8/14/2019 US Army: Army Green

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/us-army-army-green 1/1

4 Even "The King" wore Army green.SGTElvis A Presley was dischargedfrom the Army at Fort Dix. N.J., onMarch 5,1980.

Women's Pmaternity L

introduced.

;AG-44 woolwinter uniformoduced.

I

@ Women's UniformWomen in the Army weren't initially

issuedArmy green. The Uniform Board of

1949had provided differentuniforms for

women. recommendinga more fashionable

Army tan-4(khaki) unif

T t D ? merican Soldierremires and deserves a uniform

I e can wear with pride.Wemust offer a uniform that ismilitary, distinctiveand digrlilied," GEN MatthewB.

Ridgway said in 1955.

With many Sold~ers eployedto SouthwestAsia- nd

wearing desert tan uniforms, because they provide the best

camouflagefor the environment- ne might wonder why the

Army's traditional ClassA, or "Amy Green," uniformhas

survivedfor 50 years.

-ensemble hat would a m c t new female

recruits.

In 1951Hattie Camegie designednew Berlin Wallmarking thethe Cold W

inter Taupe121 wool sergeuniformsin the

up-to-date style of calf-length skirts,

accentedwaists andbrimmed hats. But in

I I -..aging to Am y green proved difficult, 1959female Soldiersalsobegan wearing

but rapid. While the Army had to procure new h Y reen.

VY-"3wool sergwinter uniform is

phased out.

Communist EastGermany bl " 'Berlin Wall.

Year-round AG-334tropical ply-wooluniform is introduc '

a ew UniformWhen WorldWar I1ended in 1945, there was no Army green.

America's eight million Soldiersreturnedhome in olive-drab,or

OD, uniforms. Wartime dress soon became peacetimework

clothing and, because of that, there was no uniform that expressly

representedthe Ann?!r .~.:

Postwar Soldiers wanted- nd recruiters needed- new

uniform. The waist-lengthOD wool acket became an interim

solutionwhen the 1946DoolittleBoard made officer and enlisted

uniforms s i m k

A decadewould pass before theArmy greenuniformmade

its debut.

uniforms, it had to get as much wear as possible

out of the old uniforms. At the same time,

Soldiers in the ranks had to project a uniform

serge unifo;introduced.. .

appearance.The transitionfrom OD was completedin

three ubases. After authorizinganArmy meen- .purchase in 1956,the followingyear the Army

began issuingrecruits oneAG and one OD

unifornq the former for off-duty wear only. The

next year, remits received onlyAGs, then the

duty uniform. The ODs were retained for off-

duty wear.

By 1960, olive drab was gone. The only

'ation DStorr

' '

Sout

Operation JEndeavor b

worn until the wearer's promotion in 1980.- ounesySFCNanT Began1RetJ

racngtory by Walter H. Bradford

1965

U.S. ground-combatunits arrive in SouthVietnam. I B

Same-sizefemale chevintroduced.

The black Iintroduced

ngton, D.C.,site of largest antiwar demonstratior @ New Color

In their search for a new uniform

color, Army officialsrequestedthat it be

amactive, distinct o the serviceand relate

to the Army's past. The old Army bluewould be t w similar to the Navy's and the

Air Force's new uniforms. Scientistsand

fashion experts alike recommended gray-

green, and green hadbeen the distinctive

color for rifle units back to Revolutionary

times, so the developmentof a new green

uniform began.

Classic DesignA timelessdesign would ensurethat

Army green became a tradition.Tobetter

represent the modern postwarb y ,

beltless semi-fittedcoat became theadopted style, similarin cut to the officer's

tropical worsted semi-dressuniform, fnst

i n d u c e d n 1942.

The breast and sldrtpocketsof the old

servicema t remained,but the defined

waist and flared skirtsof the belted

officer's blouse were gone.

Pent -World Trad

Operation IFreedom be

marks enters sewkI > Combat veterans reclaim theirWaer Bradford s amuseumcurator attheU.S. green. Vietnam returneesexchangeArmy CenterofMi ary H~storyator Leslie J khaki uniforms for Anny green uni-McNa~rn Washington, D.C; , -, forms in December 1967.

of ~ o l d i e k ~ ~ o r1 years, it's beeithe

uniform image of the U.S. Army. @

SO IC4. ww w sdldler smaeaz l r