Army may bring back "Pinks and Greens"

[V.C. Brunswick]

The Army recently unveiled prototypes for a possible new service uniform modeled after the WWII "pinks and greens."
https://www.defensenews.com/news/yo...-ausa-are-wearing-prototype-pinks-and-greens/

 

[Tiki Tom]

Hallelujah! What took 'em so long? I approve of the nod to heritage/vintage. I especially like the brown shoes.

I had the misfortune of serving active duty in the U.S. Army in the late 1970s: Exactly when the dress uniforms were at their uninspired polyester worst. We looked like Salvation Army pan handlers. I'm probably over-reacting but, if I had had the retro 40s uniform, I think I might have re-upped! (Huh?) Yup. Definitely an over-reaction.

 

[Edward]

Interesting choice - certainly a plus, style-wise. Also significant from pov that that was probably the last era in which the military (in any country in the west) had a sort of blanket respect as heroes; I can see playing to that being good pr. Not to get overtly political with it or anything, but usually when any official organisation play to a great look from the past, there's a connection to the kind of image they want to create.

Here's another bonus for those of us interested in vintage: if they do it right, cut and cloth-wise, it'll be a whole new - and hopefully much cheaper! - era of military surplus trousers that can be nicely incorporated into a civilian outfit. Beats nylon BDUs into a cocked hat!

 

[V.C. Brunswick]

I wonder if the ensemble would include Corcoran jump boots for Airborne and Special Forces?

 

[GHT]

Here's another bonus for those of us interested in vintage: if they do it right, cut and cloth-wise, it'll be a whole new - and hopefully much cheaper! - era of military surplus trousers that can be nicely incorporated into a civilian outfit. Beats nylon BDUs into a cocked hat!

My pinks cost me a fortune, and now, I haven't worn the uniform for years. Old age re-enactors? Not for me.

 

[101 Pathfinder]

Yes to Pinks! I don’t think it will be anytime soon because the new “Blues” haven’t been around very long. Now as far as the every day Battle Dress, They should do the same thing and issue M-42s to all soldiers. It is the best uniform ever designed for field/Combat.

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[HanauMan]

I always liked the green dress uniforms the army wore in the 1970s. I don't think that the shoes, pants and jacket go together very well. And, boy, that SFC sure looks young! Here is a photo of my dad wearing his green army service uniform just before he left the military in the late 1970s. I always thought that he looked really smart and he was my hero. Back in the day a lot of sergeants were a tad bulky around the middle!

Dad by Al Sutherland, on Flickr

 

[Edward]

My pinks cost me a fortune, and now, I haven't worn the uniform for years. Old age re-enactors? Not for me.

That's the thing.... people (invariably, in my experience, people who have never spent a single day in the forces themselves) can carp all they like about wearing "unearned rank", but if I was to do ctive military reenactment at my age I'd look ridiculous being anything other than a senior officer, probably on the ground / hq. I'm too old now to have been conscripted in WW2, and so I couldn't realistically portray anything other than a career military officer. I'd look even more absurd dressed as a pilot - I'm a good twenty odd years too old to have flown a Spitfire, not to mention about seven stone too heavy!

Primarily, though, my interest in miitary uniforms like that is rooted in adapting it for civilian wear - pinks are perfect for that.

Yes to Pinks! I don’t think it will be anytime soon because the new “Blues” haven’t been around very long. Now as far as the every day Battle Dress, They should do the same thing and issue M-42s to all soldiers. It is the best uniform ever designed for field/Combat.

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I've always rather liked the M42. For civilian purposes, it would be a great camping / field jacket, a sort of dry-Summer equivalent of a Barbpour international.

 

[V.C. Brunswick]

Most modern combat uniforms can trace their ancestry back to the M42. The jungle uniform of the Vietnam War was basically a lightweight version of the M42 which in turn evolved into the BDU.

 

[GHT]

Yes to Pinks! I don’t think it will be anytime soon because the new “Blues” haven’t been around very long. Now as far as the every day Battle Dress, They should do the same thing and issue M-42s to all soldiers. It is the best uniform ever designed for field/Combat.

What a great picture, my good friend Phil has a similar Harley that he rebuilt from a wreck, it's the bike on the right in this photo. The one with the rifle holster.

 

[V.C. Brunswick]

Yes to Pinks! I don’t think it will be anytime soon because the new “Blues” haven’t been around very long.

The ASU, aka the "Blues," had been around in some form since the 1930s. Prior to 2010 when it was made general issue, it was worn mainly by officers as a ceremonial uniform and by honor guards at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington.

 

[BlueTrain]

I personally think the Army Green uniform looked the best of any since before 1940. The styling dates to the 1940s, in the form of the tan TW uniform. Blues go back to before WWII also, although there were some minor differences in styling. I was in the army for three years and never saw a blue uniform.

The WWII paratrooper's uniform was designed by the same man who later designed the jungle uniform, so the similarity is not surprising. I do not know, however, how much the design of the M43 combat ensemble was influenced by the paratroopers uniform. According to some sources, there were a lot of experimentation in the paratrooper's uniform before the final version was produced. Oddly enough, it didn't stay in service all that long. It may have been lacking as a year-round uniform.

I don't think that new version of pinks and greens, previously worn only by officers, looks all that great. It won't be worn that much anyway, since the combat uniform is worn for most duties anyway. Uniforms rarely get worn the way they're intended anyway. The fatigue uniform, for instance, was originally intended as work clothing and in fact was originally produced in blue denim. Some armies issued a plain white or natural colored canvas uniform for work. But fatigues ended up as a summer field uniform, then finally, as a year-round field uniform, although there was a distinct winter combat uniform that was actually worn in cold weather even though the fatigue uniform was worn, too. The so-called jungle fatigue uniform, according to one person, was just as hot as the regular fatigues.

 

[101 Pathfinder]

What a great picture, my good friend Phil has a similar Harley that he rebuilt from a wreck, it's the bike on the right in this photo. The one with the rifle holster.
View attachment 89061

Very nice WLA. Here’s the story. The War Dept asked both Harley & Indian were asked to submit bikes. Indian produced a bike to the standard asked for by the War Dept. A 500 cc machine. Harley however submitted a large displacement bike with 750 cc (a motor they already produce) Well, a 500 cc against a 750 cc is no contest. Harley won the contract & Indian was out of business in 1953 until 2014 when Polaris bought the brand and once again Indian shines. Their Flat Race Team won this years championship and it wasn’t close. So there you are with some useless trivia to tell your friend.


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[GHT]

Very nice WLA. Here’s the story. The War Dept asked both Harley & Indian were asked to submit bikes. Indian produced a bike to the standard asked for by the War Dept. A 500 cc machine. Harley however submitted a large displacement bike with 750 cc (a motor they already produce) Well, a 500 cc against a 750 cc is no contest. Harley won the contract & Indian was out of business in 1953 until 2014 when Polaris bought the brand and once again Indian shines. Their Flat Race Team won this years championship and it wasn’t close. So there you are with some useless trivia to tell your friend.

That's amazing, riding those bikes with a gear lever, man it takes some remembering. If you are interested, this website is one of the many that my friend used during the renovation. Look at pages 4,5 &6. http://www.velocedge.com/42harley/harleywla.pdf
As for The Indian, I saw this at a festival, the front wheel stand fascinated me. I have no idea though if it's an 'modern' old bike or an original. Not being a purist, I simply like it for what it is.

 

[Edward]

I've not heard the military contract - specifically, failing to get one - in connection to Indian going out of business before, but I imagine it certainly made it much harder to compete against Harley without those economies of scale. For me that was the golden age of Harley style - the modern bikes, same as the new Indians, just don't do it for me the same. I gather back post-war those US Army Harley could be bought for buttons, but they are crazy money now. I always fancied a WLA750 for no better reason than that's what Eddie (Meatloaf) rides in The Ropcky Horror PIcture Show (though in some moving shots it seems to be replaced by a not-quite lookalike 1974 Kawasaki KZ900!!).

Nice bikes, the Americans in that era. I tend to prefer something smaller overall, but for sure if ever the big lotto win comes in I'll be picking myself up a post-war style bobber.... These guys build beautiful replicas of various Indians from the teens to the 50s...http://www.kiwiindian.com/?lightbox=i0o5t

 

[Oldsarge]

I was never fond of the Army Green, myself, even though I wore it for 29 years. Nor was I a great fan of the dress blues. The Mess Dress, on the other hand, I rocked. Didn't have much use for it, unfortunately, but was always glad to put it on. My favorite was the B uniform with the short sleeve shirt and open collar. Since I was mainly an office type I thought it was perfect. Good looking and comfortable, unlike the BDU which, while suitable for slogging around in the mud and dust, was really silly in a swivel chair. (And the Navy's adoption of one in blue camouflage is ludicrous. Where are you going to hide in the middle of the ocean, fergawdsake?) Naturally, in my Retired Reserve state, it makes no difference but if they did go back to the Green and Pink, I would approve.

 

[BlueTrain]

Enlisted men never work pinks and greens, of course. They wore olive drab, at least in the winter. In fact, that's all they wore in the winter, although the coat was not worn in the field after the 1930s, if it ever was even then. The original initial issue was quite small, too. Two sets of khakis, long sleeves only and usually worn with a tie, two pair OD trousers and one OD coat, which didn't quite match, two sets of fatigues. Also an overcoat and a "field jacket," the only name it ever had at the time. The so-called Ike jacket was supposed to be part of the winter field outfit but supposedly most soldiers saved the OD wool jacket as a "best" outfit. The waist-length jacket was the latest style in the 1940s for a uniform and even the Germans introduced their own version.

I doubt that very many soldiers are all that interested in adopting any uniform that has been out of service since their grandfather was in the military. Since the Army Blue uniform for enlisted men was rarely seen when you were in the army, it was probably considered to be something new when it became general issue.

I also suspect that the last thing any soldier would like to have would be a high-collar coat, like the Marines wears as did the army before WWI.

 

[p51]

Man, I SO hope they do this. Doesn't matter that enlisted soldiers didn't have pinks/greens back then, it's just a great look!
I just wish they'd done this when I was still in (I got out as a Captain in 2006). I still have my greens in the closet, and oddly I hardly ever wore the things!

 

[BlueTrain]

Anyone want to bring back cotton fatigues or cotton khakis (with matching necktie)?

 

[Peacoat]

I think the Greens would be a vast improvement over the Dress Blues that are now worn on an everyday basis. When I was in, the Dress Blues were worn only for formal occasions—the equivalent of the civilian formal dinner jacket (Tuxedo). The standard every day uniform needs to return to the Greens or something similar, anything but the Dress Blues, which should be reserved for formal occasions. Just my opinion; YMMV.