Navy's New Look Coming to D.C. Area in April

Khaki and Blue Uniform for Most Enlisted Personnel Is Being Phased in Worldwide Over Two Years

Most junior enlisted Navy personnel in the Washington area will have to wait to get the new service uniform being rolled out this week in some parts of the country, Navy officials said recently.

The uniform, a khaki shirt and navy pants, officially goes on sale Thursday in Illinois and California. But most service members in the Washington area won't be able to buy it until April because it is being rolled out in stages.

The new look will be phased in throughout the United States by January 2010 and worldwide a few months later. It will be required fleetwide by July 2010.

The khaki and navy look is designed to replace the summer (white) and winter (blue) service uniforms worn for everyday work with a more versatile and wearable style.

When it comes to dictating what members of the military must wear day in and day out, changes are big news.

"Certainly, people view our uniforms as an important part of our identity and our heritage as well as our day-to-day functioning," said Capt. Jack Hanzlik, spokesman for the chief of naval personnel.

Although it won't officially be available in the Washington area until next year, the new uniform will be popping up in the region over the next several months as service members are transferred in from parts of the country where the phase-in has begun, Hanzlik said.

Navy officials said the new uniforms will help lighten sailors' bags. Khaki can be worn year-round, so sailors won't have to pack both their white and blue uniforms. The fabric is also more breathable and easier to keep clean than the white material, Hanzlik said.

The new style will unify the look of junior enlisted personnel around the world, Hanzlik said. Service members in Hawaii and other tropical areas wear white year-round, those in Europe wear blue most of the year and those in the Washington area wear either, depending on the season.

With everyone wearing khaki and dark blue, Hanzlik said, "someone traveling from Europe to D.C. to Hawaii will always be in proper uniform."

Some local Navy personnel have begun wearing the new uniforms as part of a demonstration phase, he said.

Some officers and other senior personnel in the Washington area are also "wear-testing" a khaki dress uniform that could replace or supplement the dress uniforms, which are white (summer) and blue (winter). The new design is a throwback to the style worn between World War II and the Vietnam era.

"It was a very popular look at that time," Hanzlik said. The proposed uniform "is designed to at least start with that image, and then we'll make changes where appropriate."

The Navy has been testing the proposed dress uniforms since May among about 100 senior personnel at the Pentagon and in five regions throughout the world. Participants will give feedback in an online survey and in focus groups. The design could be changed to address problems or complaints, Hanzlik said.

"We constantly look at the functionality of uniforms, appearance and cost," Hanzlik said. "Everything is still under consideration."

Cost concerns include the purchase price and tailoring expenses, he said.

The dress uniforms are worn at commissioning ceremonies, funerals and formal events, such as jacket-and-tie dinners. The proposed khaki uniform could be worn year-round, Navy officials said, casually or with its tie and jacket.

Seniors at the Naval Academy in Annapolis switched to khaki uniforms at the beginning of the 2007-08 year to highlight their leadership role and bring them in line with the work uniforms they wear after graduating, academy spokeswoman Judy Campbell said.