish the US Army's image after years of divisive wars.
Daniel A. Dailey, the sergeant major of the Army, the highest-ranking enlisted soldier in the service, said: "We went back and asked, when is the most prominent time when the Army’s service to our nation was universally recognized, and the answer came very quickly," the New York Times reported. "That victory, that impact on the nation, is still felt today by the sons and daughters and grandsons and granddaughters of the 'Greatest Generation'."
The American troops in the 1940s gave an affectionate name to their uniforms calling them "pinks and greens". The current US Army, however, has decided to just call the apparels 'Army Greens'.
President Donald Trump, during a White House event for veterans in April, praised the new uniform style, calling them "beautiful".
"Those beautiful new uniforms with the belt — it was a big deal, the belt," Trump said last month. "And if you think those uniforms were inexpensive, they were very expensive. They... wanted it, and we got it."
The new Army Greens will now be the military equivalent of a business suit. The US Army had largely stopped the use of such military formals during the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. The troops reportedly followed a civilian pattern just as the citizens began dressing more casually in professional and social settings, American troops also began to wear camouflage fatigues in formal scenarios. Officers, even in the Pentagon, spent a significant amount of their time in camouflage and combat boots.
The US Army, with fewer of its troops deployed in combat operations now, has decided to get back to its days of polish. Reports state that the army is hoping that its public image will be reframed as it reintroduces an iconic service uniform from the days of the Band of Brothers and Rosie the Riveter.
A few military bands, recruiting battalions and other highly visible troops are currently field testing the uniform before its countrywide application. Reports state that soldiers will also be given the option to purchase a retro-styled leather bomber jacket to go with the uniform, which is set to be rolled out in 2020.